Life like the Arc de Triomphe

One of the things I remember from my short stint in Paris is driving towards the Arc de Triomphe during rush hour. My driver turned to me and said,"When entering the roundabout of the Arch, you must quickly look for your opening and go for it! If you keep hesitating, you will not reach your destination." He then turned back towards the road, saw his opening and zoomed into the oncoming traffic. My heart stopped. I had a taste of the crazy Parisian traffic. It was truly an experience.

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But his words have stuck with me since. There are moments to be patient and even moments to hesitate before jumping in with both feet. But there are also moments where a decision has to be made...today...not tomorrow or day after. Sometimes the decision has to be made NOW and for an impulsive person like me, that just adds to the excitement and challenge of it all. "Let's go!" and "What are we waiting for?" are normally the things that would burst forth from my mouth (that clearly reacts way fast than my thought processes) at stupid and brilliant suggestions. I have obviously landed myself in lots of trouble this way. But nevertheless, the massive memories and laughter almost always make up for the embarassment that almost always have a way of showing up.

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But now as I grow older and gained more responsibilities, I find it a challenge to allow the Little Miss Spontaneity in me to surface. I do still say yes without hesitation (old habits die hard)...but more often than not, I will double take and reconsider what I have gotten myself into. Weighing the pros (the Leech's life motto: Will try almost everything once!) and cons (boring things like work, leave, meetings to attend...dum be dum dum and more), I will then make my decision. But then again, the words of that Parisian driver rings in my head and reminds me that sometimes...just sometimes when you see that opening, go for it because what you want may not always be in front of you. You may be late in reaching your destination and whoever was waiting may no longer be there.

Have You Seen Google Today?

Sesame Street turns 40 today! I just love Google's picture today. Brilliantly cute. It brought back so many nostalgic memories of my childhood and even as I write this, I am smiling. I am brought back to a certain small town where a single story house nest in the middle of a large compound filled with fruit trees and chicken and a particular maroon Mini-Minor that zooms us wee lads around. Now the Mini is yellow and the lot of us can no longer fit into the backseat...much less climb into it. I remember the swing out front where the six of us would squeaze into (three on the seat and three on the back rest) and swing away pretending the wind in our hair blew from the wild stormy seas where we reigned as pirates (ahoy there me matey!) in search of treasure islands and eager to plunder any wealthy looking ships that dared cross out path. Until one day we got too big for the swing and went toppling over...swing and six ex-pirates. Then Ghost Busters came about and the dark book-filled library slash store became a hunting ground for us and our vacuum cleaner. Digging for worms and fishing in the drains surrounding the house. Running through a dragonfly filled field and watching the swarm of red and green and blue fly away from us. Kingfishers alighting on the electrical wires in front of the house. Rambutan trees fruiting...oh my, the sweet red bunches of juiciness. Ciku, nangka, mangosteen, jambu! Watching IT with the rest and being scared to death of clowns and going to the toilet alone. Sweets and snacks my Kong-Kong would buy us after cycling back from town. The different cats my aunt had...all cute and thoroughly terrorised by us. The Beano and Dandy comics we grew up with. And Reader's Digest dating back to the 60s. And the list goes on.

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But I am reminded. It has been a long time since ichi-babi and it's owner made a trip up north to all that rich memories. I am ashamed to not have made more of an effort to do so while I still can. There will be a day when I want to and the house may no longer welcome me the way I want it to. Alrighty then! Time for a road trip!