Just finished another video, the first one that I've made that is based on scenes from New York. I discovered that I have taken so much video over the last four months that I can make the whole thing out of videos, rather than mixing in photos, which is my usual tactic. As it stands, too, the 3-minute music clip that I set it to doesn't leave enough space for all the video, so I only managed to cover material up to Halloween. Oh well...the leftovers of the last semester will doubtlesly get incorporated into the next video.
In the process, though, was looking through my photo library, and discovered a few nuggets, not enough to fill a new Facebook album, but good enough to warrant record somewhere. So, here they are:
A perspective trick on a blue-sky day. The winter sun stays so low in the sky that parts of the campus never get direct sunlight in winter.
Another perspective trick. I took this one on the second day of snow that we had in New York. Within hours of the snowfall, numerous snowmen had sprouted across campus. Was walking with G back from a session of studying in Avery Library when we came across this little guy, who was no more than 5cm tall. In the background is College Walk (the bit of 116th St that runs through Columbia), lined with lighted trees.
And this one was taken from the top of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the world's largest cathedral, and right next door to Columbia on 112th Street. J had given me the heads-up to accompany him to the Cathedral, because he had stumbled upon a cultural festival taking place in the building to commemorate its reopening after renovations restored a portion of it damaged by fire. One of the activities was a tour of the cathedral, and after walking right into the walls, through hidden passageways and spooky spaces, we emerged onto the roof. It gave a spectacular view. If you look closely, you can just see Midtown and the Empire State Building towards the right edge of the picture.
And this is J, on the way down from the roof of the Cathedral. Trivia: the stairs in a cathedral spiral clockwise upwards, so that it makes it hard to carry out a swordfight in the stairs, meaning that in mediaeval times, cathedrals were likely to be neutral ground in wartime. Also, many thanks to J for always giving me heads-up to great performances and opportunities; I really should put in more effort to find out about these things myself.
And P, on her last day in NYC, shopping for cosmetics at Union Square. The UPenn people's visit to NYC really brightened my last days there before coming home. Now we need to meet up in Singapore one more time before we all have to go back to school.
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Also, have taken quite some time out over the last two days to pick up the guitar again. It surprises me how easy it is to start playing again, despite more than half a year's hiatus. Maybe guitar-playing is something like bike-riding; and although what I do with a guitar can't really be called making music, it's still relaxing and soothing to make the instrument produce the sounds that you want. I definitely have to get one for my room in Columbia.
Been learning a couple of Damien Rice numbers: Older Chests and The Blower's Daughter. Kudos to G for introducing Damien Rice to me! Was listening to his songs, and I realised that actually, the guitar riffs are quite simple, and decided to try them out for myself. Another big plus is that Damien Rice actually seems to put effort into his lyrics; I especially like how he uses repetition to express yearning in The Blower's Daughter, a tactic that is powerful and moving, and makes you feel as if you know exactly what he's talking about. And, of course, the overall sound of the music is intriguing. I can't really explain it, but the rhythms and notes don't strike me as precisely conventional somehow, and the edge of quirkiness invites you to pay attention to the song.
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And besides that, met with Kels and Soph again on Wednesday night downtown. It has been a really long time since I last saw Soph in Sabah in January, and I had thought that we had drifted apart. I was really pleasantly surprised, therefore, when we easily struck up a conversation again, especially when Kels joined us, and we talked and joked over kopitiam drinks into the night, catching up on what has happened over the last semester. After that, Soph came over to stay the night, because her flight was early in the morning the next day, and one of the few advantages of living at my place is the proximity to the airport.
And last night, met up with YS for dinner at Simpang Bedok. By a strange set of coincidences, we keep seeming to cross paths. First, she visited me in NY, then I went to UVa to return the favour, and then she came down to NY again with her mum (after telling me that she was determined to go to Chicago), and now I'm back in Singapore just when she is also in town. Anyway, we're both in the vicinity of each other, and we had a really long talk last night over prata and a Milo dinosaur. For some reason, it was exceedingly easy for me to talk t her about what happened over the New Year; I can write about it better than I can talk about it, but yesterday it seemed natural to just open up and discuss it, voicing my concerns and fears and hearing her opinions about it. This is definitely partly due to our long friendship, but I think it also has to do with how alike we are philosophically/ideologically. It is rare to find people that share something like this; and when you do, you do your best to stay close to them.
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