The Mojito Life -
RUM for the soul,
A sprig of fresh MINT for newness,
A dash of sour LIME that puckles up your face, &
Sweet SUGAR to keep Life going.
They met on a train and parted way at sunrise, both so hopeful about the lives ahead of them.
They found each other another 10 years later, talking about how their lives have changed by, well, life, but looking through all these, to grab the second chance and decided to stick together before sunset.
And another 10 years later, found themselves knowing less, and feeling even less sure that they even know anything, than they did 20 years ago, arguing into late of the night and finally came to a compromise to see beyond the gritty stuff in lives (presumably) by midnight.
The most memorable scene for me was when Jesse, Celine and their friends sat around the table talking about the difference between men and women, partners in life or the fallacy of it, and the essence of what it means to be together.
Before Midnight carries its own really well to talk about the uncertainty and fears that all of us have, that we may never be able to do the right things because we don't know better, but put it together with the previous two, one of the best trilogy movies ever about different hope, dreams, fears at different stages of our lives.
(Hurray for Ethan Hawke and Julie Delphy for sticking around so long in the industry so that this trilogy spanning over 20 years is possible!)
Why when it was one of the Unesco listed heritage site within a few hours from Singapore, that I waited so long to see it?
Alas, I had a nagging feeling that it could be a little bit too late. Pub Street was a clear sign that the tourist influence had totally infiltrated, with the proliferation of restaurants that came with wifi, locals touting souvenirs speaking in mandarin asking you to buy their goods, and many roadside shops offering cheap foot and body massage. Overall, it feels like another Phuket. AlThough I can't say that I don't appreciate the convenience and the simple luxury of the possibilities of having foot massage everyday, it feels a bit sad to see another town converted to another way of life to.
A few things never change though.
Looking at the ruins which were originally glorious temples in their own rights, I wonder if the kings then would have known that what they had worked so hard to build, upon the blood and sweat of their people, would ever reduced to a half day highlight tour. (Angkor thom and Angkor Wat was flooded with tourists, despite it not being the tourist high season. Though not all, most Korean and Japanese tourists by the bus load, while the Caucasians usually come in pairs or groups of threes and fours, often with only their guide books in hand.) Khmer was a glorious and strong empire when the powerful kings were reigning, following the downturn where other empires rose and took over its prominence in history. Again, it's amazing how the priests (cum architects as explained by the guide) managed this architectural feat during those primitive times, not to mention the intricate carvings along all the reliefs. The ingenuity of human always amazes.
One thousand years ago, different kings fought wars over resources and religions. One thousand years later, humans are still fighting wars over resources and religions. Just that the weapon of choices were no longer arrows and on elephants. Such are the nature of human that transcend time.
So, I had this project at work that got totally derailed. The planning premise was larger than what was briefed and when the plan went to the honcho, the new direction it took left me dumbstruck. And for at least the past week, I looked at the big elephant and wonder which end of it should I start on.
It took a little kick on the butt, but I eventually decided to take a bite and started chewing on it today. Took me the whole of today to think about what issues to address, and how to pan out the work based on what the team had amalgamated so far. But the ends still did not tie up and I was left with a blinding headache after another late night in the office.
As I stood exhausted, hungry and drained in the shower, it suddenly occurred to me that I should have just dump whatever that had been done and start afresh. So much for the emotional attachments to the labored effort that had been gone in, but it was going nowhere with this piece of deadweight around.
Right on. Time to re examine how's this playing out in my mind for other stuff too.
