An Andante August a Cappella

Yeah yeah yeah.... I knew I broke the rhyme.  Anyway, a slow month it has been.  I finally went to Jewel and visited Bintan after 6 long years...  In the office, I had to deal with the worst of micromanagement, proofread newsletter articles and laid them out, made power point slides for D&D and some ship signing ceremony, attended a superfluous 2 day "digitalisation" course,  went on an onboard visit to a training vessel and did numerous mind numbing chores in the office, I could just cry… my sister went for surgery.... and a slow job market only made things worse, as such I have also baked quite a lot as usual.  Sometimes I wish I could just throw everything up in the air and do whatever I like.  But that’s a fairy tale.  Purposely getting unemployed is a matter of "forking" consequences (I learned a new phrase from a recent read which I will elaborate on later). 😐😐😐

On a brighter note, I learned a new Kata called "Hangetsu" - 半月 this month within a week.  I also went to a friend's baby shower party and accompanied Lincoln to his classmate's poolside birthday party where he had an absolute blast.

Nice Looking Pool After Sunset - Galaxy Note 9

And oh, I've finally mastered baking butter cakes too now.  

I Bake Wicked Butter Cakes Now - Galaxy Note 9

The biggest highlight of the month for me would be having completed reading “Le Petit Prince” last night.  The story was straightforward.  But the meaning underneath... not so straightforward to decipher.  It took me a while to get what Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was trying to convey, which even now I’m still not really sure whether I got them right or not. 

Le Petit Prince - Galaxy Note 9

The most important message I didn’t miss was when the Fox told the Little Prince to see with his heart, not his eyes.  This came when they parted ways after the Little Prince had tamed the Fox.  Tamed, meaning established a connection.  By establishing a connection, common things that are ordinary, can become special when we connect even with just one. 

See With The Heart Instead of The Eye - Galaxy Note 9

Prior to arriving on earth, the Little Prince had met the following bizarre people:

1. A king with no subjects who issued “reasonable” commands – essentially an ignorant person who thinks he’s highly superior, refusing to listen to others and causes people to abandon him.  He issues commands he thinks people follow when in reality, the things he commanded are bound to happen anyway.

2. A vain man who wants to be admired on his uninhabited planet – a person who wastes his time trying to gain people’s admiration and approval, reminds me of people who post in social media for likes and just show off.  He too is alone for no one appreciates his true self.  OMG, I didn't know Saint-Exupéry had a flair for clairvoyance...  I mean there were no Facebook and Instagram then...  😛😛😛      

3. A drunkard who drinks to forget the shame of getting drunk – a person trapped in a harmful vicious cycle and failed to make the change to save himself.

4. A businessman who’s more concerned with possessing the stars instead of appreciating them – a person who cares more about making new friends than having a real friend.  Although I also reckon that this could also mean a person who’s too caught up with work and fails to appreciate his loved ones.  And at the end of the day, when he finally knows how many stars he owns, he wrote the number down in a paper and put that paper in a drawer.  Such a pointless endeavour.   

5. A lamplighter who blindly follows orders – a person who cares more about “WHAT” he must do and couldn't see “WHY” he must do it.  If we don’t understand the reason why we do something, we may never be able to do it better or even tell whether what we're doing is good or bad.

6. A geographer who hasn’t been anywhere – a person who has failed to live life.  Why?  Because he only listens to others’ stories but never really experienced the world himself. 

  

The Little Prince symbolizes an inexperienced, simple minded and innocent youth.  So pure, the snake didn’t bite him on their first encounter in the desert.   

When the Little Prince tended the tiny asteroid he lived on, he met a rose he fell in love with, but he  couldn’t stand her manipulating ways to gain his attention.  It was when they parted ways that the rose finally apologized for having failed to show that she loves him back.  The Prince, having been stranded on earth now finally realized that he should have recognized the rose’s love for him through her actions instead of her words.

Sooo… always see beyond the words?  I also think that the rose could be a lover.  People in love often do weird things…

And in the ending, the Little Prince told the narrator that he should look only at the stars after he’s gone as the stars in the story symbolizes friends (in my opinion).  And those special friends in life are always worth remembering.

It’s such a short story...  but full of messages on how we should live our lives, I guess. 

For some reasons, I didn’t really enjoy the read.  Perhaps it’s because I’m more interested in photography, tycoons, anthropomorphic mice & ducks, Jedis, Siths and lightsabers.  

But I can’t say it’s not a good read either for it reminds me on how I should (or should not) live my life.

A closing shot for this short entry:

On a Bus to Harbourfront Centre - Galaxy Note 9

~ Photos taken with Samsung Galaxy Note 9 ~