c'est La Vie ~ such is life.

fare you well

2012-02-21T20:54:00.005+08:00

"Fare You Well"

Originally seen in "The Prophet" by Kahlil Gibran

"The noontide is upon us and our half waking has turned to fuller day, and we must part. If in the twilight of memory we should meet once more, we shall speak again together and you shall sing to me a deeper song. And if our hands should meet in another dream, we shall build another tower in the sky."

~ Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet.

omelet

2012-02-03T16:22:00.008+08:00

Omelet is a delicious way to use up all those left-over raw veggies from last week's meal. Main ingredients - a couple of eggs, cheese and any vegetable that goes well with eggs. I used mushrooms and spinach, I already had them in-stock from last week's pasta. I've tried adding in asparagus, peppers, zucchini, jalapeños, grilled chicken and other such things - just as good!

It really wasn't rocket science - Chopped 'em up.

Tossed 'em around in a bit of light olive oil until they weren't quite so raw. Sautéed the shrooms first; the spinach cooks faster. Added in a pinch of mixed herbs and salt for flavor.

Set my veggies aside and beat them eggs fluffy.

Cooked the eggs, added in as many cheese as I can take - I used mozzarella - topped that with the veggie filling and packed it up.

and voilà! There's my gourmet omelet. Barely cost me 3 dollars.

Omelette au Fromage

Best served hot, for two ;)

secrets

2012-01-29T00:36:00.004+08:00

"secrets"

Pencil sketch, from a photo memory.

you will never know

#healing

2012-01-28T02:27:00.000+08:00

there are thoughts

they involuntarily create

a depth

in the depth

of my insides

and then all this hurt

frustration

anger

sadness

I never knew I had

rushes through

all the way

to a little tiny out-of-nowhere

teardrop

I quickly do away with

and resume my thoughts

to a thought

before the thought

that made me

for a millisecond

lose myself

a green fig tree #diary

2012-01-28T00:07:00.002+08:00

“From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. One fig was a husband and a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet and another fig was a brilliant professor, and another fig was Ee Gee, the amazing editor, and another fig was Europe and Africa and South America, and another fig was Constantin and Socrates and Attila and a pack of other lovers with queer names and offbeat professions, and another fig was an Olympic lady crew champion, and beyond and above these figs were many more figs I couldn't quite make out. I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, just because I couldn't make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet.”

~ Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar.

#insomnia #freehand

2012-01-21T03:14:00.008+08:00

I can't get to sleep.

but I'm really tired.

and so..

"because you are the answer to all my questions."

Free-hand sketch [Imma asleep]

#quote #ali

2012-01-08T07:44:00.007+08:00

"Its like two cars are racing so fast; you know they're gonna crash into each other; but you're still surprised when it happens."

~ Ali, on his reaction.

To a new start - a chance to finally get it right.

2011

2012-01-07T23:32:00.008+08:00

2011 is a paradox to write about. It has been too eventful a past to simply carry on with oneself to the new year without a backward glance; and yet too much a part of the present to talk or think about in any sense-making way. I think of January last year, and I feel vastly older. Wiser too, I'd like to say; but only time will see. Until I can organize my thoughts and write about my year in some coherent way, I post my montage to the most challenging 12 months of my life yet.

January 2011

Everything can change within the blink of an eye.

February 2011

Life isn't always easy or even fair, but its still good!

March 2011

I will get up, dress up and show up, no matter what.

April 2011

I will remember God.

May 2011

I already have all that I need.

June 2011

In doubt, I must take the next small step, a day at a time.

July 2011

I will dance as if no one is watching.

August 2011

I will not keep things that are no longer useful, beautiful or joyful.

September 2011

Its okay to let a friend see me cry.

October 2011

I will fix myself.

November 2011

I will remember what is important.

December 2011

I will look forward.

Images - Raniya Ahmed Mansoor © 2011

Happy New Year, and I hope it'll be another one to remember!

separate little pieces

2011-12-28T00:57:00.009+08:00

My dad just left after 8 days in Singapore.

Separate little pieces of my heart are walking around, outside the safety of my skin and bones, separate from the separateness, completely independent of each other.

They say home is where the heart is. My home is a fickle ricocheting madness, for my heart is in pieces. Separate little pieces that are never ever in the same place all at once.

"vagutheh nuvey" - unoosha, shiuz & barchie #raanyatube

2011-11-09T23:56:00.004+08:00

I did this in early 2009, I was working on dhiTV's show, Goma. It was a fun experience, we actually wrote the song within about half an hour, recorded it and filmed it in the next. At dhiTV, its really about the most you can do in the littlest time-frames. I post it here because, well. I miss this line of work, as frustrating as it was; it is a lovely little original composition that hasn't been broadcasted except that one time; and most importantly, this pretty much describes my week!

"Vagutheh Nuvey" - Unoosha, Shiuz and Barchie

Special thanks to Shiuz, Barchie for their special participation.

Fahud Studio for accomodating us.

Sobbalhey for doing an awesome job filming this in such a small space.

And Unoosha, for accepting my invitation :) You are a star!

Click here for snippets of the original interview "Goma with Unoosha" (2009).

still. #weekend

2011-10-03T01:31:00.004+08:00

My Friend Ali - Thanks Shire for taking this photo!

I have nothing organized. No plan, no realistically achievable timeline ahead. I'm at this strange point where things are continuously rapidly piling up, and I've stopped working - I'm the still round brown thing in the middle of all things moving, so fast that I literally get disoriented just looking at them.

I had a good day today. Wasteful, silly, random; but surely good. Imma and Ali turned up last night and stayed over. We brunched at the village, had good, meaty, hearty burgers. Ali's girlfriend joined in at some point too, not too sure when. We found an old diary of mine where I had drawn many memories - some of them I cringed to remember - but such is life. Then we gave Imma a haircut that nearly gave him a heart attack. We karaoke-d. We dressed Ali up in my clothes and made him hit on my flatmate - proper freaked him out, we did. We had cereal prawns. I day-dreamed about December, home and Sky.

Things whizzed around the whole time; incomplete, pending, never-ending.

I really should get back to the blur soon.

bed-head #thelostblog

2011-09-27T01:47:00.001+08:00

"Bed-Head"

sky #thelostblog

2011-09-27T01:45:00.001+08:00

"Sky"

little reader #thelostblog

2011-09-27T01:43:00.000+08:00

"Little Reader."

admit it, you're lost too

2011-09-27T00:57:00.003+08:00

"Admit It, You're Lost Too."

post-it from mr. flatmate

2011-09-27T00:53:00.002+08:00

Because I never remember to switch off the lights.

teh'tarik

2011-09-27T00:48:00.001+08:00

"Teh'Tarik"

summer maldives '11

2011-09-27T00:43:00.002+08:00

"Summer Maldives '11"

back to school #blues

2011-09-26T03:55:00.003+08:00

3:50am. Thunder and morbid weather carries on outside as I feel sorry for myself; my week's break from school is over. The waking up and alarms and deadlines all begin again.

I would like to stop studying now. Its been one exam after another ever since I was 3! I swear, life is too short for this much dedication to one thing.

the color-experiment portfolio #thelostblog

2011-09-22T18:48:00.007+08:00

This collection was an experiment, back in 2005; brings back memories! I used color pencils, crayons and markers mainly. I've decided I like pencils and charcoals more so than using colors. I don't usually color, I have yet a lot to learn in coloring and blending using traditional mediums like water color, oils and acrylics. I would like to learn, sometime in the future; Lua has promised to help me out on that because she is amazing.

"Tell Me, I'll Listen"