13 April 2022 Wednesday - Window portraits

 

12 April 2022 Tuesday - Sam visits Bagan

 

11 April 2022 Monday another long day

 

10 April 2022 Sunday - a long day

thought I'd be early, sit and have a quiet beer and sketch.

A day of balancing mom and work and trying to squeeze in my usual squash games on Sunday, tag team with Sam who good humouredly answered all the questions in the loop. (I admit I was not so patient) This was probably why mom reveals more to her in moments of clarity; about fears of no one wanting her, about being in the way, or disrupting families and causing spats. We decided then that we will need to have the conversation with him soon, Sam will do it when she gets back from KL.

Highlight of the week was a dinner, a reunion with Robyn who returns after almost three years - she will stay for 6 weeks before heading off to the States. We thought she should meet Louise, so we have two animated Ang Mo Ees on Sunday night. Robyn has published a book 'Skinful' and will be written another one soon, she says. She is not running these years, so our early morning running rendezvous have ceased.

 

9 April 2022 Saturday AGM

A relative formality compared to most AGMs - the same team elected for another term. I am the Vice Chairman but it is only a title, most of my work is centred around Media and Communication with the main task of producing the Chapter's newsletter. I will continue doing it while I still enjoy it, ot until we run out of articles, ideas or money. 

I have been doing this for more than 10 years, it is a matter of time - we are grooming some young people to take over. 

I am writing this while sitting with my mum at the club, it is 5:30 pm and children are coming in after their swim. One of them pokes her head over the balustrade and greets my mom cheerily - it is J's daughter (a close family friend) She tells mom that she has been swimming with her friends (and their mom) and will now have something to eat. Before she returns to her friends, she comes up to mom and has a little chat. I thought that was very sweet of her. I had heard that she was distant with her grandparents, often going out and staying over at friends. As I eavesdrop on their happy chatter over fries and soft drinks, I thought that I don't blame her like others do - this is wholesome family fun, something which she missed out on after both her parents died. She has simply decided where she can find 'family' and go with them when she is able.

8 April 2022 Friday - a classroom for interns

I had the most interesting vision today; half a dozen young architects working in a studio with a light green terrazzo floor with a large centre table with sunlight and butter-paper sketches on one wall and a bookcase full of books on architecture and art against the other. They were young interns, and this was my parents' old house now our office away from the office - a hideaway to read, teach and experiment. 

I told Sam, and she thought it was a good idea. Later at lunch that day, I mentioned it to friends - the way they chipped in with ideas on how to use it made me think that they would like to use it as well. 

We were celebrating our last issue of the PAMSC newsletter for the term; a fat fat issue - a bit of syiok sendiri which Tat Sing said it is a strong driving force and one can't go far without it. It's been fueling me for years.

Later in the evening, I made a simple 3D from Leong's CAD layout for Mark's Residence. Earlier in the day, I texted R in New Zealand and we talked about work split, and what to do with KFC. 

7 April 2022 Thursday - dreaming

I sketched this sketch to Sam, and later that day, I had two of them in my bag. 

 This entry is about a recent dream. I was carrying Sam on my shoulders, it was raining and she held an umbrella over us. There were houses nearby with people in them, who were watching us. Then the rain stopped and we realised that we were going in the wrong direction, so we doubled back. More people were watching now, maybe because Sam made soft tongchiang tongchiang* noises each time I rocked her gently, dipping below laundry hanging on clotheslines.