Torch Bearer

And for the second time during his duty as the guardian of the temple, Arundal lights the torch and stands vigilant in the dead of winter. Light from the torch cast shadows around him and his dark cloak fluttered as the wind blew winter chill. But Arundal's face is a mask, expressionless, unyielding. His eyes shows a calm resolution, faith that The One will one day return to release him of his duty.

Twenty Eleven Plus One

Another year has come to past and the river of time has not slowed its pace. Many things have occurred in 2011, but many too seems like it was just yesterday. At the end of 2010, I said that I was looking forward to 2011, thinking that life will be better, much better. What a surprised it turned out to be.

Let's just say that the journey wasn't as smooth as the one I have hoped for. And I'm now back at the same position as I was last year, saying the same thing again, just that it's now for twenty-eleven-plus-one. I'm hoping that this will be a much better year.

2011 hasn't been so great after all. Too much unnecessary personal stuff, got myself into situations where I had no control over, and lost of interest with work. Confident was low and everything looked bleak. I'm just glad that it's over and it's time to gear up again.

I'm sounding melancholic. But as I sit here, thinking and typing, I do recall some brighter sides to the year. And in a way, these memories helps to remind me that there are always a more positive side to life and that how a year goes by really depends on how we make the best of it. The rest of the stuff, you just have to deal with it as they come along - as they always do.

Here are some good things to note for the year:

• Visited New York (more like Lower Manhattan) - short holiday after a business trip to the US. Missed the Chinese New Year's eve dinner though, but it couldn't be helped. Memorable for the 60+ hours getting back from New York to Penang.
• First time watching a live baseball match in the US during the summer, which was part of a team outing and the match was between the Cubs and Marlins. The Cubs won that match :)
• Have a new work partner, after the last one decided to graze in greener pastures. Yes, I'm talking about you good friend - make sure you let me know when there is an opening :P
• Went to Phuket with a bunch of friends, had lots of laughter and fun, especially when we had TGO around. It was simply good quality time with some really good friends. Spent a lot of time soul-searching too, which kind of led to some of the decisions I have made for 2012.
• Ran two half marathons in the span of two weeks - One was the Penang Bridge International Marathon and the other was the Standard Chartered Marathon in Singapore. Completed both below 3 hours - pretty good considering my usually poor cardio level.
• Work was good and not-so-good. Good - being rewarded for work done on projects and also non-project related stuff (always nice to know that you have not been forgotten). The not-so-good part was due to delays in projects, which in turn allowed me to have too much time at hand - made me think too much. I slowed down a lot during the last half of the year and the brain has started to exhibit a layer of rust. 

It could have been a much better year, considering the many opportunities that presented themselves. But we can't have everything, can we? ;)

2011 is still a very memorable year for me, despite the bittersweet-ness of it all.

Reminder to self, yet again: What's done is done. Just do better in 2012.

Happy New Year 2012 everyone!

Ao no Exorcist

Ao no Exorcist or Blue Exorcist is a new Japanese anime that I started watching this week and it’s one I think is worth recommending for those who are looking for a new anime to try out.

Watching this anime for me was initially meant more to kill time than because I read any good reviews about it. I was bored and went looking for something new – Bleach and Naruto manga are still good, but too much of it can be a bore too.

Fortunately for me, Ao no Exorcist has a pretty good and addictive storyline. While the story starts off slow, it picks up after the 10th episode – after which, I’ve been downloading and watching all the way till episode 24, the latest episode released this week.

The Ao no Exorcist manga was first published in 2009 and the anime only started airing since April 2011. So I’m hoping that there will be more to come and be part of my staple diet of anime and manga each week.

I’m not going to do a review of the plot here, but as the title indicates, it's about exorcists and involves a certain son of Satan. For anyone interested, I believe the information on wiki would serve as better place for details than what I would be able to write here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Exorcist).

Last but not the least, I leave you with the anime trailer so you can decide if this is one that is worth watching :)

Skyscraper

Demi Lovato - Skyscraper

Skies are crying, I am watching

Catching teardrops in my hands

Only silence, as it's ending, like we never had a chance.

Do you have to make me feel like there's nothing left of me?

You can take everything I have

You can break everything I am

Like I'm made of glass

Like I'm made of paper

Go on and try to tear me down

I will be rising from the ground

Like a skyscraper, like a skyscraper

As the smoke clears

I awaken and untangle you from me

Would it make you feel better to watch me while I bleed

All my windows still are broken but I'm standing on my feet

You can take everything I have

You can break everything I am

Like I'm made of glass

Like I'm made of paper

Go on and try to tear me down

I will be rising from the ground

Like a skyscraper, like a skyscraper

Go run run run I'm gonna stay right here

Watch you disappear yeah

Go run run run yeah it's a long way down

But I'm closer to the clouds up here

You can take everything I have

You can break everything I am

Like I'm made of glass

Like I'm made of paper

Ohh

Go on and try to tear me down

I will be rising from the ground

Like a skyscraper, like a skyscraper

Like a skyscraper, like a skyscraper

Like a skyscraper

No Mere Mortal

The dragon looked at the tiny figure standing in front of him. Puny human, thought the dragon. It was amused by the many ways he could snuff the life out of this insignificant being - a flick of the tail perhaps, or a gout of fire to reduce flesh and bones to ashes in mere seconds. That put a smile to its face - if one could imagine how a smiling dragon looks like.

But unknown to the mighty dragon, that is no mere mortal standing a few feet away, wrapped up in a dark cloak, with its hood down, the face barely visible. Showing neither fear nor concerns, but just stood there waiting.

Then again, a dragon is no mere mortal either...