Sunday, December 12, 2004

The sun must have been on a strike

Perhaps the sun had been on a strike, there was not much rays from the sun the large part of today. There was just enough sunlight peering through the dark clouds such that one won't start to think that a solar eclipse has happened.

I left home in the late morning to try to get a breather. Actually I wonder if it was a good choice or not, because I felt drained trying to mingle with the crowds on my day out. I suppose I only felt most at home at the Singapore Art Museum, because there was less of a crowd for me to bear with.

I took a Mass Rapid Transit (in Singapore, we call it "MRT") train to Orchard as I wanted to check out the Kinokuniya bookstore. Perhaps I wasn't feeling well, many of the nice books did not appeal to me as they would have been. After checking out the Kinokuniya bookstore, I walked all the way to the Orchard Meridien Hotel. I quite like the Korean food stall at the foodcourt of the hotel's basement, so I had that for lunch.

After lunch, I walked to the Singapore Art Museum to catch the blockbuster, Botero in Singapore 2004, so that I could stay a little more updated with the exhibitions at the Singapore Art Museum. I am not a fan of Botero, but some of his works that I have managed to catch a glimpse of did left an impression in me. There is quite a distinct style in Botero's art, and I wanted to gain a little more understanding to his art style, and his philosophy towards art. Knowledge for the sake of knowledge.

I am rather drained and tired now, so I shall beg to be spared from sharing what little I know about Botero. If you would like to know more, please visit the Singapore Art Museum and the various spots where the monumental sculptures by Botero are exhibited.

After making one round around the Botero's exhibits in the Singapore Art Museum, I went to wait for the museum's guided tour to start. I have often found attending the guided tour to be helpful in giving me a overview of the exhibitions, so I definitely won't miss attending one of the guided tours of the Botero in Singapore 2004's exhibition. It proved to be helpful in giving me more insights to Botero's style of art, and his philosophy towards art.

What I found was rare was that I had a male Asian museum guide today. Most of the times, my art museum guide were female, and very often, non-Asian. I was tempted to ask my guide today what had inspired him to be a volunteer museum guide, but to conserve energy, I did not.

I must have been conserving my energy to walk to all the way to the Esplanade and the Esplanade Park under the drizzling rain to view more of Botero's works. The weather had remained gloomy and wet, so it was no surprise that some raindrops fell on me along my journey. It must have been that streak of stubbornness in me that got me moving from the Singapore Art Museum to the Esplanade - Theatres by the Bay, through the wet pathways of the Esplanade Park to the Anderson Bridge. I was searching for a moment where I could be connected with myself, and I felt I had only found a few seconds of such moment this entire day.

I could feel I had been withdrawn to a world of my own the whole of today. The crowd had been draining me, and so I was trying as best as I could to avoid all unnecessary human contact with strangers and acquaintances. And I think that I would have tried to avoid all friends if I have seen them on the roads, except for those whom I know would allow me to not speak a single word and would spare me from their talking, and yet would still be able to connect with me. Ironically, despite windrawing into my own world, I had so little a moment that I could connect with myself. Perhaps it was because my moods had swung when the sun had went on a strike. Even my nose is sneezing to join in the protest.

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