The Ribbon On The Words

Dear reader,

People these days are just like us. And we are people who are caught up and restless, looking for a state of existence that renders us at peace. Well, some of us find it. Some don't. Most of the time, we find that the going gets easier when we simply slow down and take a good look at the people and things that matter the most.

Before I begin this post proper, please allow me to thank you for having been a part of this project of mine. The fact remains that a project like this would do little to benefit anyone if there were no readers and your every read is something that brings joy into my life. I also want to thank the people who have commented on my posts with responses of your own because your responses have opened my eyes to many perspectives I would have been too narrow to see beforehand and that is something money cannot buy. Many thanks to those who have linked this page, or shared it with your friends and family. It is a gesture I appreciate very deeply.

Thank you.

So for those of you who have read Notes, here is a little gift for you. It is a humble regard from me, and will require some explaining.

Very soon, (this coming Thursday) I'll be going off to serve a calling for around two years. This calling of mine (and many other people) will generally take me out of my home (and theirs) for weekdays for around the same period of time.

This simply means that given circumstances of maybe a few years ago, I would have to face a serious problem with the maintenance of this page. Posting everyday would become a challenge. But thankfully, blogger has circumvented this problem.

And here is this little gift.

I will continue posting on Notes. At least, for the first phase of where I am going (which will last till April), I will write and schedule the posts to appear on a (I'll try my very best) daily basis with the exception of Sunday.

You might have noticed that I have a penchant for posting at 11.11 p.m. on some days. I do so because it symbolizes a time where people across the globe utilize coincidences in a mass exodus of hope and faith, every single day. It is a beautiful thing to imagine millions of people wishing for something dear to them at that time each day.

The post an hour ago was such an example. It was a heartfelt thought written about and for a special someone in the hope of tomorrow being a happier beginning again for us all.

As a tribute to you, and to the hope of the world, each scheduled post will appear at 11.11 p.m. GMT+8 hours.

This way, Notes will go on without a hitch. I can continue to do what I love, that is, writing for you.

Also, I hope that you can do me a favour I would greatly appreciate if you can spare a few seconds of your time.

You might notice that the sidebar has links for you to share Notes if you wished to, and each post has a comment section for you to share what you feel.

Please click the 'share' link, as a small favour for me. :)

Alternatively, you may also want to take a few seconds to join Notes About You And Me On Facebook and invite your family and friends as well to spread the love you feel for them.

One must not (and I will not) forget to be grateful for the support he/she receives, for it is a gift that is priceless. :)

Here are some other pages I highly recommend as well. Firstly, there is Please Find This, my first inspiration.

Another writing blog (written by a dear friend of mine, with a very inspirational Christian perspective on life even for non-Christians) would be Through God's Eyes.

Also, other pages written by my friends are things that keep me going each day, such as Breathing Thoughts (reflections with a touch of romance), Sketching Wrinkles Of Hands (contemplative writings), Make Life Alive (short but powerful notes on life), as well as Neon Electric (collections of nice photos and writing) make very good reads.

Something that cannot be missed is by a photography genius who breathes life into his photographs (and people around him) with amazing words both written and found, Cat's Eye View. Another blog of note would be How I Missed You, a photo blog with thought provoking words.

Posting will resume on Thursday, 4th February 2010, at 11.11 p.m. A day before that happens, this post will disappear from this main page and appear on my side page, What You Need To Know About Me.

Only say things you really mean.

So till then,

I love you.

Have a great week ahead. :)

Boy

The Non Random Insertion

Dearest you,

You are reading this page right now. These very words.

I have no idea who you are. Probably, you have no idea who I am as well.

You might be my father. My cousin. My friend. My teacher. A stranger. The internet works in such a fashion that the less technology savvy will never know who is reading the same words on another screen miles apart.

So I'll write to you.

'You' can be anybody. However, I'm not saying 'You' are anybody. 'You' are somebody. At least, to me you are.

Apart from a general answer, I've never told anyone the full story behind each post unless it was specially written for them. Never once did I mention exactly why I wrote what I did.

But I meant every word that I post. I meant them with all my heart and soul, even if they hurt to type those very words.

The posts that tell about heartbreak are those I feel the strongest about because those posts are about a person I feel the strongest about as well.

Those posts that speak of friendship and family are my heartfelt letters to the people around me. 'You' as well, even if I've never met you.

Today, I will make a concession for this post.

I am troubled today, and by definition, much more troubled than I usually am.

100,000 people are feared dead in Haiti. That's a hundred thousand people. Possibly millions upon billions of new found woes.

You and me, on the other hand, are sitting here reading this. I do offer my humble apologies if you are facing troubles more tulmultous.

If you have things you want to share with me, you are very welcome to write to me at notesaboutyouandme@gmail.com. Anonymously, if you want to.

In fact, I would love to receive your comments, your mail, your words.

I promise not to publish the things you tell me unless you specifically mention that I should do so. I do not promise to be able to offer you advice that will solve your worries. But I do promise to be there for you. Here for you.

Please visit the following website.

http://www.redcross.org/

There's a lot more we can do. The simplest of all these things, is to pray. Because we are not alone. You are not alone. They are not alone.

And I love you.

The Layers Of Me

Good evening.

Let me share a little bit more about myself with you today.

Quite a few years ago, I used to be what they call a troubled teenager, constantly in trouble with my peers and the authorities.

I grew out of that phase because and only because of the support I received from my family and friends.

I moved on to another college after the exams and tried to make some sense of the world with a fresh start.

I only fully shook off the dust in late 2009. A phase of growing up that took me  from 2006 to 2009.

I took 4 years. 2 years to get up and accept my regrets as a part of me. 1 year to get accustomed to who I was supposed to be. 1 year to get settled into who I really am.

However, not everyone thought I would grow up from those years. There were people, although only a few, who doubted me, who derided me and a few who mocked me behind my back and rubbed me into the sand. Some of the few still do so. But to match those people were people who trusted me, encouraged me and gave me support in front, and behind me, picking me up when I fell, giving a  helping hand when I stumbled. And in contrast, they were always there. (Thank you)

The two groups of people made all the difference, all through these 4 years. One taught me that in life, we're not aiming for universal popularity and also that I should never be like them. Another group, the 2nd one, taught me how to appreciate, how to return, how to grow and how to walk on.

They taught me to aspire to be like them. Gracious. Warm. Forgiving. Able to see the potential in people.

That same group also let me realize something.

Lessons are not learnt until they are put into practice.

I'm not specifically talking about big lessons, or small lessons. Lessons are things you can put into practice at any time. Some require you to utilize them every moment. Some only arise at the big occasions. Still, I learnt that you can't simply go through something and say, I've learnt ______. Whether you've really learnt it or not is an issue for the future. At many occasions I thought I learnt, only to lapse back into 'idiot' mode, often with disastrous consequences.

And today, I think I have learnt my lessons from the past well. Because I fell hard, I had to bounce back even harder. And so I tried, and am still trying.

Because I am still far from perfect. Filled with flaws. I will never be perfect, and I fear, not anywhere near.

But I believe myself to be a far cry from the me of the past. That's something to be happy about, I guess. People close to me would know that.

Let's take the past 365 days for example.

I've not uttered a vulgarity in the past 200 or more days. I've not lost my temper in that same period of time. I read the bible for the first time. The same can be said of studying Buddhism. I found my life motto. I got closer than ever with my family and friends.

But in those same 365 days,

I made terrible mistakes that cost me deeply. I lost sight of my priorities at times. I didn't put in my utmost for my studies. Things I did without thinking lost me a friend or two.

Today, I have a newfound perspective on religion altogether. However, I am not about to discuss that here.

Still on me? I am slightly different to different people. It is not a good sign as it might smack a little of differential treatment, but it is also a sign of naturalness. It is a behaviour I am at ease with because I believe myself to be genuine still.

This is after all, a disguised post. It is a post of gratitude disguised as a reflection. A post of gratitude to the named group of people who were the best that they could be, and taught me to reach towards the same. My mum, dad, brother and friends. The people I've met in these 4 years.

I want to thank you. For everything you've given to my life. I seldom say thank you for everything. When I do, it is my way of extending my most sincere thanks. So thank you once again, for everything.

And lastly,

I will be there. In any way you want me to. I will be there. I will be there for you. So please call me if you need me. You can mail me if you need me too. I'm always there.

I'll live my life as a tribute to you guys. I'll do my best to put others before self.

I love you.

The Questions Have Answers

Who am I? Why am I doing this? Who am I doing this for?

I ask myself these questions almost every time I post.

And the answer is simple.

I am just me.

I am doing this because it is my way of communication with the world.

I am doing this for you.

You might be anyone. Anyone who has enough affinity by grace of the heavens to have allowed me to show you my view of life. I am deeply thankful for that.

To my dearest friends, thank you for your immense support of my efforts with Notes up till now. I cannot express enough sentiment in words alone to tell you how thankful I am that there are people out there, people like you, who follow what I post. It makes all the difference between posting with passion, and posting with mere regularity.

Thanks to you, I get inspiration to write. Energy to shoot. Courage to post. A way to live.

I am an amateur writer, and merely a fledging photographer. I am easily influenced by the works of others, and I give all due credit to the people behind Please Find This & Runawaytrain for having been the reason why I dared to set this up in the first place, as well as constantly giving tips to writing and posting in subtle ways.

And I recognize that I am young. Impressionistic. Insecure.

Truth to be told, I consider myself more of a writer than a photographer.

I go by the mantra of trying to let you understand what I feel about you and me, in less than ordinary ways. Trying to express what has not been written in the same way before. I enjoy writing because it is the only universal medium that seems to be a human construct, which makes it all the more intrinsic and wonderful.

The photos as of now are a sideline, although an indispensable sideline. These two have gone hand in hand thus far, and will go on as well.

 But photography is a sideline that is physically and mentally challenging.

Just so you know, these photos do not come out of nowhere.

They come out of trips specially made for your sake.

They come out of enduring quizzical glances from many a nonplussed passerby. They come out of numerous hours spent under the sun. They come out of the few, maybe less than 5 photographs that can actually see daylight on Notes, out of the possibly tens of photos that can be snapped in one day.

Just so you know as well. I enjoy doing this. For you, nonetheless.

And for me as well. It is a good stress relief outlet. A tangible way of recording down an average person's notes on life, love and learning.

Almost every post has a person, or persons that it is inspired by, or directed to. Most of the time, these posts originate out of the relationships I have with the people around me. Most are notes about a specific you, written for you. Some are reminders and lessons for myself. Some are given as my notes on the general "you".

I am considering making Notes public. And I would like to hear your opinions on it so I might be asking you about it in the upcoming few days. Or you could share what you feel with me. I would deeply appreciate that.

Some of you are incredulous about the stamina by which I have devoted to updating the picture blog. You should not be. My devotion to this cause only stems from one point,

I Love You.

The Hello

1) The Origins of Notes about You & Me

As some of you might know, not very long ago in July 2009 I started a blog called smiles and stories, inspired by Iain Thomas and Jon Ellis, the creators of the celebrated pleasefindthis . I started the picture blog because at that point of time as a little project for somebody I knew.

Edit: I have removed this segment of the post due to reasons pertaining to privacy.

But by seeing the world through a lens, and having an input to the pictures in the form of my feelings and thoughts, I gradually fell in love with expression through picture blogging.

It was no longer advisable to continue posting on S&S, so it was deleted, and Notes was born. Nowadays, I write for a different crowd, for a different purpose. Some of my posts are notes about other people, and things I see, but most of the posts are not simply stories about myself, they are about the people I know.

They are about you.

Still, I must urge you, dear reader, to take my posts with a pinch of salt. I wrote this for you, not for myself, and as such, interpretations of my writings will inevitably differ, and I guess we've got to be okay with that.

Though it's a fairly private blog as of now, I wrote this for my beloved family, my dearest friends and the girl that will be the better half of me.

2) About the posts

In my writings, I will write about different kinds of love. Romantic love, love between friends, love between family and love for the world at large will all feature in my writings.

Romantic love is a an interesting thing in it's lack of confirmation. Sometimes, you think you're in love so deep that you'll never climb out, only to look back and have it dawn upon you that it was never really love, just a phase of attraction. I'm not saying I have never really loved. To be frank with you, I don't know for sure. I think I love now, though.

Love between friends is what keeps us all alive outside of home. People to share your life with, to accept each other for who they are, and to share magical moments together.

Family love is the most important thing one possesses, and is what we should all treasure the most.

Love for the world, and the people around us. It's what the world needs.

3) Things that don't go anywhere else

As far as possible, I try to keep my personal blog separate from my picture blog, not because my picture blog is less personal, but because I believe that these two belong in other realms altogether. This is why I created notesaboutnotes, for people that might want to know what it's like underneath the words and photos.

If you must know, I am like any other average guy out there. I make mistakes, am boorish at times, and confess to hold a stubbornly narrow and opinionated view on life. I hold on to the beautiful memories that lasted just a moment, hope that I have a place out there in the vast world we call home, and believe that God has a plan for me. I love my closely knit family, especially my darling mother, and I live my life for them, although I wish things could be better between me and my beloved father. I regret my failings, am uncertain about what the future holds in store for me, and I stay awake at night mulling over problems I face in relationships.

I am trying to improve from my negatives, and be the best I can be for the people around me.

4) The In Between

I use another blog to write letters to the people I love. I'm not sure if they will ever see these posts. I hope they will because I write there to tell them how much they mean to me and how much I treasure them. Yet, somethings are better left unsaid sometimes. What matters is that they are happy.

To share with you the love I see in life, I created this blog.

And to you. I love you.