Mixtape 02: The Glow of Nostalgia (Guest Post)

This is a guest post written by my twin sister, 'Amira. She will be compiling a mixtape that features the best songs of 2014, ranging from indie, alternative to the amusingly fun bubble-gum pop.

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It doesn't hurt to look back. There's a funny thing about nostalgia - as much as we think it's a sense of longing for whatever's in the past, it ends off a strong note of gratification. And that's what makes it so...endearing.

This 2014 we have seen history being made time and again in music, with U2 releasing their latest cut Songs of Innocence to all iTunes users for free, Taylor Swift’s pop package 1989 selling more than a million in its opening week and the boys of One Direction making their fourth number one album on the Billboard. But these are just the headliners – we mustn't forget the some fresh faces in the industry as well as some gems in the trending indie music scene. After all, it’s the diversity that makes music a universal instrument. Let’s dive into our best 2014 list of songs.

25. The Hanging Tree – James Newton Howard ft. Jennifer Lawrence

24. News – Freddie Dickson

23. Let It Go – James Bay

22. The Mother We Share – CHVRCHES

21. The Heart Wants What It Wants – Selena Gomez

20. Fool’s Gold – One Direction

19. Yours – Ella Henderson

18. King of the World – Young Rising Sons

17. All About That Bass – Meghan Trainor

16. I Won’t Let You Down – OK Go

15. Compass – Zella Day

14. You Are In Love – Taylor Swift

13. Medicine – The 1975

12. We’re Not Alone – Echosmith

11. In Time – Kris Allen

10. Broken Frame – Alex & Sierra 

09. Budapest – George Ezra 

08. The People – Nina Nesbitt 

07. Rollercoaster – Bleachers 

06. Thinking Out Loud – Ed Sheeran

05. Bridges – Broods 

04. Geronimo – Sheppard

03. Yellow Flicker Beat – Lorde

02. Iris (Hold Me Close) – U2

01. Ink – Coldplay

♪ Spotify  ♪ YT

So there you have it - the best of 2014. We seem to be engineered to move forward all the time. Now hopefully some music will change that because in the blur of everything, we can't deny that there'll always be that looming glow of nostalgia. Just embrace it, before it evansces with the climb of the sun.

Peace out,
'A

Photo by 'A

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'A is a contributor to Wattpad, where she publishes her books 'Storms and Other Short Poems' and 'Speculum' online, with over 4000 reads since October 2014 and more than 500 votes. She enjoys reading, writing and videography.

Wattpad is a world of free stories - a writing community which users are able to post articles, stories and poems about anything. The content includes work by undiscovered and published writers.

Check out a snippet of her first book 'Storms and Other Short Poems' here.  

Freebie: Collecting Moments

Our hurried lives in the competitive world has painted what seems to be a mundane portrait of the universe. It appears to be an unpleasant piece, but in fact it's beauty lies in the acknowledgement that it is exquisitely abstract. Some see graceful light rays on the little corners of the canvas, carefully splayed, others see a mere stroke of paint. It's just like the little details in our lives.

People tend to think of life as nothing more than calendars after calendars - days, months, years. We fail to see that life is pleasantly punctuated with instances of joy. It's liberating to be in the realm of the setting sun, chirping birds in the morning or just being around smiles of loved ones. These are the little things in life meant to be relished. Let's appreciate that life consists of moments. For if we fail to see them, the daily struggles is what's left in our eyes. Perhaps this should be a mental note for writing the upcoming new year's resolutions. 

I wanted to make something special to motivate myself to commit more resiliently to any new resolutions. Since I had my eyes plastered to the computer screen more frequently to edit photographs and lettering this holiday, I decided to make a personal wallpaper with a reminder. I scrawled up some water colours and pens to the drawing board and set my mind to inspired-mode.

So, here's a little gift I'd like to share - a wallpaper for our gadgets to remind ourselves to enjoy the little things in life. I profess that my work may not be completely pleasant-looking because I'm really still learning lettering, but I'd just like to share it with others so that we can improve on ourselves together.

Phone (Android/iPhone) 1080 x 1920

Laptop 2880 x 1800

Desktop 2560 x 1600 / 1280 x 1024

Let's also note that enjoying the little things doesn't mean to sweep our slip ups under the rug either. We remember the good things that matter but that doesn't excuse us from forgetting our trying times, because it is these disasters and disappointments that admonish the pessimistic thoughts that lurk at the back of our minds and allow us to think - if we can make it through then, we can make it through now.

Until next time! ♥

Lettering by me, Watercolour Illustration by me

Wallpapers created by Dian from The Happy Candle. For personal use only. Not for distribution or resale. Please link back to original post if shared. Thank you.

Awaiting The Aftertaste

Have you ever tasted the best candy ever, or maybe just any of your favourite foods, and you love it so much that you chew it, so slowly, sucking the little bits of it, so that it takes just a little longer to be digested in your mouth - just because you want the taste to last forever? And it just gives you such sorrow that regardless of how slow you intend to digest it to let the moment last, that tasty treat will inevitably dissolve into millions of tiny bits that enter your digestive tract, gone. Just after a few seconds, the zest dissipated almost delibrately, and what's left is just your empty mouth. It was merely a temporary sapidity.

Nothing lasts forever, not even the strongest taste, and this December seems to be just like that. Perhaps a little like the ampersand - "&".

After my unproductive post-prandial lament with my twin about finishing the last spoonful of ice cream, I scoured The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows to identify the perfect description of this feeling - the feeling of enjoying the last essence of a taste, something like savouring the small bit of ice cream but finally losing it again.

So after scrolling and browsing through countless of words and descriptions of irrelevant desires and moments, I finally found the perfect word.

kairosclerosis n. the moment you realise that you're currently happy - consciously trying to savour the feeling - which prompts your intellect to identify it, pick it apart and put it in context, where it will slowly dissolve until it's a little more than an after taste.

I was doubtful that I could ever find a word, and in fact the word I found puts my situation in a more complex manner than I initially thought. It's not just about savouring the last bit of food/drink - it's about the savouring the satisfaction/happiness that comes with it.

December is a month celebration, whether it is due to the ever-so comforting abatement of examinations or just looking forward to the year-end holidays to spend with loved ones. It's a month of reflection and deliberate self-blandishment - to comfort the soul that what you did this year was right and that everything happened for a reason. We look past regrets because we accept that it is too late to return and we move on to celebrate the good times left.

Apologies for this lengthy post.  I just wanted to say that the mixtape was actually about savouring the last (hundred) hours of the year.

Until next time! ♥

Lettering by me, Photo by me 

Mixtape 01: Savour The Hour

I finally decided to come up with a mixtape just for fun for the last few days of December. It's just a compilation of hearty songs, because the mix is all about taking the time to enjoy the remnants and the last sweet delights of the year. It consists of upbeat tunes and pleasant warbles to take a journey through the festive month that will come to an end swiftly. Ranging from happy tunes to solemn vibes, this mixtape is perfect for a ruminative + festive December. 

01. Must Land Running - Stepdad
02. A New Feeling - Alphabet Botanical
03. All of the People - Panama Wedding
04. Say It Just Say It - The Mowgli's
05. Send Me On My Way - Rusted Root
06. Last Forever - Fenech-Soner
07. Paris - Magic Man
08. O - Coldplay
09. To Build A Home - The Cinematic Orchestra
10. Every Breaking Wave - U2

♪ Spotify  ♪ YT

And before each petal finds its way floating to the ground, let's enjoy the beauty of this rose while it lasts. 15 days of 2014 left, 16 more to go. I'll probably keep more of the mixtape details in the next post to keep this more concise.

Until next time! ♥

Photo by me

Every Breaking Wave

“Afoot and lighthearted I take to the open road, healthy, free, the world before me.” 

― Walt Whitman

It's been two weeks since the major examinations are over, and all the leisure time I spent watching television and lazing around seemed to have blurred the dusty image of the nearing future. I have three months until the return of the results from Cambridge, and as far as it appears, that fateful day will inevitably come. I hope to embrace this fleeting life to the best I can.

Recently I decided to take up hand lettering as a hobby. I'm probably an amateur, but my attempts at it also serve as an encouragement for myself. The lettering of quotes or short phrases now fill up my time, and it dawned on me that this hobby somehow allows me to contemplate about life and understand how blessed mine is. I'm planning to update blog more seriously, and maybe attempting some other part-time jobs at the same time during this hiatus. I hope to share my lettering work with others. Perhaps I'll share book reviews and design ideas in this little space as well.  

At risk of sounding like a prissy 18-year-old after having a ruminative period, I do realise that now that we have all the time in the world, it's not about what we can do. We can do whatever we want. It is the decisions that we will make - the countless choices we have - that are most vital. We are our choices. There are innumerable opportunities and setbacks we've yet to face. It's going to be a thrilling adventure - wave after wave.

"Every breaking wave on the shore, tells the next one there'll be one more."

Though every wave will meet its end when it breaks on shore, there'll always be another wave following it.  As much as I'd like to think it's over, it's not. Our school days might end for the rest of our lives, but there's just so much more things to face - and these opportunities or challenges will reach all of us just as quickly and repeatedly as these waves reach the shore. Maybe all we have to do is embrace it and prepare ourselves for any possibilities of a tsunami.

As much as I enjoy lettering, I'd like to keep it as a form of 'play', and leave other things I enjoy for my daily grind (whatever it is, I haven't actually figured it out yet). Embarking on lettering and design has helped me understand what I intend to do for leisure and work. And like most people, I still worry about the future - where will I go, what will I be, how will I get there - but I'd like to stay positive and believe that regardless of any difficult times, we'll find strength in one another together through mere goodwill. After all, it's up to us whether we want to chase every breaking wave indefinitely.

Until next time! ♥

Lettering by me, Photo taken by me