Inferno

Dan Brown's Inferno has a way of capturing your attention and never letting it go.

Not only does he capture it with the history and the art that he writes about, but also by addressing overpopulation.

I am not a person who is very interested in history, I think it mainly has to do with the way that they are told. When I read his books however, I always want to look into the story behind what he has written. I think while reading Inferno, I looked up Dante's texts and the painting by Botticelli numerous times because the description of the paintings and Dante's The Divine Comedy made me more curious. The same thing happened while reading his previous book, The Da Vinci Code.

I think Inferno is a book that is very much required in our times. It makes you think about humanity and how we can live sustainably. There are many times that you ask yourself whether you would take the same stand as "the villain" did in this book and there are many times where I agreed with him.

Dan Brown's books intrigue me and have made me appreciate the art and history that surrounds us. This time, it has also made me question humanity and the world that we live in. It really is an excellent book that makes you think and challenges you.

S

Two peas in a pod

There are some people that you connect with in an instant and you feel like you're two peas in a pod.

When I came back to Hong Kong for good, I didn't know if I would find that because I had started fresh at university and my closest friends were now all over the world, but I found a couple of friends, who if they weren't there for me, I wouldn't be who I am.

These people laugh at the same things I laugh and share the same sorrows I do. They understand my predicament and help me through everything with a smile on their faces.

If I didn't have these people, then I wouldn't be as spontaneous as I am today and I wouldn't be half as happy. We live life without planning, and it works for us that way.

You know who you are, so thank you. I love you more than words.

S

Dreams are a wish the heart makes...

I just came back from watching The Great Gatsby and the main thing I loved about the movie is how Gatsby dreamed.

People dream, and when they dream, they dream big.

Every single thing we do is to achieve some sort of hope and dream that we have in our minds and I think that is our strongest motivator. Whatever you have accomplished today is because you have dreamed it or it is a step towards your dream.

Whether it is money, love, or even health, you will do everything to achieve it.

No matter where you start off, you can reach the stars and beyond, let nobody tell you otherwise.

So dream. Dream big. Let nothing hold you back.

S

Dear weather gods...

There are so many things I love about Hong Kong. You can shop just about everything, the landscape, the food. But when it comes to the weather, it gets a minus from me.

More than having bipolar weather, Hong Kong's humidity has you looking like the lion king when you step out of the house and your make up looking like a clown.

It's 3pm here and I already feel like I need a shower. So please weather gods, just one day of hot and dry instead of hot and humid!

S

Oh no! It's 2nd gear

That there ladies and gentlemen happens to be my drivers licence. Today was my first day and I have never been so scared in my life. In my defence, I was learning how to drive a manual, but I shall just say that 2nd gear scares me and my car stalled multiple times. 

However, hopefully in the next couple of months, I shall no longer be scared of 2nd gear and I shall be driving around like a normal person. Otherwise, I can just use public transport and my mom. :)

S

NYTimes: My Medical Choice

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/14/opinion/my-medical-choice.html?_r=0

Yesterday, Angelina Jolie's article was published in the NYTimes about her decision to go for a preventive double mastectomy.

You can see with the way she writes about her decision that it was so that she could spend more time with her family and not have to worry about suffering the way her mother did.

I think that we should take this decision into consideration and think about it the next time we do something. Some people may think that she took such a drastic move and that she should've just dealt with it when the time comes because she may not even have cancer. In her eyes however, I think it is more along the lines as to "if I can take any steps to prevent it in the first place, I should do that and not have to worry about it at all."

I think this is a view that many of us have to take.

I support her in her decision and I hope she knows how brave she is to take such a drastic step in her life.

S

Share My Dabba

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZC1czZofyY

A couple of days ago, this video caught the attention of many people, mine included. It took a very important issue (hunger) and made the solution to it so simple, that I wondered why it took us so long to come up with something like that. 

It may not give the hungry all the nutrition that they need daily, but this a step in the right direction. Even if they get a fraction of what they need, it is a fraction more than they used to get. The hungry have nothing else, but to rely on these tiffins as well as food that is thrown away to stay alive. 

If the dabbawallas are so kind to do something like this, to help their city and the hungry, then can we incorporate this into restaurants and hotels? If it is so simple to give leftover food from your lunch, then can't we do that with leftovers from large events in hotels or meals from restaurants? Even if the hungry get one meal a day, you can tell from the smiles on their faces, that it is all worth it in the end.

Sometimes when you think that humanity will not get better, a group of people do this and prove you otherwise.

S