I was asked only yesterday to participate in a public sharing session at the Eye é City book launch at the National Library, for my photograph (the one with the toy dinosaurs at the jetty) had been selected for the exhibition, and evidently the organizers deem me interesting enough, possibly in view of my youth or whatever other characteristics I might hold. Needless to say, though, I was very honoured to be invited as one of the four speakers for the book launch.
It was relatively informal - what a relief! I was freezing, as I usually do in excessively air-conditioned rooms, but kept the teeth-chattering to a minimum, though I expect my posture was visibly contorted to some extent trying to protect myself from the cold. The bubbly facilitator was a boon, though, making me feel as comfortable as one can in that man-made Arctic Circle. Well, I hope my answers to the questions posed were at least satisfactory - I was racking my brains coming up with impromptu bits that extended beyond one-liners, and was perhaps speaking a tad too fast. It was good practice for IOP and IOC, in any case.
Mom tells me that a person in the audience, who had her photo selected for display as well, was in fact a famous half-blind local painter. If true, big kudos to her - I cannot imagine myself even attempting to take a good photograph if I were somehow visually impaired. Her picture is indeed well-composed, though there is an obvious bit of thumb obstruction at the top left corner of the frame. I can’t determine if that was intentional or not.
I met up with Kel before the book launch, and we had a wonderful time browsing through the treasure trove of used books at Bras Besar complex. Due to the bookstores not having much in the way of organization apart from genre classification, digging around was somewhat tedious - but very rewarding. Browsing with a friend who shares your passion for books and is extremely well-read, informative conversation is rife; you’re sure to receive great recommendations.
We came across a novel with a little note neatly written behind its front cover, indicating the book’s past life as a gift from a boyfriend. The guy even proposed that they have long conversation over its contents sometime in the future. Evidently, they broke up. It’s amazing how paperbacks can be so full of flavour even when discounting the stories held within them: they are dead trees brimming with life.
Some gems unearthed today:
All in all, an eventful day: I enjoyed myself thoroughly.
