A New Day

continued from A Song and A Dance
Cassandra Teo

A slam of a door woke him up. Groaning and mumbling to himself, he opened his eyes. Disorientation greeted him. It felt like his head was caught between a vice and it was being tightened. Slowly. He blinked at the ceiling as he tried to recall last night’s events. It looked different, the ceiling. Sitting up, he took in what he could of his surroundings. Light was struggling to get through the shutters. Dust floated gently on the dim rays. He could make out a dresser by the window and a cupboard opposite it. The room had a floral scent to it. Not looking for any more explanations, he headed to the bathroom, swearing he would never Mary Jane that much again.

Bright rays pierced his eyes as he walked out the door. Squeezing them shut, he followed the wall to the stairs. Fumbling for his shades, he made his way down slowly. He could never understand how some people could walk around under this like it never bothered them. It was giving him a headache already. The after effects of last night didn't help either. Exactly what had happened eluded him for now and he didn't bother chasing after it. He just concentrated on not walking into anything. Not like it would harm him. It was more of avoiding unwanted and unnecessary attention.  At least he recognized the part of town he was in. It was noisier and much more annoying right now. Kids were running here and there, screaming and shouting - caught up in some game or other. Moving quickly to a path that seemed to have fewer kids, he made his way to the bus stop.

People avoided him on the bus. It was like there was a "Warning!" sign on his forehead. Just as well. He wasn't in the mood anyway. The front door was swinging open when he reached home. Marie probably forgot to close it again. She kept thinking this place was like the one they had before. There you could leave your doors and windows open all day and night and nothing would happen. Here it was different. Much different. Luckily nothing had happened yet. He had an idea why. The thought improved his mood. Stepping in he called out that he was home. Trusting that she had heard him, he went to his room.

He studied the birthmark on his left arm as he hit the “On” button and waited for the computer to start.  A sort of sharp edged, double spiral. An indication of who he was. Not that many around here knew. No one around here knew much about him come to think about it. He didn't mix around with them. Marie hardly did either. They kept to themselves a lot. Better that way. Fewer questions asked when they had to move again. He did wish now and then that he had someone to talk to though. Marie didn't count. Someone he could tell everything to.  Someone who would just listen and not judge. Someone who he could always count on no matter what. Well, you hardly ever get what you want. He could wish all he wanted. Didn't mean he would get it.

The homepage finally popped up. Detached, he scrolled down the faces and names. They seemed to be talking to one another, in tune with each other, enjoying life, unconscious of its dangers. He was just an observer, a shadow. What did they talk about all the time anyway? It was non-stop. Constant.  His head throbbed, reminding him once again of last night. He didn’t want to remember, not yet.

Bored, he searched for videos. Sometimes you could find some really funny ones. Enough to make him smile. The thought brought back something Jay had said last night. He had said been commenting on the fact that Don was so serious most of the time. He had said that one day Don would meet someone who would be able to make him laugh even when he didn’t want to. Don had snorted and rolled his eyes in reply. He really didn’t think that there was anyone out there capable of fully understanding him, knowing everything about him and accept-ing it, all at the same time. Who would? Let alone make him laugh when he didn’t want to.

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A Song and a Dance

It was just another day. Another among many others. All the same. Striving to survive. How could anyone live like this? Couldn't they feel the Earth's pull? Its pain from all the destruction they're causing? What would they do when it was all gone? Did they think they would survive? These thoughts drifted in and out of her head as she stared out the window, oblivious to all around her. On the outside she blended in perfectly. Long, wavy brown hair, tanned limbs, oval face. Except her eyes. They were a silvery navy blue with flecks of brown. Most of the time she could hide it, behind those absurd contact lenses. Well, they did turn out useful after all so maybe they weren't that absurd.  But they still didn't do a good job; they didn’t cover her colour completely. The fake iris weren’t the same size as hers. If the lens moved, anyone could see the silvery blue if they looked closely enough.

Her breath caught. Once again she struggled to get a deep breath. Breathing wasn’t a problem. Sometimes she just couldn’t get enough air into her. It was beginning to get annoying. She didn’t have this problem a few months ago. She blamed the environment. How could these people stand it? The four walls might have been cages for all she cared, it wouldn’t have made a difference. They were like prisoners moving between rooms. That was all. "Renowned school my foot!" she thought. What was it the leech in the pink blouse and pants said when she came to apply? Something about a creative learning process, with lots of room to move about and activities. Hah! Lots of room compared to what? A hole? No! In a hole you would be able to dig and make more room. No idea what THIS was.

A screech interrupted her thoughts. Ears ringing, she turned her head so that it faced the inside, searching for the source of the noise even though she didn’t see what difference it would make. It never entered their thick skulls that some people might not appreciate the screeching and other high-pitched noises they seemed able to produce.  There he was, in the orange shirt, the culprit. He was already smiling sheepishly, knowing the discomfort it caused. Raising an eyebrow and with a slight tilt of a corner of her lips, she turned back to the window. She had pushed it open earlier, relishing the warm air and cool wind it brought. Anything to get rid of that environment-polluting unnatural cold air. She stared longingly at the sun rays bouncing of the building across. What she would give to ditch this hole and spend a day outdoors again. Even a snow-cold day outdoors was better than the unnatural cold indoors.

Another high-pitched noise snatched her attention. Even their voices got to her at times. She turned and watched them fool around, remembering the endless trouble they had caused her when she offered to plan a trip for them. All the excuses once planning was underway. They were so pampered, these spoilt brats. Fickle-minded as well. Everything was given to them on a silver platter. What she wouldn’t give to launch them off a cliff and be done with them. Another year and a half with them. The mere thought of it made her shudder. Another shriek (from her point of view - or hearing in this case) sliced her thoughts. Grimacing she reached for her MP3 and plugged her ears, letting the music take her. Even then their screeching and squawking pierced the headphones. Sighing, she drew a deep breath and let it out slowly.

She wasn't like this every day. Some days she got along well with them. They would laugh and fool around. Some days she would plaster a smile and grin now and then. Other days, like today, she just felt detached. Like she was an observer. The thought intrigued her, to be honest. A person who went through life as an observer. Someone who didn't fit it in, who didn't care that they didn't fit in. Were there people like that? Everyone seemed to care about what everyone else thought of them. In fact, they were near obsessed with it!

A slight rustle of the leaves in a tree caught her attention. She watched as the branches swayed gracefully, the leaves on them dancing to the tune only they could hear. A leaf curved to the left, bending at the tip. The one next to it didn’t curve but bent backwards completely. Each doing their own dance, not caring that they did not match the other. It should have looked a mess. But it didn't. It was beautiful to watch.

Closing her eyes, she leaned back, letting the slight breeze caress her cheek. She could almost hear the tune it played for the leaves. Letting her mind wander, almost thinking about nothing consciously. The music from her headphones seemed to blend with the breeze. Maybe that was the tune the wind was playing. Something pulled at her consciousness. She tried to catch it but it skipped out of her reach. Concentrating harder, she tried again. Once again it slipped away just as she thought she had it in her grasp. It was like a dance, the music played by the wind. Finally, she let it go and opened her eyes. She felt like it had been something important. Like it would finally answer all her questions about herself. Like it would help explain why she was the way she was.

To be continued…


by Cassandra Teo

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In the Spotlight…: The OM Staff

Fatin Shazea (Blogger)

1. What is the one thing you absolutely can’t live without? Why?

I can’t live without my teddy bears. My most favorite teddy is the one that is fluffy, nice to hug and of course it came from the special one =) The reason why I’m so into them and why I can’t live without them is because they can comfort me and can also be used as one of the mediums for me to express my happiness or madness :D

2. Tell us one thing that we may not know about you.

I used to fight with people, especially boys, when I was 13. Which should make me a nerd (you guys will definitely laugh if you see my nerdy face especially with that round spectacle and NAME TAG!). One time, if I hadn’t been able to control my anger, I would have been in jail for killing a girl in a case where she dared me to fight with her. I accepted the challenge and I sat on her bump until she couldn’t breathe. Fuh =.=

3. How do you see yourself in ten years’ time?

I see myself having a stable family with lots of kids and a steady position in a big company and still loving Facebook

Nicholas Foo (Illustrator)

1. What is the one thing you absolutely can’t live without? Why?

The beach. It is where I feel most at homeJ

2. Tell us one thing that we may not know about you.

I believe that everything that exists (plants, animals, inanimate objects) is of the same equivalence or even more important than our existence (human beings).

3. How do you see yourself in ten years’ time?

Wandering from place to place with temporary jobs

Cassandra Teo (In-House Author)

1. What is the one thing you absolutely can’t live without? Why?

My music. I love to feel the beat and move to it. It makes me feel good no matter what.

2. Tell us one thing that we may not know about you. My bark is worse than my bite ;)

3. How do you see yourself in ten years’ time?

Doing what I love best! Spending my time outdoors (hiking, rock climbing, etc), helping to save and restore the environment, travelling and trying out all kinds of different foods.

 

Yati Ishak (Advertiser/Facebook-manager)

1. What is the one thing you absolutely can’t live without? Why?

My blackberry of course (: Well, it has everything! There’s bbm which is blackberry messenger, meaning you can chat with other blackberry users for FREE! There’s also MSN messenger and Yahoo messenger. I can Facebook and Twitter whenever and wherever! I can make calls, text people, take pictures, make videos. What more can I ask for? (:

2. Tell us one thing that we may not know about you.

I secretly have a crush on Mr.Ong… :o hahah. Did it scare you??? I’m kidding (: though at times when Mr. Ong dresses well, he looks really good! Okay enough about that. Let’s see… oh here’s something interesting. I admire girls who are my kind of pretty/hot/elegant/sophisticated. I’d go like “Wow, she’s so pretty!”, “Oh my god! I love the way she dances!” or “Daaaaang I admire her so much. Look at her. She looks so elegant and sophisticated.” But this does not mean I like girls until I want to be in a relationship with them. It’s just those mutual feelings you know and I just admire their looks. It’s just a physical thing. And still some of my friends call me bi for it. Haha. Just so you know, I am not bi. It’s just this thing that I have. That’s something you don’t hear people confess about yea? (:

3. How do you see yourself in ten years’ time?

I’d be 30 years old! OHMYGOD. Well, I’d probably be married with a kid/kids? Living in a decent house. Not too big, not too small. I’d be driving a BMW X5 since I’ve got a kid/kids. I’d own a BMW Z4 for my husband and me to drive. Well, that would be his car. Mine would be a white BMW 3series coupe. Wow I can imagine it already and it is PUHRETTY! (: I see myself running around organizing events, calling people up for sponsorships, searching performances to perform for events, and making sure the event runs smoothly. Oh, I also see myself advertising events, running Facebook groups like what I’m doing now with Opinionated Monthly, making sure everything is up to date. Yup, I see myself living the life; happily with my family, earning money, loving my work, probably travelling here and there. That’s how I see myself in ten years’ time (:

 

Azlan Latif (Advertiser)

1. What is the one thing you absolutely can’t live without? Why?

I can’t live without chocolates. I will have chocolates after every meal. I destress myself with chocolates, and chocolates put me in a good mood.

2. Tell us one thing that we may not know about you.

I wanted to pursue my studies in medicine actually.
3. How do you see yourself in ten years’ time?

In 10 years’ time, hopefully I will have a beautiful wife who understands me best, handsome and pretty kids, and a high-salary job. Ahh what more could I ask for?

Lim Wei Jie (In-House Author)

1. What is the one thing you absolutely can’t live without? Why?

Me J.

But really, risk. I can’t stand living life in the conventional manner. There has to be some sort of a calculated risk involved, to give me a breath of fresh air or adrenaline rush from the unpredictability of the outcome. Risk in the context of ideas, projects, even homework deadlines! (IB teachers alert!) But I have to be careful not to overstep the border that separates foolishness from risk.

2. Tell us one thing that we may not know about you.

I use to be really short. Puberty hit me when I was 16 and before that, I had this outlandish idea of me never ever growing up. Anyway, skipping 500 times a day during the holidays helped and here I am now.

3. How do you see yourself in ten years’ time?

 Working in a 3 Michelin-star rated restaurant? Well, I doubt that idea will ever take off so hopefully, I’ll be working in a Fortune 500 company, preferably in Korea, inject my family tree with foreign blood and no kids, yet. If these situations don’t come true (God forbid!) you can find me in a secluded corner in the US, pathetically selling overpriced calligraphy pieces to white people.

Izzuddin BN Azminuddin (Illustrator)

1. What is the one thing that you absolutely can’t live without? Why?

I’m not sure myself what it is. People who I love I think. (What I mean is my family, and all my friends).

2. Tell us one thing that we may not know about you.

It took some time for me to answer this question. Haha. Hmm, people can see that I’m a happy person but deep inside my heart, who knows. :p

3. How do you see yourself in ten years’ time?

In 10 years time, maybe I will have already got married with the person that I love and be travelling around the world with her.  :p

Firdaus B Roslan (Illustrator)

1. What is the one thing that you absolutely can’t live without? Why?

I can’t live without my sweetheart, the little red heart. It keeps me alive.

2. Tell us one thing that we may not know about you.

I would like something BIG. I want to own a big house, a big car, and big money. I myself want to be somebody big. Yeah! Let’s grow bigger.

3. How do you see yourself in ten years’ time?

10 years older.

 

Afandi Bin Suhaimi (Blogger)

1. What is the one thing you absolutely can’t live without? Why?

Absolutely my lappy. Firstly, all the important documents I have saved in the laptop hard disk, including all my pictures, are tremendously precious to me. Furthermore, Adobe Photoshope CS3 creates my ideal world. Using this programme I can create thousands of beautiful pictures which are really impressive, at least for me. If you want to take pictures with somebody you admire most, you can use this programme to create a picture of you with the person. If get pimples, you can get rid of them with just one click, and the next click can create a perfect skin tone. If you want to be a model, you can make yourself more than a supermodel.

However, the most important reason is I need my laptop to get better internet access, so that I can get in touch with my friends all over the world, whom I miss a lot. But IAs are starting to take away my precious time.

2. Tell us one thing that we may not know about you.

I love Malay literature, especially pantun. I was such an expert during my schooling days but I have left that world.

3. How do you see yourself in ten years’ time?

I will be working with an outstanding oil company. I will have married and maybe have children.

Pratik Raghu (In-House Author)

1. What is the one thing you absolutely can’t live without? Why?

As cheesy as it sounds, I must say I would not be able to live without my family. I share a very close relationship with my parents, one that I can’t imagine being deprived of. I cherish the fact that we can communicate effectively with each other, and that my parents saw to it that I was able to lead the life I wanted to.

2. Tell us one thing that we may not know about you.

I am awful with giving drivers directions. Weirdly enough, I intuitively ‘feel’ my way around places, instead of remembering road signs, landmarks and left turns. Make me your navigator at your peril!

3. How do you see yourself in ten years’ time?

I see myself having a job that allows me to serve people in need compassionately and creatively. I do not see myself walled into a tiny cubicle in some towering steel and glass façade, gormlessly working myself to death for soulless fat cats.

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Do You Even Know - Cassandta Teo

Do You Even Know
Cassandra Teo


Do you even know
What that did to me
What it does to me
What it might do to me


Do you even know
How I felt
How I feel
How I will feel


Do you even care
What happens
Do you even think
About what will happen


Do you even know
How it hurts
Hearts blood spilt
Night by night


Over the thought - the memory -
Your excuses, your words
Make no sense
Or maybe I just do not understand
How can I


Do you even know
The spinning bright colours
The tug and the pull
When it floods back


Do you even care?

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The History of Valentine’s Day Compiled by Cassandra Teo

The History of Valentine’s Day

Compiled by Cassandra Teo

Ever wondered how Valentine's Day came about? What could have started this tradition of showing your love to your loved ones on a specific day every year? I mean, come on, why show your loved ones or crushes (secret crushes included) that you are thinking of them and appreciate them on only one day out of 365 days? And what special meaning did Valentine even have to insinuate such a lovey-dovey celebration?

           

Well, Valentine (or Valentinus) was actually the name of several Christian martyrs. The ones honored on the 14^th of February are Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terni. Valentine of Rome was a priest in Rome who was martyred around 269 AD and was buried on the Via Flaminia (a Roman road leading from Rome to Ariminum (Rimini), and was the most important route to the north). His remains rest at the Church of Saint Praxed in Rome, and at Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland.

Valentine of Terni became bishop of Interamna (modern Terni) around 197 AD. He is said to have been martyred during the persecution under Emperor Aurelian and was also buried on the Via Flaminia, albeit in a different location from Valentine of Rome. His relics are at the Basilica of Saint Valentine in Terni.

            Romantic elements are not present in the original biography of either of these martyrs. By the time a Saint Valentine became linked to romance in the fourteenth century, distinctions between Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terni were utterly lost to the masses.

One of the legends depicts Valentine as a priest who served during the reign of Roman Emperor Claudius II, who outlawed marriage for young men as he believed that single men made better soldiers than those with families. Valentine, however, saw injustice in this and secretly performed marriages for young couples. Emperor Claudius arrested Valentine when he found out and ordered that he be put to death.

Another legend says that Valentine was prosecuted as a Christian and interrogated by the Emperor Claudius II in person. Valentine impressed Claudius (with what it is not known) and this led Emperor Claudius to have a discussion with him in an attempt to convert Valentine to Roman paganism in order to save his life. Instead, Valentine tried to convert Emperor Claudius to Christianity.  Because of this, he was executed. However, before his execution, Valentine is reported to have performed a miracle by healing the blind daughter of his jailer. On the eve of his execution, it is a widely believed fact that Valentine sent the first “valentine” himself to a young girl he had befriended (believed to be his jailer’s daughter). It was a note that was signed “From Your Valentine”.

            Other legends suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured. Though the truths behind the legends are murky, one thing remains the same: Valentine’s appeal as a romantic figure spread and made him a popular saint in England and France.

           

Some believe that Valentine’s Day is celebrated in the middle of February to honour Valentine’s death while others believe it was the effort of the Christian Church to ‘Christianize’ ancient pagan celebrations. One of the celebrations was the Roman Lupercalia festival, an archaic rite connected to fertility, which was celebrated between February 13^th and the 15^th (as February was the official month of the beginning of spring in ancient Rome and considered a time for purification). It was dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders, Romulus and Remus. The period between mid-January and mid-February was also the month of Gamelion in the ancient Athenian calendar. It was dedicated to the sacred marriage of Zeus and Hera, making it a popular month for marriages.

Later, during the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14^th was the beginning of birds' mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of February — Valentine's Day — should be a day for romance.

 Valentine's Day began to be popularly celebrated around the seventeenth century in Great Britain. By the mid-eighteenth century, it was common for friends and lovers in all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes. By the end of the century, printed cards began to replace written letters due to improvements in printing technology. Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time when direct expression of one's feelings was discouraged. Cheaper postage rates also contributed to an increase in the popularity of sending Valentine's Day greetings. Americans probably began exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1700s. In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland (also known as the Mother of Valentine) began to sell the first mass-produced valentines in America.

Today, Valentine’s Day is the second largest card-sending holiday of the year (it has not beaten Christmas yet!). However, there are some families who choose to find other means of honoring Saint Valentine on Valentine’s Day. Many of these traditions involve bonfires, for fire is said to represent passion.

Source: Wikipedia

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Stars (Cassandra Teo, June 09)

Stars

-Cassandra Teo-

“Reach for the stars, climb every mountain higher, reach for the stars…” That’s the first thing that pops into my head when I think of stars. It is actually a line from a song by S Club 7 called ‘Reach’. It was one of my favorites. Stars, stars, hmm..what do you think of when you think of the stars in the sky? To me they were souls of people who had passed on. I love to entertain the thought that we are being watched by our loved ones who have passed on, no matter where we are. Imagine dying and opening your eyes, only to see the whole universe spread before you. And when people look up at night, they see you as a bright light, shining and lighting up the midnight sky. Or maybe as the nursery rhyme “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” suggests: a diamond in the sky?

Alas, I grew up and went to school. To find out that your beloved stars are just big balls of flame suspended in space? I cannot say how I really felt then. Only that: scientists must be the most boring and unimaginative bunch in the world! To take something so beautiful and magical and turn it into another boring detail in life is just a waste of time. You could not have expected more of a nine- year-old who found out that something so beautiful could have such a mundane explanation.

However, that incident did no harm to my imagination. As a kid, I would read any storybook I could lay my hands on. As I grew, my love for fantasy grew stronger. I would write stories for the school magazine year after year. I seemed to enter a different world when I wrote, away from everything and everyone, a world of my own. I wrote short stories in my spare time, some got published, some didn’t. But it did not matter to me. It was something I did because I enjoyed it. My passion for stories and legends lead me to study Greek Mythology and the likes of it. I still write stories whenever I have the time to spare.

I have a habit of looking out a window at night and searching for stars. Compliments of my childhood fantasy I would say. So you can only imagine my chagrin when I lived in the city during my university days. A sky devoid of stars! City people who don’t go out to the countryside much definitely don’t know what they’re missing. Planetariums and skylights just aren't the same. I was glad when I graduated and got the chance to move out of the city. The suburbs aren’t that bad. At least you could see the stars at night. And they were as beautiful as ever. I would open my window and sit by it, just staring at the night sky decorated with twinkling lights. It was on nights like these that my inspiration for stories would come.

On a particularly beautiful night (it had rained the whole afternoon, leaving the night sky bright and clear), I had the mother of all inspirations. It was then that I knew that I would write a novel -- and get it published to boot. I set to writing my inspiration that very night. My novel was written and sent to editors and publishers in less than two years! No mean feat, I can tell you, with all the sleepless nights and the adding and cutting of parts, until I deemed myself satisfied. The first few publishers turned it down saying that it wasn’t what the ‘market’ wanted right now. But I didn’t give up. I sent my manuscript out again, this time to different publishers. You can imagine my excitement when I came home one day to find a letter of acceptance from one of the publishers. My ‘little story’ was printed and sent to bookstores all over the country within months. One thing I never dreamed was that it would make the best-sellers’ list. I responded to my publisher’s ­­­announcement with my signature look of disbelief – my right eyebrow raised as high as it could go, lips slightly parted and eyes flooded with surprise. Copies of my story were reprinted over and over again. I wondered how the publishers who turned me down were feeling at that moment. Were they giving themselves a good kick? I certainly would in their place (but I don’t have any hard feelings towards them).

If you’re wondering about my story, here's a summarized version of it. "One night, a baby fell out of the sky and into a haystack on a farm. The baby was taken in by the couple who owned the farm and named Star (for they had witnessed her appearance from the sky). Star grew up to be a slender girl with long black hair, blue-grey eyes and skin as radiant as the stars at night. One day while walking in the fields after her chores, Star spots a magnificent black mare with iridescent wings. She bonds with the mare instantly and the mare takes her for a flight. The pair becomes inseparable. They overcome many trials together. In the meanwhile, people are polluting the Earth, harming the environment Star loved, and becoming more self-centered. When her parents pass away, she feels that she has no more ties to Earth. So, she mounts Star and flies to the heavens, never to be seen again." A story for children, but a story nonetheless.

Like all mortals, I grew old and passed on. The last thing I remembered seeing were the stars twinkling in the sky as I drew my last breath. Then, I felt myself opening my eyes again. "This cannot be right", I thought to myself. However, instead of just stars, I saw everything; the whole galaxy was spread out in front of me. I could see Earth. If I concentrated I could see the people going on with their everyday lives. I was one of the stars. It was amazing! Suddenly, a flicker on my right caught my attention. Turning, I saw Star on her mare, smiling at me. I see her every now and then, travelling the galaxy, her companion constantly by her side. There isn’t a day that goes by that I wish I wasn’t where I was. There are just so many things to observe, so many people to watch over.

This comes to show that one person's reality is different for another’s. I am happy living mine; thankful for the magic that surrounds me every day.

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