in search of Sagarmatha - intro

in Nepali, the name for Everest is Sagarmatha, which means the Goddess of the Sky. indeed, at 8850m (and still rising), it dominates the northern Nepali landscape, and stands starkly alone even amongst the world's longest and tallest chain of mountains, the Himalayas.

thus the attraction to go there, to conquer it. in the words of George Mallory in 1924, "Because it's there"; simply put, its presence beckons like a très sexy babe.

for me, summiting Everest itself was quite out of the question at the moment in time. lack of funds aside (it usually costs about USD55,000 to put someone at the top), i had absolutely zero mountaineering experience. so base camp seemed like a good second best.

route to base camp. click to enlarge

hence, in like 3 days after my final paper, i got my air tickets, printed out wikitravel EBC, packed, brushed my teeth, and found myself wandering the noisy streets of Kathmandu and in search of Sagarmatha.

- to be continued -

thawing out

back from the cold and the beauty of the Himalayas.

will thaw for a few days, then will get the regular updates going again. =)

aftermath / disappearance

so that was it. with what could possibly be my last "pens down", my 15+ year old academic journey came to an end. at least for the moment.

and what a last burst of fire! 3 papers in as many days. my heart really went out with a bang with all that last minute mugging.

-

anyways i will be flying off tomorrow.

be back end may.

don't miss me! ciao.

important life lessons #3326

don't count your chickens before they hatch.

it sucks terribly when you find out that you were wrong.

funeral.

kudos to egbet for coming up with such a parody.. haha this version seems a lot more realistic than the official one with the snoring and the farting.

sigh. isn't home supposed to be where the heart is?

family gal

after mme Dati, look who's the latest to be in the family way in France now!

yes another French female minister(e?), this time the minister for the digital economy, is pregnant while in office! well so far the French are cool, no talks about the impending maternity leave being a waste of taxpayers' money, no conflict of roles, etc. - one point which i like about French society: chacun son truc, which means to each his own, as long as you are able to carry out what you have been appointed to do, on s'en fou de votre vie privée. seems a lot more sustainable to me, than in other societies where many women have to supress their true natures and carry themselves like men in order to integrate/succeed in the working world. liberté, égalité, fraternité. =)

on a related note, i think the two women ministers have done a lot more for feminism than the organisation formerly known as AWARE, who are still AWAY catfighting and possibly praying for divine intervention. eat your heart out, Josie Lau, for you and your committee's true agenda will be known sooner or later.

you're beautiful | James Blunt

my life is brilliant.
my love is pure.
i saw an angel.
of that i'm sure.
she smiled at me on the subway.
she was with another man.
but i won't lose no sleep on that,
'cause i've got a plan.

you're beautiful. you're beautiful.
you're beautiful, it's true.
i saw your face in a crowded place,
and i don't know what to do,
'cause i'll never be with you.

yeah, she caught my eye,
as we walked on by.
she could see from my face that i was,
fucking high,
and i don't think that i'll see her again,
but we shared a moment that will last till the end.

you're beautiful. you're beautiful.
you're beautiful, it's true.
i saw your face in a crowded place,
and i don't know what to do,
'cause i'll never be with you.
you're beautiful. you're beautiful.
you're beautiful, it's true.
there must be an angel with a smile on her face,
when she thought up that I should be with you.
but it's time to face the truth,
i will never be with you.

oui je sais c'est une vielle chanson mais je l'aime bien et aussi j'ai des émotions très forts en ce moment; je sais que je peux pas t'avoir, mais de toute façon c'était une plaisir et aussi de ma chance de t'avoir connu. C'est juste regrettable que nos histoire a déjà fini avant de commencer.