picture in my mind

Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but the moments that take your breath away.

I want to list out the moments in my life that have taken my breath away. As far as I can remember, that is. Here goes.

The time my family went to the southernmost tip of Australia, Albany, and I stood at the edge of a cliff. The ocean waves were crashing on the rocks below. It was about 7 pm. And the sun was setting. The weather was perfect. It was in short, breathtaking.

The time when we were driving back to Perth after the visit to the Albany coast and it was pitch dark on both sides of the country road. I was sitting at the back of the van. I tilted my head back to look out of the window and was astounded by the number of stars in the night sky. I never knew you could see so many stars! Of course I knew there are millions of stars in the universe... But I didnt know you could see that many from the surface of the Earth. And they seemed so close! I remember thinking... If I reached out far enough, I could pluck out one star from the sky...

The time I first set my eyes on DOT, the website my dearest bird friends created for my 16th birthday. I was thinking, 'They did this for me? They did this for me?'

The time I found out DM got AIDS.

The time I found out DM did not actually have AIDS.

The time I saw the DM lookalike at Orchard MRT station. I completely freezed up.

The first time I touched snow. Went onto the ice plateau on Jungfraujoch, Switzerland, and the wind almost knocked me off my feet.

The time my great grandmother died. She was the first person I knew who passed away. I remember how surreal the situation felt...

The time Pakcik Mail died. He died so suddenly, in his sleep, because of pneumonia and malnourishment. Yes, he was old. But... we never expected it.

The time when my sis and me were in the car at a petrol station in Bukit Timah. My dad was paying. And one of the Shell employees shouted 'Fire! Fire!' My heart just jumped up my throat. My dad rushed into the car and we drove off. Without paying. There was actually a tiny fire in a drain nearby but they managed to put it out before anything happened.

The time I took a rollercoaster ride which went backwards. I couldn't scream for a moment. But after a while, I did.

That's all for now...