The Orbit and Supermoon

The Orbit

It was one of those days when I wanted to lunch alone, in my cubicle. That lasted 15 minutes, at most. With ample time to spare, and that the flu virus was spreading like wildfire in the office, I decided to catch some fresh air outside the building. As the sky cleared that afternoon, I took the opportunity to walk around the compound and later, circled the outer perimeter of the industrial cluster. I must say that I enjoyed this healthier way of spending my lunch hour. It was a good change from the usual routine of waiting for the bus to reach the food court, queuing to order my usual ban mian and spending extra money on coffee or tea that comes with conversations that do not interest me much.

As I walked on, patches of sweat appearing fast on my shirt, I realized how similar my life is with this circling, repetitive motion. It is dictated by commitments that keep us orbiting the same surrounding, day after day. I grinned when I thought of how this pattern also revealed itself in my usual physical activites - running loops and swimming laps! This is not meant to be a grouse but rather, a gentle reminder of how rewarding will all these commitments be in the end.


Supermoon

Did you manage to catch the supermoon yesterday?, asked a colleague. I didn't know what it was until I did a quick search on the internet. Wikipedia explained this phenomenon as the closest approach the Moon makes to the Earth on its elliptical orbit, resulting in the largest apparent size of the moon's disk as seen from Earth. Oh, it seems like I'd missed the fun.

Approximately twenty four hours after the moon moved its closest to Singapore, I met an old friend for dinner. The timing was quite unfortunate! , really , as I was required to attend a few late night meetings that week. But that particular night, I'd somehow managed to, tactfully, avoid the meeting. Besides enjoying a serious amount of ramen (3 whole bowls on the last count), I had a good time catching up with her. It's been a long while since we sat down together for a meal. That few hours spent was my supermoon.

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Towards the end of my walk that afternoon, I still couldn't answer the question about rewards that I'd reminded myself earlier. But recalling the supermoon, I guess despite life orbiting the constant surrounding, it is a time like this, when the extraordinary appears, that makes the journey more worthwhile.

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PUTUO ZONGSHENG MIAO Qing Dynasty's Summer Palace Outer Temple Chengde, China

The magnificent temple of Putuo Zongsheng Miao lies in front of the beautiful mountains and hills that surround Chengde, a town located about 250 km northeast of Beijing. The temple belongs to the so-called 8 Outer Temples of China's former Summer Palace. The so-called Red Terrace is the main building of the Putuo Temple. It is an impressive and majestic building that is located on top of a 17m high terrace. Putuo Zongsheng Miao consists of around forty halls and buildings, many of which served as the setting for great ceremonies and official functions. Only on rare occasions were foreign guests, such as the English Legation in the year 1793, allowed to visit the Summer Palace and its 8 Outer Temples. Of course, today, foreign visitors are very welcome and Chengde is one of China's most popular tourist attractions.

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