South of the Border, West of the Sun

I never realized this - that if I sat down by my window, with the lights in my room switched off, I could still see the bright lights of cars whizzing by along Upper East Coast Road, and hear the droning buzz of the evening traffic. Feels like one can never really be away from the city in Singapore.

Have been reading books by Haruki Murakami. "South of the Border, West of the Sun" was recommended to me by a colleague. In the novel, Hajime, the protagonist, mentions one of his favourite songs, "Star-Crossed Lovers", which the pianist in his bar would often play for him. Hajime explains the affinity he feels with the song:

"Whenever I heard that languid, beautiful melody, those days (when he was in his twenties) came back to me. It wasn't what I'd characterize as a happy part of my life, living as I was, a balled-up mass of unfulfilled desires. I was much younger, much hungrier, much more alone. But I was myself, pared down to the essentials."

It reminded me of the time when I spent days on end by myself, just before I committed myself to a real job, and that was exactly how I felt - despite the unanswered questions, the unfulfilled ideals, I was myself.