Tuesday, September 19, 2006

my hemingway one true line

"sometimes when i was starting a new story and i could not get it going...I would stand and look over the roofs of Paris and think, 'Do not worry. You have always written before and you will write now. All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.' So finally I would write one true sentence, and then go on from there. It was easy then because there was always one true sentence that i knew or had seen or had heard someone say."

-- excerpt from A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway


if i had to write my one true sentence right here, right now: it would be... "God is good!" As a Christian (Catholic), I've never been known to be evangelistic, cell group going or/and bible quoting. I'm not entirely sure if this "God is good" declaration is an exception or perhaps the whisper of winds of change. let's see.

but i do know. it is my one true sentence now as i write.

my NYC trip has been enriching thus far as a writer. My first 10 days were kinda marred by some dodgy chest/abdominal pains. but that's all gone now. so, yay! of late, it's amazing how some events have come together - underlining not merely Emerson's ideas of how the universe conspires... but simply the synchronicity of blessings that come our way in our daily lives...

okay before...you guys (i'm assuming percieved and real readership here) think:"what the hell is she talking about." i'd better cough up the stories that led to this story. hahah.

some do, after all, say God is in the details.

until this morning - i've been worried about accomodations in NYC now that I've extended my stay till the end of the month. I've been happily staying at debs - but come wednesday i have to find another place to crash... cos debs is in the midst of moving to london...

quite miraculously... housing options have come my way. a singaporean gf's friend (singapore dude who's a DJ) has kindly offered me a space for a couple of days... plus another friend's ex gf (who's in the theatre business) has also opened her doors!! what's interesting is... another friend whom i know (this guy who studied theatre in Yale...) from sometime back is also currently staying with my friend's ex gf! synchronicity!!! happy family! hahah! this is all wonderful.. cos while being in NYC has been good for my writing and fun... i must admit that i do miss my friends, boyfriend and family. so chancing upon these individuals has really been god sent!!

okay here's another one!

on my flight back from madrid to NYC last week... i started talking to this lady, who researches linguistic education, seated next to me. Her husband, a lawyer, and her had to leave Madrid only after two days cos of a sudden death in the family. As our conversation dug deeper into our life stories (it was a six hour flight) - i learnt about how her son decided to leave the legal profession to start his property business in washington dc, while her daughter who works for the government on capitol hill is really a musician at heart. in exchange, i shared with her my career story and desire to be a published creative writer. Because she came across wise, more experienced with matters of life and living and more importantly cos she was a stranger, i decided to also open up alittle... to share with her some of my hopes and fears about writing. at some point, she became acquainted with my family....i gave a short biographical account of each and everyone of them, my father, mother, two sisters and two brothers. she also became a little familiar with my love life.

all this was interesting cos i usually hate talking to people during flights. as the plane started its descent into JFK... my new friend and I were exchanging contact details.

i woke up sunday morning to a lovely surprise in my inbox. my new friend has dropped me a note. since returning to NYC... she met a book agent friend of hers. according to her, she mentioned her encounter with me and he (mr book agent) suggested that i give him a call! that has kickstarted my search for a book agent.. or at least got me to seriously start thinking about that.

again. synchronicity. there are no coincidences.

right now i'm thinking. still thinking... about how progressive house is music on a jackson pollack canvass... my birds of a feather cliche thoughts (see two entries back)... and my one true sentence... God is good.

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