The colours of my Singapore

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"I think it pisses God off when you walk by the color purple in a field and don't notice it."
(Margaret Avery as Shug, in The Color Purple, 1985)

I have a new favourite colour... It's a very strange thing to realise and probably very silly to write about. But as far back as I can remember, dark brown has always been my favourite. And now - I know since when, but don't know why - I've changed to purple. And not just one kind of purple. No, I like the whole range; from the fresh bubbly lila that makes me feel happy and light, to the deep, dark, regal purper for my pensive and dreamy moods. As I said, a bizar change in preferences... But becoming aware of this shift in colour preference also made me think more about colours in general.

So I started compartmentalising my memories of Singapore in colours and here is a part of my collection:

* Bright orange of course, is the colour of my Dragonboat team, symbolising pain, sweat, winning, losing, teamwork, but above all, having lots and lots of fun and getting very, very wet...

* Pale orange is Villa Marina, where I lived for a year and where my Singapore adventure started. The secludedness of the location, the beautiful pool, the orange flowers... and of course, many memories shared with Timmo.

* Pink is my current neighbourhood. It's the neon light of the Karaoke Bar (special services included) at the corner of my street. Geylang is full of life, just the way I love it.

* Blue is definitely the taxi's... I've seen much of Singapore through the windows of these blue cabs, enjoyed their comfort and had many interesting conversations with their owners.

* Red is the buddhist temple in China Town, beautiful in it's overwhelming gold and red extravangaza and the thousands of little and big buddha's along the walls...

* Green is the reflection in the windows of One Raffles Quay, my office building, when standing outside. Light to dark green, depending on the weather, reflecting the surroundings in a Picasso-like manner in it's thousands of glass panes.

* Black cannot be anything other than the Black Pepper Crabb of course... no additional explanation needed!

* Grey is the blanket that drapes the city when it rains heavily... The showers turn everything and everybody grey, except for the colourful umbrella's that pop up everywhere.

* White symbolises the hotels in Singapore, especially the old colonial ones, like the Raffles or the Fullerton. But also the many hotels I've stayed in around the region, with their crisp white bedsheets (as already observed by lady SKO in one of my Facebook pictures... ;-) ) and the spotless uniforms of their staff.

And so I have many many more colourful memories...

Then I found this, on colour symbolism: http://www.hauntedhamilton.com/4psychology.html

Brown
The colour of Mother Earth, brown brings a sense of stability, alleviating insecurity. However, it also relates to bottling up of emotion, a retreat from and a fear of the outside world, and also narrow-mindedness. This often results from a lack of self-worth.

Indigo, Violet, and Purple
[...] These colours balance the mind and also help transform obsessions and fears. [...] They are also connected with artistic and musical impulses, mystery, and sensitivity to beauty and high ideals, stimulating creativity, inspiration, sensitivity, spirituality, and compassion. Violet can exert strong psychic influences, however, and a person attracted by it has to guard against living in a fantasy world. [...]

So basically I've transformed from a narrow-minded insecure individual to somebody living in a fantasy world... Way to go girl... ;-)

Anyway, here's a large collection of pictures to go with the memories... go for it at your own sweet leisure!

The colours of my Singapore
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=39932&l=d1348&id=523210814

Dinners and other stuff
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=39924&l=a7afc&id=523210814

Relaxing at Pulau Dayang - no diving pictures, didn't want to take my brand new camera on the boat... ;-)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=39920&l=69225&id=523210814

Wishing you a colourful week (or life rather, why limit it?)

xYx