A Lesson in Love

Yesterday, I had a game of squash with my squash kakis, and saw this cute-looking girl sitting at the squash courts, with another guy. She's very sporty-looking and was actually waiting for her tennis booking, not squash.

In between games, I came out for a break and was looking at the people playing tennis when I spotted her again. My vision was blocked by a pillar, so I could only see her side of the court. From her strokes, I was quite surprised to see that she is actually a beginner in the sport. (Like what my friends say, even if you are bad in a sport, if you dressed professionally, people will think you are good. Hehe, my first impression was wrong).

Anyway, I was thinking to myself that the boyfriend is teaching her tennis, not an uncommon sight in tennis courts. Then, I shifted my position to see how good the boyfriend was, and I was shocked to find that I was again wrong in my observations. The guy wasn't teaching the girl tennis. The girl was feeding him balls, and his returns were flying all over the place! He is also a beginner in tennis!

I took a special interest in this little couple, and was humbled by what I observed. They were both learning tennis, and took turns feeding each other balls, and also practiced their strokes and footwork. There was no shyness on each other's part, and it was a pure learning experience (oblivious to the pros who were playing besides their courts). I mean, maybe I'm superficial, but guys would generally like to show off their skills in front of the girl they are trying to impress. This couple is different, and I am impressed by both their attitudes towards learning, and by their support to each other. I mean, how many people would actually meet up and book a court to pick up tennis. Not many I know of, and definitely not my Dad (which pisses my Mom so much)..

I think this is a good lesson in love, because love is not just about being at your best. It is also about exposing your weaknesses to each other, and supporting each other and helping each other to improve themselves.

South of the Border, West of the Sun

Just finished reading a book by Haruki Murakami, "South of the Border, West of the Sun". This is the second of his books that I have read, the first being "Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World". Again, I am amazed at his writing abilities, and the feeling of being flooded with emotions/thoughts/experiences when reading his books. I went online to read some of the reviews, and one of them wrote: "South of the Border refers to a famous song, and the lyric represents a longing for exoticism and escape. West of the Sun, as Shimamoto explains, describes a madness that effects Siberian farmers, causing them to walk towards the land west of the setting sun, forgetting sleep, food and water, until they die. These two notions perfectly express Hajime's destructive desires." (source: http://writeronwriter.wordpress.com/2010/01/16/south-of-the-border-west-of-the-sun-haruki-murakami/)

I think this is a very insightful statement, and on hindsight, it may also applies to Shimamoto. Again, the afterthoughts of reading a book by Haruki Murakami never fails to impress me on the depth of his writings and the trains of thoughts that follow after reading.

My take on the book is that maybe the characters in the story relates to most of us. There is a Shimamoto, a Izumi and a Yukiko in our lives. Shimamoto is our puppy love, Izumi is someone whom we hurt, and Yukiko is someone who we are with.

Or in another sense, there is someone whom we love, someone who love us, and someone who we end up with. Hopefully it will be the same person..

I particularly like the last few chapters when the Hajime is swarmed with thoughts of Shimamoto, and then when after he saw Izumi at a traffic junction, the images of Shimamoto started to fade away. I think this is the author's subtle way of implying that the guilt of hurting Izumi reminded Hajime that he should not continue to make another mistake and turn Yukiko into another Izumi.

Very good book, and I look forward to reading another Haruki Murakami's work!