Between The Lines

What’s new since we last spoke? Have you done anything interesting of late?
I visited Taipei with my fiancé back in April, and we were struck by an earthquake the same morning we landed. It was a magnitude 7.4 earthquake, the strongest in Taiwan since 1999. Thankfully for us, the tremors we felt were relatively mild compared to that of the epicentre in Hualien County, but it definitely set the tone for our trip knowing about the devastation that was happening so close by.

Though we were quite worried, I was really impressed by how composed the Taiwanese locals were at navigating the whole situation. People we met over the next few days were also so kind to check in on us and advise us on safe places we could visit.

Glad that you avoided any mishaps! Looking back in your life, is there a hobby/interest that you wished you were still doing or started?
I used to paint a lot, but slowed down after work and life became all-consuming. I still do the odd drawings and smaller scale artworks here and there, but lately I’ve been craving diving into a big project again.

That said, I’m getting my own apartment soon, and I cannot wait to colour in all the empty walls!

Any other hidden talents or quirks that people might not know about?
I don’t suppose this is interesting to anyone but myself, but I write predominantly in all-caps because I just love how the letters look when strung together.

I love writing. Not just composing words, but the physical act of penning things down on paper. I’d find any reason to write and tend to use my fingers to spell out nice words that I see or hear (laughs).

By the way, my favourite letters to write are H and Q!

We hear that there’s a little book club in the office. Can you share what you’re reading right now?
I’m at the tail end of The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu. It’s funny because my colleagues, Lesley and Kim, are reading books two and three of the trilogy that we’re sharing, so I’m pacing myself for the next book.

I seldom read science fiction, so this has been a refreshing change for me. Also, I need to know if the books get progressively thicker on purpose, because if so, I think it’s genius!

Do you remember which book it was that made you fall in love with reading?
Oh, that’s a good one. I don’t think I’ve ever thought about that before. It’d have to be Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. I picked up the book when I was about 11. It was the first time I realised that stories are not always rainbows and butterflies, that fiction can stem from reality, and that there’s beauty in the bittersweet.

And if you were to write a book, what genre do you think you’d write in?
I actually did start on a story for a novel writing course in university—a romantic thriller (laughs). I have no interest in writing a romance novel, but it was a requisite for the course, so I weaved in a genre I much prefer—thriller.

That was a few years ago, and psychological thriller is still a genre that I’m interested to explore, though they’re so hard to get right. But if you were to ask me what I’d write right now in this very moment… Probably a far-fetched fantastical tale that has neither head nor tail, just because.