iriskoh.com

I met a man who has published more than 120 books!

2008-08-30T21:09:00.003+08:00

Yesterday, I met a man who has published more than 120 books in his life. Dan Poynter. He is considered to be America's foremost authority on book publishing. Over the weekend, Dan is here in Singapore to teach people how to self publish their own books. His life mission is, " I don't want people to die with a book still inside them." I think that is so cool.

Personally I am just so awe-struck by how prolific Dan is as a writer. Imagine 120 books! I wish one day I can create more than 100 CDs also. That will be terrific!

Anyway, you can find out more about him at http://ParaPublishing.com

He has lots of wonderful resources for aspiring writers/ publishers etc.

Have fun!

Something in the Wind.

2008-08-03T11:14:00.010+08:00

Last night, I performed at Ngee Ann City with a friend Jit Min. The event was the launch of the Singapore Paraolympics. I had a good time listening to the songs that were presented at the event. Below is a video of the song which we performed called Something In the Wind. It was a song which I have written about 10 years ago. The story is about a girl who is feeling very lonely and sad because her friends have left her and she has no one to turn to, except something in the wind.

I'm attaching the lyrics for the song as requested by some members of the audience.

Something in the Wind.
Words and Music By Iris Koh. Copyrighted.
Accompanied by Jit Min, Violin.

Something in the Wind calls me softly
Whispering my name I can hear
Maybe it will know Why I'm left with no
Friends who'll love me just the way I am
Even though I try I get rejected
How can people be so unkind I don't need to test
These friends are not the best I guess I'll have to stand alone.

But I know just where to start
How can I be happy
My dreams are vague My eyes can't see
Oh tell me where to go So I can start to find
The happiness inside
Buried in the doubts of my mind
Something in the Wind calls me softly
Perhaps it's saying I'm not alone
But I don't really know How to love the way I am
Perhaps someday I'll understand

Updates

2008-08-03T11:04:00.004+08:00

Dear Friends,

Sorry I have not posted on this blog for a long time and some friends are already asking me what is happening to this. I guess the last year has been marked by several important events: My wedding on Oct 2007, (www.risray.com. This is our official wedding blog), working on the School House Rockz project.

I'm going to start to revise and add articles to this blog extensively. I've been doing quite a lot of thinking and soul searching and I'm going to commit to build my career as a songwriter/ singer and as well as a producer/ recording artiste and I will use this website to upload new songs and inspirations to my writing.

I thank you all for your continuous support and I look forward to sharing my Music with the world.

Ordinary Miracle

2007-01-17T02:13:00.002+08:00

This beautiful song sung by Sarah Mclaughlin has a timeless message about the little miracles in life that we take so much for granted... the blooming of a flower, the spinning of a spider's web, the dawning of a new day. We played this song during the Memorial Service for Petals. May her death be a gentle reminder of life's ordinary miracles, as seen in the life of a little cat.

Petals on the snow....

2007-01-15T01:34:00.001+08:00

I've received so many beautiful messages regarding Petals' passing that I would like to share it with everyone. They were from my friends. Some would like to remain annoynous. In any case, I hope that those who are grieving over the loss of a love one can find comfort in some of the words spoken here.

Sorry to hear about your cat. Its difficult to say goodbye to a pet, who is so much a part of your life, like a family member.

Take Care!

Regards
Mei Lin, Au

Hiris

Soooo sorry about Petals. I know how much you meant to each other.

Please forgive yourself completely. Everything was (is) in Divine Order.

Remember that grief is the emotion of completion. Allow yourself the tears.

Gratitude. Give thanks to Petals for all the special moments she and you shared together.

Annon.

p.s. I'll be there in Spirit tomorrow.

Rays of Petals and Irises Is Petals some kind of flower?
Is the plural to signify that she is many things rolled into one?
Is she so meaningful life has lost some of its luster?
Is death really that bad that it cannot be accepted as another run-?

-of life-yes death is really eternal living
And for the living life should go on and on
There is little that can be gained from continuous crying
So to Iris, and Ray, I hope you can let go and hang in there, and to each other Hold On!

from Surya Darma.

Hi Iris

I am so sorry to hear about your loss.

Because of sorrow and pain, the gift is our experience of delight and joy. I hope her memory continues to be special.

My son adopted a cat last Feb – Bowie. He has become special to the family so I can understand a little at least about how you must be feeling.

Take care

Christina Ong

My sympathy and condolence to you. May she rest in peace...
Let me know if you would like another cat.
Shalom,
Anon.

Hi my dear,

I' m sorry to hear the death of Petals. Although I don ' t have a pet at home, but I do know the loss is painful to you. Here 's something that I compose:-

I look up at Heaven

If God allows, Petals should be in this place of Haven

Oh Petals, I miss you

From dust to dawn when there is morning dew

God bless my Petals!

Luv,

Godma Victoria

Dearest Iris,

My deepest sympathy for the loss you have come to experience. Allow yourself to grieve as in so doing you will recall and store all those beautiful moments of your togetherness to be held sacred in your heart in years to come. Through the sorrow you will also find a silent gratitude for the love you shared which over time will restore peace within you. Petals will always be part of you as she shared your journey and helped you grow to be who you are. Her energy shows up in the love you share with others, be it humans or animals. Allow tears to come and allow those tears to enlighten your being with renewed sense of love. The heart of all living things beat in the rhythm of God's breath and when time comes, there is silence, and yet the beat echoes in the heart of those who loved...

With love,

Mia Aittola.

Aknowledgement: I would like to acknowledge Adam L. for all the beautiful photos which he took of Petals in April 2006.

Petals' Memorium

2007-01-15T01:09:00.001+08:00

Dear Friends,

Thank you for all your kind words, encouraging support and friendship surrounding the recent demise of my beloved cat. We had a small and intimate farewell for Petals this afternoon. Raymond read a poem from Petals'favourite book, "Life" by Paulo Coelho."The moment we set off in search of love, it sets off in search of us. And saves us."
From, By the River Piedra I sat down and wept.

I guess the subject of death, is closely related to the subject of love. Death can never be truly felt except when it's the death of a love one. There is always a risk in loving, but do we let that stop us from loving? What would life be like if we try to stop ourselves from hurting by preventing love?

I think the answer to that is Dead. We would feel dead.

Pain tells us that we are alive. Love keeps us alive.

In Memory of Petals

2007-01-12T00:40:00.000+08:00

Petals' life was as fragile as a flower. In the short four and a half years that she was with me, we went through many ups and downs together.

I picked her up when she was a kitten, her eyes barely open at a coffee shop in Bt Panjang. A cat-lover friend had informed me of this teeny little kitten wandering aimlessly near her house. Her mother seemed to have disappeared. I've never had a cat before or even owned any animal at that stage in my life. But Petals sounded adorable. I felt I wanted to protect this cat from the storms of life, the harshness of the outside world.

I said I would go and take a look at the cat. In my heart, I knew that I wanted her to be mine even though the excitement and the anticipation and fear of looking after her prevented me from verbally accepting her immediately.

The moment I first saw Petals, my heart melted. Yes. She will be the one that I will learn to love completely and without reservations.

Life with a kitten was very busy indeed, I soon found out. Firstly, she was always hungry. I had to feed her about 4-5 times a day cos she was always looking for food. She was also so tiny, I was afriad she would fall off down the stairs. Good thing she never did.

Very soon, my single adult life was no longer so lonely. I finally had someone I could hold at night. I talked to her and shared with her my pain, my dreams and she seemed to love me still the same.

A month later, I felt I wanted to keep Petals company by getting her another cat. This cat was really adorable as well. His name is Forrest. The story of Forrest will be another article. Unfortunately, for both Petals and Forrest, Forrest actually had FIP (Feline Infectious Perinotitis) when he came to me and infected Petals when he was a young cat. Forrest did not survive the illness and died shortly afterwards.
It was really a miracle that Petals even survived at all.

Petals' life has always been fragile. FIP is an illness that is incurable. The virus could live dormant inside a cat's body and strike suddenly without much warning.
I never knew until her sudden death that her life was so much on the edge.

Petals collapsed a day after I returned from my 3 day trip to Bintan on the 5th of January. She had a bit of a limp, which I noticed a few days before my trip and I thought it was just a minor accident as she's been jumping down from the walls. Subsequently, she slept and rested a lot. I really thought that was her way of healing her wound and thought nothing much of it except that I would bring her to the vet if it didn't heal. The two days before I left for Bintan was also New Year's Eve and New Year's and the vet was closed and I thought I could bring her to see the vet after I returned.

It has been difficult for me to forgive myself for the lack of action and for not having spent the last 3 days of her life with her. She was actually still looking ok, walking and all on the night I came back from my holiday. I had planned to take her to the vet the next day to check on her leg which I noticed hasn't healed. That night though, I had a very uncomfortable feeling that Petals is dying.

The next day, as I was coming down the stairs, my boyfriend shouted to me to come downstairs. My heart was beating. I knew it had something to do with Petals. Then there, she was, lying half dead on the floor. I asked Raymond, " Is she dead?" "Her heart is still beating." We were both paralysed with fear. We grabbed the cat carrier and put her inside and flagged for a cab to take her to the vet.

Have you watched the life of a love one slip away and felt so helpless not to be able to do anything about it?

"Petals, you must hang on. We are almost there." Half way through the journey, Raymond said, "I think she's stopped breathing." I did not want to believe him. I rushed her into the clinic and told the nurses it was an emergency. They put her on oxygen immediately and tried to revive her.

Half an hour had gone back. It felt like the longest time in the world: The time between life and death.... It was too late. Petals was gone.

I've been too numbed about her death to cry much or moan for her for the past few days. I haven't wanted to think about it. But today, I felt I could no longer hide the tears. I could no longer go on pretending that life is the same as before cos it never is when a love one dies.

She was my first cat. The first creature I learned to love completely and the first to ever love me so completely.

I miss you Petals and I will always love you. You were part of me and I was a part of you. My life has been beautiful because of you. May your spirit, wisdom and freedom live in the hearts of those who have known you and may you be a reminder to me to live and love life to the fullest.

Rest in peace, rest in peace, rest... in....peace.

(A memorial service for Petals will be held this Sunday the 14th of January at 4p.m. Those who would like to be part of it, please email me at iris@iriskoh.com. You are welcome to contribute a poem, any kind words,pictures, music etc or just your presence)

About Me

2006-12-14T01:51:00.001+08:00

Hello, a word about me. I live in Singapore and i'm a musician, song-writer, composer, pianist and singer.

Oh, it seems I've forgotten one important thing- my name. it's iris koh.

According to my mom, I "chose" my own name. after i was born, my parents had a few choices for names written on a piece of paper. Then in chinese "lottery style" ( some chinese like to write numbers on a piece of paper and do a lucky dip to decide what numbers to buy for 4-D, a popular gambling activity) asked me to pick one. apparently, i picked, "iris". And so it is.

Over the years, i've come to discovered the different meanings for Iris.

Iris- flower, the opening in the eye which allows light to pass through. It's also Greek for Rainbow. It's all very enlightening and I'm rather happy with my early choice of names.

I guess enough said about the meaning of my name. Over the years of my life, I've tried to discover the meaning and purpose of my existence and the meaning of life in general and I guess that will be the topic of discussion for the next time.