It is perfect to wind down in the evening with La Vie en Rose by Edith Piaf playing on Spotify, and a glass of rosé champagne. Even more perfect if it comes with a soak in the hot tub laced with a few drops of rose essential oil, topped with some rose petals, surrounded by aromatic candle lights.
Such is an ideal image of relaxation and/or romance, or such is life too, if you will live it.
I learned French at Alliance Francaise when I was 16. A new immigrant to Singapore, I was not privileged enough to qualify for a third language program sponsored by the government in public schools. My mother, who was working as a Chinese tutor to support the both of us in the midst of a difficult divorce, could not bear to let her child suffer any injustice this early in life. Her pride motivated her to work extra hard and pay for the luxury of French lessons, just so her baby still believes in meritocracy.
I went to the French singing class every Saturday in addition to the language class after. While I very much enjoyed the singing, it was mostly because the class was free. It was a fantastic way to learn a melodic language, to practice the liaisons intuitively through chained melodies. La Vie en Rose was the first French song I knew, and it has stuck to me since. I had a vague idea of looking at everything through a rose-tinted glass and wondering how wonderful life would be. It was until much later I applied the theory to practice through a glass of rosé.
Billecart Salmon Brut Rosé NV is my usual go-to rosé champagne for a relaxed and/or romantic evening. Most wine shops and decent restaurants are well-stocked on this. To my delight, I have recently discovered that half-bottles are available at one of my favourite French bistros in Singapore, @Bistro Du Vin. It definitely lessens the guilt of popping champagne at a Monday dinner. What makes that evening more special is the live jazz act which started around the time we walked in (8pm). Only that I forgot to make a song request for La Vie en Rose to complement the rosé that night.
It is a long way to see life through rose-tinted glass, a process of continuous improvement. It is not a matter of having the means per se, although working at improving our lifestyle is a necessary homework in a highly-developed, fast-paced society like Singapore. It is also a matter of resilience, of making the best of most situations.
Life is not a bed of roses, no matter how privileged one’s upbringing. To some, it feels like an ocean that is deceptively calm; to others, tall mountains and deep valleys with surprising twists and turns. Looking through the rosé glass, you see that it is all part of a journey, with its sceneries tainted pink, life is prettier, glitzier, and chill.
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