Distant Ties

There were quite a number of you.

Back then you were, all of you, my saviours from ...so many ugly things.


Sometimes it pains me to see how far we have all drifted apart from one another, the currents of our lives taking us toward our individual destinies, as we set off to make our mark in the great big world.

We have grown distant; friendships stretched just a little too far, and just that wee bit too thin. It’s as though we never met, as though we never knew each other, as though the other person never existed.

Then again, I suppose there isn’t much to be said between us in the here and now anyway. Simple hellos, simple take cares, and simple goodbyes.


But memories of the warmth, the good times and the good deeds linger in my head and in my heart still.

I cannot for the life of me find words to express gratitude for everything that you have filled my life with —if only in times past.


Wherever in the world you are tonight, you are not forgotten.

There’s a little piece of me, wishing you all the best, in whatever you are going through.

Equilibrium

 
Spring.

Spring has come, and brought along with it baggages from the past. The hot, suffocating dry air is a constant reminder of how things used to be twelve months ago.

So what better way to revisit past moments than with songs from the period?


I thought to myself what it was like. I thought to myself all that had happened. I thought to myself, and nodded.

I have come a long way. I have grown, and let many, many baddies go. I am also stronger, and much more seasoned than I was before —the crises of life have made me more hardy for sure. So many things in the world can hurt me no longer. I am not a mess with my emotions. I don’t easily fall into fits of depression. Or bouts of hate.


Life at the moment isn’t half as good as it can be, but neither is it half as bad as it would seem. With only a tiny bank account and a somewhat busy academic semester, life has been lived pretty much without the frills or the excesses of greed and desire.

It’s just me, my family, a few lifelong friends, the books, the weights and the whey. And of course, the sporadic excursions with my ageing d-eighty, which is still rolling out them day-lit scenes wonderfully well.

Really, I wouldn't want anything other than this simple, lean and drama-free existence.


Now, if only I can find an answer to the age-old “meaning of life” question.

A New Start

 
This is my ninth draft, and is one that I intend to publish, instead of putting to the bin like all the others before. 

I have so much to write about; me being sick of almost any and every one around me, and almost any and every thing.

But nothing I write would be fit for reading.

In between the weights and the jogs, the whey and the Quarter Pounders, the studies and sleep, I have neither the time nor energy for anything else.

I couldn’t for the life of me muster even a coherent post, despite the repeated attempts.



I miss home so much.

I miss my family. I miss the valley. I miss alcohol. I miss drinking with my dad. I miss driving that wonderful car. I miss my closest and best friends.

A few more months to go, and another four subjects to pass.

Life, for now, seems unbearably arduous, and impossibly long.

 

Eating the Cake

 
Sometimes, I stop and I look, and I then think to myself just how much better your lives have now become, and I smile --I am happy for all of you.

Your lives are now rid of such monstrous academic torment, free of all the unduly pressure and ridiculous stress, emptied of all the painful, obscure, mind-boggling theory, calculation and hundreds of years of humanity’s accumulated knowledge.

I see it in your eyes. I see it in your faces. I hear it in the ways you talk. All of you look so much better, so much more at ease, so much more relieved, so much more cheerful, and so filled with life.


All you who have jumped out of this wretched hell-bound train live better lives now. But on this flaming carriage, there is little life.

In fact, beyond that of academia, there is no life at all.

Many times, I do wonder if I too, should jump. Sometimes, I wished that I too, had called it quits.

But I have already threaded so far down this path —one that so many have said that I neither should or could all those years back. But then again, I am neither closer to the end nor farther from the beginning.

Guess this must be how it feels like to be stuck between a rock and a hard place!

 

 

Acceptance

I regained consciousness in a time period small enough for me to realise that a mere split-second ago, it was the slamming of the door that woke me up from my sweet slumber.

It's a sunny Sunday morning, and none of my 10:00AM alarms have yet rang, so I snuggle under the sheets some more.

I got out of bed and into the toilet, and later, as I showered, I thought to myself why I felt so profoundly different today.

Why did I not feel drained, and emptied of all my humanity?

Why did I not feel despair, and desperation?

Why, I kept wondering.

Then it struck me minutes later, when I recalled what it was that I dreamt of last night: I had just gotten home. I was driving again. I had my hair cut. I had my white coffee. I had my car washed. I was with all the things and all the people I loved. I got to see my parents again.

I was home.

Today, somehow, the thought of not being able to pass two academic subjects seem rather, small. And minuscule. Today, somehow, I am not that bothered anymore.

Perhaps I have finally come to terms with it, and am done with the shock and horror. Weighted academic standings and the huge financial costs notwithstanding, failing two critical pathetic little subjects is not the end of the world.

There are still many decades of life left to live.

And so life goes on.

Yoyos in the Sky

That this was perhaps the most unenjoyable Chinese New Year to me is definitely an understatement.

It’s just the most polite way I can think of putting it.

And so I thought my escapade to the Big City would be a welcome (and much needed) relief.

Disheartened, disappointed, frustrated and sad, I packed my things into the car and hurried off in the middle of the night without a care in the world.

Never would I have thought that so many things were being put to the test in so short a time, and in so many possible ways.

And if I thought driving two hundred kilometres down south to the thriving metropolis to see friends close and dear would solve everything --at least for now--, then I was to be proven utterly wrong.

But its all over now. What’s past is past. And it was all to be another lesson to be learnt. Even with all this being so, I definitely had a pleasant time during my stay there.

Thanks so much for the omelette sandwiches. For staying late despite the long drive back to Cyberjaya. For the lovely DAC. For the pint of Guinness. And for that afternoon drenched in green tea.

We are told from young to not keep unhealthy things --emotional baggages, and grudges especially-- against others for too long a time, but I cannot help but walk away from the past week doing precisely so.

Maybe just a little bit here and there.

Oh well. With all the hustle and bustle settled down and done with, I certainly look forward to the (very few) days ahead, spending time with family, the cats, the car and the coffee in this beautiful valley that is home.

It won’t be long before all this would again be a luxury, and nothing more than a mere memory of people and a place that once was.

It won’t be long before I’ll start missing all this, and wishing the academic hellhole in the island continent would be over.

It won’t be long before it’ll be time to go, again.

Thank You

The new year has cometh!

I certainly hope it will be a good one for all of us, especially me ;)

And to further the blatant displays of selfishness, I shall now continue to write about me. This, after all, is my blog and if anything, it is supposed to be about me =P

But I have nothing to write about.

That’s right: nothing, zero, nil.

As the saying goes, “no news is good news” --and this is especially true for me and this blog of mine. These are among the most peaceful and serene days I’ve had in ages. Minor annoyances and frustrations notwithstanding, I have grown deeply accustomed to this environment of zero hostility, zero drama, zero hurt and zero nonsense.

I love my life.

I can’t help but be thankful to all those around me, and to all those who are still with me after everything.

I can’t help but to think back, and question why so many wrongs had to be, and why so many things that were so unnecessary had to happen.

I can’t help but be happy with where I am in life right now; asking, wanting and needing nothing more (except a healthy dose of cash) than all the things I already have.

You are all so awesome, so wonderful, and so, so great. And as another year begins, I cannot help but to wish that every single one of you will still be around for many, many years to come.

This song is for all of you...



...but above all else, especially you ♥

No Air

It’s a lovely Saturday night: cool, breezy, but not exceedingly cold. The air smells of joy and jubilation. Living it out good, celebrating life, and taking it easy after a long, tiring week’s worth of hard work.

This was made all the more so as two lovely hits from The Eagles played whist I cycled home.

They reminded me of my dad -we spent many Saturday nights together, drinking, having delicious suppers, and driving home speedily through the streets after that.


But for now, that will all have to remain what it is: a lovely thought, and a memory.

Because for now and until this damn semester is through, there will be no breaks, no time to rest, no free slots to live it out good -there will be no joy.

The sad truth is, I HAD to have the phone play something as I made my way through the modestly lit open areas of upper campus --simply because it felt eery to be walking alone in the silent, empty spaces devoid of people.

The sad truth is, I HAD to stay back and do assignments on a Saturday night.

The sad truth is, these days Friday, Saturday and Sunday means not that the weekend has arriveth, but that there are no lectures or tutorials, and that these are the times that I should use to study or finish up the unending continuum of academic work.

'Give me a fucking break!' has never rang so true.

Gone are the Days

What a hazy day it is today.

Reminds me so much of Chinese New Year 2009. Ahh CNY09: I had such a wonderful time back then, having spent it with family, the best of friends, having tons of cash and a brand new car to drive around in.

Nothing could have been better than that.

Sadly, no, I do not have pictures to show for a Sydney drenched in haze amidst the mid afternoon, but I do have pictures from all those months back.

Home, the people who matter in life, material wealth and days devoid of academic pressure …how I wish it was all like that today.

Isn't He Handsome?

...and She a Deep Sleeper?

a big AWWW...

As the days inch, slowly, relentlessly towards 11 July, another part of life nears it's end for me.

As nostalgia sets in, all the inevitable heavy-hearted feelings are beginning to rear their ugly heads. Soon, this would all be nothing more than a memory.

The month of June is when all the closest and most important people in my life grow a year older in number. One by one, their birthdays highlight the fact that I will not be seeing them again for at least half a year.

It has a particular impact on me because in this world of fake, superficial and pretentious individuals, these are the only people I know who are really true.

In addition to them, waking up at 2~3pm everyday, sleeping at 6am, the lovely white coffee, the car, the care-free lifestyle, I will also miss all the friends I'll be leaving behind.

Through thick and thin, sorrow and joy, all of them have been wonderful company (especially over the course of the past few months).

They say people come and go, and it is so true. While many around me are busy drawing their lines, I too, have been busy drawing lines of my own. But to real friends, and family, lines are hardly ever drawn!

There is at least three weeks before I leave, but I cannot help thanking you all; it's been wonderful to have known you guys. =D