No Place Like...

 

I close my eyes.

The images start to flash.

Bright, dull lights hanging high atop the brown pyramidal shell that is the roof. The cold, harsh architecture, the concrete, the grey plastic, the pale marble flooring, the electric mini-train.

Images of my parents, my hands on the thick steering wheel, the odometer, the xenon-lit highway, the hint of palm trees, the valley at night, my cats.

And as if the relentless attacks on my consciousness was not enough, the dreams I dream each night too, are beyond escape.

One wonders if I’d go insane before I manage to even step onto that scheduled -400 jet.

Warmth

 
The arrival of winter brings along with it the gloomy, cloudy, grey over-cast skies, the plummeting temperatures, and an unending barrage of drizzle and rain.

It is little wonder that coffee sells so well, and has seeped so deeply in —and has become such an integral part of— the colder worlds' culture[s].

It is close to impossible to get out of bed in the frigid cold mornings.

It is close to impossible to sleep comfortably in the night.



Can’t help but keep thinking about this particular place back home; can’t help but feel distinctly warm and fuzzy picturing this place in my mind; can’t stop thinking, missing and craving the hot and the humid afternoons, with my car’s air-conditioner supplying a perfect stream of breezy cool of air.



 

Drifter

It's nine pm on a Sunday night.

I have done litte/no studying today. Or yesterday.

Or even, the day before.

The mere mentioning of the phrase "under mountains of tremendous pressure to perform and to pass in 3300" -as well as the other subjects- is akin to flogging to death the already dead horse one more time.

I have become used to living under the mountain's shadow. So used to it in fact, that I do not even fear living in the darkness anymore.

I have so much energy bubbling inside me. There is just so much I want to do. I want to read up on a good book. And then another one. Maybe even a third after that. I want to travel to the other ends of Sydney for example, and get lost. Taking thousands of pictures along the way, and thousands on the way back.

I want to draw. I am so inspired to take up drawing again, my previous 'personal frontier' -photography- having been conquered (veni, vidi, vici so the saying goes) and a certain Andrew having uploaded his drawings very recently.

I want to write. Write and write and write and write. I want to write on a myriad of issues: politics, technology, the stupidity of Malaysians, and -oh hell yeah- you religionists-die-hards and your ever so contradictory and hypocritical ways.

I want to go home. I want to see the people I love. I miss them so much. I want to see real people, not the fake hollow shells that I am surrounded by. People who actually have soul, people who are warm and genuine.

I want my freedom.

But alas, that all has to wait.

And apparently so too will my revision, as I continue being inexplicably glued to this LCD.

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.

Report

Ah my blog; this almost-forgotten page in the myriad of other pages on the great, big net has been left neglected for... well, for just a short period of time.

But it certainly feels like an eternity to me. I've been busy starting my industrial training, waking up early, scuffling here and there, trying to adjust to the new sleep-wake cycles, learning to do new things at work, and all that other other other other stuff[s].

Still, couldn't be happier with how and where everything is at.

And still wouldn't trade any of this for anything else in the world, especially since of late, it has become increasingly clear to me how wonderful and fortunate a life I have.

I believe we must always move on and move forward in life, and one should never go back to things of the past. And in line with that, I cannot say how glad and pleased I am with the things (and the people especially) that are around me today. Whoever and whatever that are not, well, it's for the better!

So I am to wake at around seven a.m. tomorrow [yes, even on Saturdays =( ] to go through another tiring [half] day at work. Until next time, I'll see you guys soon =D

Life

...is good.

Peace. Serenity. The knowledge of there being nothing that would be troubling me for many, many days to come.

That I survived my first semester in UNSW, that I didn't fail Advanced Thermofluids, that I'm rid of all unnecessary social bonds --especially ones that are detrimental to my well-being, that the world is ripe with opportunity, that anything and everything is possible, that my life is fresh, clean and most of all, that my life is straightforward and simple again.

Forget silver linings, there isn't a dark cloud in sight! =D

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.

Letting Go

It gets more and more difficult with each passing day.

I'll soon be forced to give up so many things: chiefly the people around me, the un-pressured lifestyle, my home, and the car.

OMFG the car. The car is almost like sex! Spectacular ride and handling, drive-by-wire, VVT, VIM... blablablablabla ...and now, a full tank of pricey V-power. The acceleration is ...unbelievably smooth, and the engine revs like a happy pup.

And then, there's the 10kg subwoofer that won't be coming to Sydney with me.

And the friends that obviously can't come along.

In a few more weeks, a top-notch university's hefty academic schedules and syllabus will be laid on me to bear.

I wish I could freeze time and make this moment last forever.

I look fantastic in the mirror. I'm in rude health. My wallet is bulging with notes purple in colour. I have everything I could ever want.

I'm having the time of my life.

Someone, please, make it end slower?

The State of My Room

Since the one I've been using all along is slowly tearing apart, and since I am already going off soon, I bought myself an all-new camera bag:

My very important little Red Book (no, not chairman Mao's little red book =P):

Self explanatory:

And finally:

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

They Number by the Millions

This picture reminds me of my grandmother's house: the impossibly numerous tiny little tiles that cover the otherwise barren, ugly concrete floor was particularly popular in the 50s I think. Or was it the 60s? I can't be too sure, I wasn't born yet XD

Certainly brings back memories of a time and place that used to be. =)

The Night Series

It was one normal evening and we were heading out for dinner, except that it was raining. So I took my camera along and handed daddy the keys so that he'd drive, and I'd be taking pictures. Yes I'm an evil little bastard. =)

The sun was about to set, and the sky was cast a wonderful golden hue. Too wonderful in fact, for me to post those pictures here.

SO, I decided to post the pictures from AFTER dinner instead; they're a crazy collection exposed at 1/30s shutters at a sinful ISO1600 (and above).

Enjoy =)

A Stroll Round the Neighbourhood

a
...on a perfect, blue-sky Saturday evening.

I took the effort to upload these pictures to Flickr, which unlike Blogger and the majority of the other hosting sites, support colour profiles. Best to be viewed with Safari, which also supports colour profiles. Do that, and watch the colours on these pictures POP. =D

oh, and no, none of them have been fotochopped =)