The Adventures Down Under 3

From left : Momma, Colin, Me

Nothing much these few days. Yesterday was Colin's convocation, the main reason we are over here in Australia. It was one of those weird days, where it rained in Australia although its summer. Eddie said we were lucky to see it. Well, bro's convo was alright, not super grand, yet meekly elegant. I had a great time with Eddie's SLR camera, turning me into my bro's professional photographer. The list was long, and it was a boring time, looking at all the people in regalia go up and down the stage. Then at night, we went to where bro used to work to eat some Malaysian food. Boy, the food reminds me of home. We had a great time, all six of us, eating and drinking wine. It was a real good night, and shortly after home, I was unconscious.

Well, the day before, we went to the city to snap Colin's graduation photo. At night, we went to Docklands, a beautiful harbour with cafes all around. Took some photos there before heading to Crowns, a shopping mall cum casino. Didn't have time to enter the Casino but we went to a cafe in Crowns to celebrate Colin's graduation and also Joyce's birthday. Had a Corona which caused 9 Aussie Dollars. That's really cut-throat. After that, we sat outside and waited for the hourly fireblast display at Crowns, which was a beautiful sight to behold. A great day it truly was. Here are some beautiful shots.

Standing in the Alpha Beta parking lot.

3 blind mice?

Bola Jiwa.

Today, we went to a church my bro frequents over here. It was a great church, the people and of course, the music. City Life, a rather lively and interesting church. Had quite a time there, exposing myself to a church that's so different from my own, from the setting to the way everything is done. After church, we caught a bus back to city, had lunch, and headed to St.Kilda for the arts and crafts market. A real BORING hell of a time. Ugly, expensive, feminine stuff. Ugh. A masculine man like me finds it totally disgusting to walk around these stuff.

Tomorrow, we will be going to Great Ocean Road, and we'll be staying a night out because it's a long drive. So, won't be blogging till Wednesday or late Tuesday I suppose. And Wednesday will be an interesting day. It's Phantom of the Opera day. Hoho. That's something I look forward to. Cheers!

Thousand Summers

A brief synopsis of a very touching episode of Futurama : Jurassic Bark can be found here.

For those who've never watched Futurama before, check it out. This episode really touched me alot, especially the ending part. Fry was wrong about Seymour. Seymour waited for him to return until the day of his death. For a moment, my heart was seized with grief and sorrow. Futurama was supposed to be a comedy. What happened?

And for a moment, I thought about my own dog back home. And my fishes. And my friends. And my family. I will be back, Sasha. Wait for me.


I Will Wait For You
If it takes forever I will wait for you
For a thousand summers I will wait for you
Till you're back beside me, till I'm holding you
Till I hear you sigh here in my arms

Anywhere you wander, anywhere you go
Every day remember how I love you so
In your heart believe what in my heart I know
That forevermore I'll wait for you

The clock will tick away the hours one by one
Then the time will come when all the waiting's done
The time when you return and find me here and run
Straight to my waiting arms

If it takes forever I will wait for you
For a thousand summers I will wait for you
Till you're here beside me, till I'm touching you
And forevermore sharing your love.

From the musical Umbrellas of Cherbourg.

The Adventures Down Under 2

Woke up early in the morning, again, today. And Melbourne air is really eating up my energy. Feel so tired, and sleepy all the time. Lips are dry, and peeling like orange skin. Is it me, or is it Australia?

Well, Mornington was the destination today. Started off with some cherry-picking. Interesting, because I get to eat as much cherries as I want. And mind you, not those dumb bad-tasting cherries on cakes back home, but real, authentic, juicy, mouth-watering, dark-purpled, sweet cherries. Oh yeah. That's what I'm bragging.

Next, was a place called The Glass Blowers, where people make really beautiful glasses. Oh, the skill and the art. Fascinating. And after that, the day went down hill. Went to some rose maze thingy, which was full of nothing but plants. Absolutely nothing to do with me. But oh well, it was better than looking at plants back home. Few randoms shots all around.



Now to the food. Had charcoal chicken for lunch, which was really tasty. Some seafood and egg salad and drank coke. Nothing really special but wait till you hear more. Evening, we went for some icecream in a place called Strawberry Ridge. Fascinating. Smooth, sweet, icecream. Nestle will probably go bankrupt back at home if these were to be commercialised. And lastly, for dinner, before i go on, let me warn those with weak hearts not to continue reading. I ate crocodile, emu, and kangaroo meat, all in on dish called Swag Game or something. Boy, were they tasty, especially the crocodile meat. I'm feeling wild, baby! And of course, mouth-watering oysters, mmm, which I can't have enough of it. Ate three, which was pretty much satisfying.

Australia is a beautiful place. Scenery, food, and of course the people, especially the chicks. Oops. Did I just say chicks? But if you were to ask me, would this be a destination I choose to further my studies, it would be a hell no. Man, I bet there are many more countries that are way exciting out there. The world is just too big and I've gotta explore. So, for the moment, it's a no-no to Australia. As I was standing by the piers this evening, looking down the beach at the horizon, my mom made a statement that made me ponder. She said that we're really so far from home right now, and there's a teeny weeny bit of homesick feeling. And as I sat on the beach, I ponder on the words of my mom, and I realised, I'm so far away from everyone back home. Separated by oceans, and mountain ranges, I miss all of you. Goodnight, dear all.

The Adventures Down Under

Reached here on 10/12/2007. Weather's alright. It's Camerons Plus over here. And they call this summer. Man, I'll be an ice cube if it's winter. Plane ride was fun. My first ever, and I had a great time EATING and of course, enjoying the shows.

Well, my first trip after reaching Melbourne was to Phillip Islands. Went to few spots such as watching pelican feeding. Pelicans are huge birds with long, large beaks, weird funny appearance but they stink like hell. Stupid, smelly, long-legged, greedy, dumb creatures.

Next stop, we went to A'Maze n Things. This is the place with all the illusions, puzzles, and maze. Had a fun time trying out this and that which I can't really describe. One of the highlights of this place was the slide. Boy, it was a 90 Degrees fall man. It gives you the initial feeling of committing suicide.

And then, of course not forgetting, was the wildlife farm. And while the wildlife farm had alot of kangaroos, wallabies, pademelons, wombats, emus, birds and so forth, I think we had more flies around us than all those added together. Flies were storming around us, and they were really such a pest. It kinda disrupted our sight-seeing. Well, this is summer in Australia. But over all, it was a damn great time because we got to hand feed the wallabies, kangaroos, and pademelons. Their saliva were all over my palm! And they had their paws on my hands, and I can even feel their teeth. Man, closest to wildlife I've been was this.

Next stop was The Nobbies. Which sounded really like The Noobies to me. Here, nothing much except for a spectacular scenic view, and of course, not forgetting the pleasant surprise of catching a few penguins in their burrows by the hills. And lastly, was the penguin parade. We sat for an hour plus, in freezing cold weather, while we waited for those clumsy little penguins to come ashore. It was worth the wait though. They were organised little creatures, marching together like cute little animal soldiers.

The city here is alright. We got around the city using trams. Not bad, a very convenient and efficient mode of transportation. I've tried few kinds of food here, namely Vietnamese, Shanghai, and the newest one which I've just eaten and feeling in my stomach right now, GREEK FOOD. Boy, Greek food was super great man. All the meat, the seafood, and of course not forgetting, the wine! Man, I'll be here for so many days more, I bet I'm gonna get fat with all these food. Went shopping abit, but the things are so expensive. The moment you convert the price to RM, you don't feel like buying anymore. Oh yea, and of course, what I love most was the street performers. Varied and interesting.

Anyway, gotta sign off now. It's another one day trip tomorrow and I bet it'll be exhausting as ever. Going off to Mornington for some sight-seeing and cherry-picking. Not really my cup of tea but hell, who cares?? It's Australia here and not Malaysia, so anything goes! Updates if I have the time.

Long Road Out Of Eden

I never believed in the term "best friends", but as I draw near to the ending of a huge chapter in my life, I can't help but realised I'll soon be parting ways with few very significant people, who have helped me pull through in life. This post is dedicated to the 3 of you.

Kumara
In 1998, a chinese-indian coalition was formed. I met Kumara in St.Michael 2. He was seated next to me in class. At first, it was kinda weird, as I didnt really mix with friends from other races before. But after awhile, we became really close friends, which words cannot fully express. And the friendship went on to blossom into a beautiful relationship, in which we no longer regard each other as merely friends, but brothers. In Year 5, we remain close but Year 6 brought few different friends into my life, and the chasm between us grew a little. But fate has a funny way of dealing with things. In Form 1, we were again enrolled in the same class (1A8) and thus, further strengthening an already well-developed friendship. From there, our friendship was never broken, even though there were disagreements once in awhile. Kumara, thanks for always being my support. Without you, I would have been beaten by life's many obstacles along the way. You've always been a listener, one whom I can share everything with, and at the same time, have the trust and confidence that my secrets are safe with you. A gentle giant lies underneath your big, hairy, and fierce physical display. You've never let me down and you're one of the few people I can really count on. Thanks for being a brother to me. The scouting years we shared, classroom jokes, out-of-classroom fun, and everything we've done together will always be in my memory. Thank you, friend.

Yohanand
When we first met, I forgot how it was, but I think it was in a CF camp in Form 1. Back then, we weren't close at all. Until we reached Form 4. Being in a class we thought were full of nerds ( eventually we were proved wrong ), we sticked together as a team. And sharing some common interests such as football and music, we eventually developed into a more matured friendship than just classmates. Yo, thanks for everything man. Tho' I don't really share much of my personal stuff with you, but I believe there are different friends in one's life who play different roles. Kumara played the role of a listener, while you made the role of crazy, wacky, fun in the sun. Thanks for all the jokes, laughter, and smiles you've brought in my life. Without you, I would never have survived Form 4, 5, and definitely life in Form 6. You are one very talented person in many aspects and I respect you for that. Our jamming sessions, Sixth Form Night band performances, futsal sessions, jungle-trekking, PJ football sessions, ping pong partnership, Science One outings, and so much more will always be a part of me. Thank you, friend.

Adrian
One of the childhood friends I have, Adrian you are special. We met in Satu Merah, and from there, our friendship was a weird one. We argued, fight, and had many disagreements in primary school. Thank God that He brought us back together in Form 6. I regret the many years that we never keep in touch, because I lost the wonderful opportunity of spending time with you. But nevertheless, Adrian, I realised nothing has changed when we met again in USA4 - except you've grown real frigging tall. You were still that same friend whom I always bully, fight, scold, argue with and everything else that's bad. Many thanks to you for the classroom fun, the songs we shared, the "flowery" languages you taught me, your jokes and nonsense, and most importantly, our DotA sessions together, in Blueserver and in CC. I really enjoyed my time with you, be it playing computer games or just hanging round, or going for lunch. And seriously, I even consider fetching you to and fro as my privelege. Thanks alot my friend. I will miss you if you go to Canada. Together we're invincible.

And there, my friends, I conclude my tribute to the three of you. Dear friends, I do not know whether any of you will be reading this or not but nevertheless, every word here was written with deep conviction that it is nothing but the truth. To the rest of my friends, from here on, our paths separate like the roots of a huge tree, each in pursuit of our own dreams, but always remembering where we came from. It will be a long road out of Eden from here. The journey into the outside world, and the journey to our dreams will be a long, winding, and rough one, away from the comfort and beauty of our own Eden homes. But I believe strongly that each of you are tough men and women, people whom I know would never give up in any circumstances. All the best to you guys, and I will definitely miss your presence. I'll be going to Australia on the 9th. Hope that none of you have disappeared when I return. Adrian, Yo and Kumara, once again, thanks for the memories. In the back of my mind, I know its time to move on, because this is the life-circle of friends. Very soon each of us will have our own new close buddies, but I just hope and pray that the old will not be gone when the new comes. Just remember this - our time, moments and memories will never fade, as long as men can breathe or eyes can see.

Comic Strips

I'm always a fan of comic strips. Here are a few I noted recently, and few I can identify myself with. Enjoy them, it takes the stress away, really.


A show of hands please, for those who feel for Dilbert. I can see mine.


Another comic strip which is so true to the reality in our cyberspace. Every one is faking their profile ( in a way ), to look good and appealing to the opposite sex.



Last one. It's such a wonder that people this stupid exist. But then again, if they don't, where do we get the laughs from? Another great one from Dave Blazek.

Police & Thief

Yesterday was a historical moment in my life. Let the story unfolds.

It all began on a Sunday, 14th October 2007. It was during the Hari Raya festive season, the 9 Gods festival ( the one where you eat pink colored turtle 'pau's ), and the school holidays. It was a rainy day, but nevertheless, Clarence the Brave-hearted sacrificed his afternoon nap for a game of captain ball in church.

Well, everything was rather fine at first, except that the rain got heavier when I reached church. I ended up playing Neopets in church with Ah Kai, Kar Wai, Wai Kit and Glenn instead. Around 6 something, my churchmate came in and told me that game's gonna start as the rain ceased.

And so, I headed out, all fired up for a ruthless game of captain ball. The game was fun, and I was at my best yesterday. But this story is not about a game of captain ball. As we were playing halfway, one of my church mates noted that there was a man loitering near the area where we left our belongings ( for those who knows, it is the library where we left our stuff on the benches ). So Daniel approached that guy and asked him what he was doing with few of us behind. He kept walking away saying in cantonese, "Mou yeh, mou yeh" ( which means nothing ).

Suddenly, that malay-indian-bangla mix guy sprinted and ran for his life. Well of course, being the heroes that we are, Daniel, me and Andrew sprinted as well in pursuit of him. As he ran, he turned around and threw the rake he was holding at us. Andrew picked it up and we continued to run, out into the road. Well, the highlight of the story was this. As we were chasing this guy, a police car passed by. We waved and yelled frantically but to no avail. Instead, civilians were even more helpful as some of them honked and even stopped their cars. Now back to the chase, as he was fat, wearing slippers and long pants, he eventually fell in the middle of the road. That was when my bravest friend Andrew smashed this guy's head with the rake. In return, he took the rake and smashed Andrew, breaking the rake and resulting in an injury to Andrew's back.

We kept chasing after him, and he turned around and shouted, "Jangan mari!" For all we know, we did exactly the opposite. Andrew was literally out of his mind as he went all out and even had a few punches with this thief. In the end he gave up and stopped running just when I was ready to throw in a few punches and kicks. He scolded us and said he was only trying to take a few mangoes. We did not believe him as we recognised him to be the previous thief that took some of the girls' handphones. So he asked to go to the 'balai' ( police station ). And so we said we were more than happy to do so. On the way there, we had a heated exchange of words with him, me and Andrew being the ones involved.

And so after making sure everything was alright in church, and nobody has lost anything, 4 - 5 of us guys escorted our "King" to the police station nearby. As we were walking there, this guy kept checking for injuries to his body but found none. Instead, a ridge can be clearly seen on Andrew's back. As we walked there, my friend Adrin drove his car there and we told him to go to the 'balai' first as we were almost there as well. Seeing that he had no injuries and he has everything to lose from going to the 'balai', he knelt down by the roadside and pleaded with us. He kept saying sorry and asked for a chance. At the sight of this, my heart was immediately soften a little, tho' my anger was still burning and the adrenaline in me has not stopped rushing yet. So, being the nice people that we are, we told him alright, we'll let him go, but we don't ever want to see him around here stealing. We told him that if he wants to be friends, he's ever welcomed, that if he needs help, we can give and we asked him to come on Sundays. Finally, before leaving him, we asked whether he was hungry or he needed anything. He just kept saying no need and even hugged and shook our hands.

That was how the story ended. Indeed, it was a life time experience for me as I've never encountered such incidents before. Well, this has got me thinking alot and there are a few lessons to be learnt from this. First of all, I realised, I'm not that brave after all. Hey, this guy was fat, and couldn't run properly. Tho' I could easily outrun him, I held back a considerable amount of speed, especially when he turned and shouted at us not to follow him. I was thinking too much about the technicalities, as to whether he had concealed weapon such as a blade, or pocket-knife, and whether hitting him would prove to be more advantageous for him if we were to catch him and bring him to justice. Compared to my friend, Andrew, he was completely different. Risking life and limbs, Andrew went all out after him, determined to catch him no matter what. And that is what I admire so much about my friend, something which I have to learn from this incident. But yet, I realised that blind bravery without safety precautions in mind first is stupidity. And so, bravery must always be balanced with a fair amount of rational thinking.

Secondly, this incident also stirred up a memory verse in my head. It's the memory verse about how many times we should forgive a brother who sins against us ( Matthew 18 ). Jesus answered, "Seventy times seven" which did not literally mean that we count up till that number, the amount of times we forgive our brother. It basically meant, we should always forgive, just as how our Father in heaven always forgives us no matter how many times we sin, as long as we truly repent. I realised we are no better than this man who tried to steal. We are just as perverted, and sinful as he is. Therefore, I believe strongly, our decision to let him go was the only right thing to do. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God ( Romans 3 : 23 ).

And so, concludes a story, which has spiritual and moral lessons to be learnt. The irony of it was, a police car passed us by, and yet they were just as blind and helpless as rats. Have a good day, friends.

Of Fireworks & Independence

30th August 2007. The eve of our 50th Merdeka celebration. The rain started pouring some time ago. I wish it'd stop - I really want to watch fireworks with Daphne. Anyways, just taking some time to blog before I get ready to go out. Here I am, in front of my computer, listening to Paper Lace's The Night Chicago Died. Somehow, this milestone that my country is reaching sparks something within.

To say I'm patriotic is a lie. But this Merdeka is seriously different. For the first time, I can feel the anticipation of the coming day, the excitement to celebrate Merdeka with citizens in the country. And yes, honestly I can say, I can't wait to watch fireworks, and count down to 31st August 2007 at the field opposite my school. Guess, (though I hate to admit this), I love my country after all.

Recently, I read an article in the New Straits Times written by Brian Yap, on what being Merdeka means to him. I agree on most of the points mentioned especially when Brian pointed out that, in truth, there's NOTHING special about Malaysia at all. Talk about durians? They are found in neighbouring countries. Multi-ethnicity? Some countries are even more diverse than us. Our moderate view as a country with Islam as the national religion? Turki's an Islamic country, and her views are moderate as well.

So what makes Malaysia special after all? What Brian pointed out was that, it is US, the citizens, the individuals in this country, that makes Malaysia a unique, and special country. Yes, we should appreciate what our forefathers did in fighting for Independence. But the very fact that most of us don't even exist during that time only shows that there's nothing to gloat about after all, over the achievements and everything. We did not contribute to anything leading to our country's freedom, so how can we take credit for anything? Let us instead look at the present. How can we continue to live, to create a legacy, like what our forefathers did. It's time for us to change some of our attitudes, and to realise the fact that Malaysia is only special, because of the people themselves that dwell here.

Fireworks. I love them. Especially when you're enjoying it with someone you love. Tonight is a special night for me. For Daphne. I'm excited, happy, and looking forward. I'll be meeting my childhood pals, Andrew & Vincent, too. Somehow, with all this, I cannot but for a moment forget the anxiety of my upcoming STPM trials.

Happy 50th Independence Day, Malaysia. <3

Laws & Crimes

Alas, our last resort, our final hope, where we thought we could speak freely, is now under scrutiny. Due to recent controversies such as Raja Petra's blog post ( http://malaysia-today.net/blog2006/ ), Namewee's rap version of Negaraku ( you can find it in Youtube ), the government has decided that new cyber laws need to be enacted in order to retain the "peace & harmony" in the country.

Peace and harmony? Laws? One look at the Malaysian Judiciary system is more than enough to say it all. The number of criminals that escaped the punishment they deserve, is infinite. What happened to Canny Ong's case? Anyone received duly what they deserve? Altantuya's case? Crap proceedings, nonsense, everyday, which only sore your eyes. Where is the justice? Why do criminals go unpunished?

Instead, higher authorities decide to take action against relatively smaller crimes. Or are they even crimes in the first place? Let's use Namewee as example ( any of you who knows Mandarin, do watch the video in Youtube which he directed ). This guy here, has done nothing wrong at all. All he wanted to do was to voice his opinions on certain issues in Malaysia. And creatively, he made a rap version of Negaraku to serve this purpose. And all he got was? Hot soup and trouble. Have we ever stop for a moment to think about the constitution-protected and sensitive issues which we are not allowed to touch? To speak about? To debate over? This "untouchables" ( as I called it ), are they really protected in order that peace and harmony in this country be retained? So that the May 13th 1969 Tragedy do not occur again? Or is it because of some deeper reasons - that is if one really stands up to these issues, one's reason would win?

I'm young, I do not want to get in trouble. The blogosphere is not safe anymore. No longer can we speak our thoughts, or unleash our dissatisfaction. In years to come, I believe freedom of speech can no longer be fully expressed in this country. We're definitely suffocating. Somebody, do something.

Regrets

A silent night. I sat watching the scouts handover. My mind ran wild with thoughts provoking the life out of me. I found myself regretting as I sat watching the handover ceremony. I missed the once in a life time chance for all these. During my period as a scout, I put scouting to the last, and other things were my priorities. I ended up not having much memories of scouting which I regret as the touching handover ceremony was conducted. I regret I did not balance my time well. I regret I chose the easy way out. I regret I never really worked hard in scouts. As one of the scouters pointed, the worst thing we want in life is regret. That night, was indeed a night to remember. I learn, I hope.

I just realised, I'm in love with you. Cheers ~

The A-Z of Currently

Currently :
a) Finding my niche.
b) Trying to finish up all the loads of work I have.
c) Freaking out for tomorrow's sharing during worship.
d) Discovering my favourite past-time.
e) Listening to Sufjan Stevens.
f) Pissed off with my voice.
g) Having an interesting conversation with my long time friend.
h) Trying to finish up blogging so that I can go on a dota date wid MJB.
i) Rebuild my life little by little.
j) Not happy.
k) Reflecting on life.
l) Motivating myself to study with the prospect of going to UK.
m) Realising there's more to life than what I've experienced so far.
n) Trying to understand certain things about love and relationship.
o) Lost in my own world.
p) Craving for an explosive event or incident to take place.
q) Mourning for my dead hermit-crab - Patrick the Starfish.
r) Loving someone.
s) Destressing myself.
t) Unhappy with my mother's new hairdo.
u) Thinking what to write for the next currently.
v) Feeling so-so.
w) No more currentlys I guess.
x) Filling up space.
y) Filling up more space.
z) Just finished filling up all the space.

* I want to turn this desire and dream into reality. Lord, I do not ask where art Thou because it is I who had forsaken Thee.

Choices

I would say, life is choices-filled. Everyday, we have to make a choice, a decision. Whether it is right or wrong, there would be no turning back. I'm often confident, sure, and proud of all I do, including all the choices I make. But today, this confidence is broken. I no longer feel that my choices were right. In fact, I feel like every single thing I've decided before was wrong. Was the pride in me the reason I feel a tinge of regret now in the choices I made? Nothing can be changed about the past, but the future's always mine to alter. Or rather, the future's mine to alter, in line with God's will. Yes, I've learnt my lesson. Never again will I make any foolish decisions like I did before. Even so, I'm human and I'm weak. But in my weaknesses, His strength is made perfect. Lord, be with me in every choice I make, every day. These are my rants.

~ Love is a choice ~