14 days of whatever.

so the Outward Bound season is over. and, of course, due to geographical difficulties i was unable to attend any courses this year. which was fine by me initially. i mean, i figured you know, i've been to OBS every year since 2002..it's about time i gave it a rest.

anyway, i was looking through photos taken by people i knew who went to obs this year and suddenly i started feeling strange. somehow, there was just this sense of displacement; as though i wasn't where i should be.

seeing those photos made me realise how much i actually miss the annual visits i paid to the place. i can still remember the first time i stepped foot in to the school: me and TPL were the last ones to register ourselves in because we were LATE. as both of us hurriedly sat down at the Irau table during registration (how cool is it that we were both in the same watch!?), i took a glance at the other people at the table and thought to myself, "Oh boy (see, back then, fuck wasn't in my vocab), this might be worse than i thought." i wasn't very outdooors-oriented last time, and obs was definitely someplace out of my comfort zone.

but wahey, i loved it and everything about it.

as i said before, there's something in the air at obs. whether you loved it or not, something will always tug at the back of your mind and draw you back. i've seen (and known) people who keep going back year in and year out...they're almost as bad as me.

although i must admit, things have changed a great deal at obs since the first time i was there. people i remember have come and gone. but that's the beauty of it, i guess. you get to meet new people everytime and with new people comes new experiences and memories...and your little circle of friends expand just that little bit more.

so that is why, maybe when i was looking through the photos...something struck me as being nostalgic. the call was there, but this time around, i chose to ignore it like the fucktard that i am, and can be, sometimes. do i regret it? well, yes, maybe i do..just a little.

lying down on the orange sides of the plastic tarp sheets.
the mossy wet smell of the forest during land expeditions.
swinging from hammocks.
seaspray on the way to Teluk Sekadih.
the Chickacha dance.
laughter.
passing out from sheer exhaustion most nights but readily waking up the next day to rewind and repeat all over again.

why wouldn't anyone miss it?

To the masses

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

now, if you'll excuse me, i have to run.
urchins wait for no one.

you there!

life as of late has been swell.

i've been going to the lab every day for the past 3 weeks and most times, i stare down a microscope for a minimum of 4 hours trying to make out what developmental stage my darling sea urchin embryos/larvae are at.

don't get me wrong. i'm not trying to be sarcastic. i mean it in all honesty: life as of late HAS been swell...and i wouldn't want to change it to any other way.

i guess i'll be able to get through the 8 weeks after all.

yea, so here's my short update. bye.

Newcastle to Cairns - 4

This should be the second last video of the trip detailing our days spent at Cairns. We visited Kuranda by rail (which in my humble opinion is a very pretty train ride indeed), then I went into the Butterfly Sanctuary by myself because the boys refused to acccompany me, later on me and Hez went to this aboriginal cultural village called Tjapukai (the name of the aboriginal tribe).

omg i miss Cairns!







ok now go...click play!

Fairy tales.

once upon a time, there lived a girl who discovered that she had a love for apples. it did not matter what type of apples they were, she would still delight in them. to her, they were everything she had wanted and hoped for.

until one day, she bit into an apple and spat out a worm. and from then on, she became afraid. her love for apples was still there, but now, it was tainted with fear: fear of biting into yet another apple and finding another worm residing in the core.

and so she let this fear overwhelm her. for a long time, she refused to allow herself the pleasure of tasting another apple.

until one day, a golden Pomme Gris was dangled before her eyes. it held a promise of everlasting sweetness which only a superbly wonderful apple could deliver. she knew she wanted it, so badly. her desire was so great, she could practically taste it. but suddenly, a shadow of the old fear she harboured crossed her brow and she withdrew back from whence she came from. she dispelled, quelled and shut down all advances by the golden Pomme Gris.

and now, she lives in regret. but hopefully not for long. because she knows that her fear is gone and if ever it were dangled before her again, she would reach out for that golden sphere.

Newcastle to Cairns - 3

the toughest drive came right after we left brisbane for yeppoon (in my very honest and humble opinion). we literally drove all night and finally arrived at our destination at 3 a.m., pitched up our tent and everyone crashed. ah...i guess this is what they mean by the wandering life of nomads.

the next day it was onwards to Airlie beach (managed to arrive early) then a stop-over at Bowen for the night. after that, it was the final leg of our trip: second turning on the left and straight on till Cairns!

Cairns is wonderful!
Cairns is perfect!
We LOVE Cairns!







ok ok..go click play!

p.s. if you didn't already realise by now, yes, i was travelling with a bunch of extreme posers. oh, they put me to shame with their skillz. yes, skillz with a 'Z'.

in life, there always comes a point where you end up telling yourself to stop fucking things up and to do something decent for once.

i've given it some thought, and i think that this is about the most decent thing that i'll be doing for myself after so long. although decent does not necessarily equate to wise, or even sane, but it is still decent enough.

A 4-year Love Affair.

Dearest



Do not cover your eyes from me
I told you once, and I've told you before
Nothing else matters; You mean so much more.

Dearest



Do not turn away from me
You know I'd be there if I could
As only someone as ardently devoted should.

Dearest



Soon I shall be home
But soon is still too long a way away
So for now, this is the best I can say

Happy 21st Birthday, my dearest biatch.



I love you!

Newcastle to Cairns - Part 2

so after leaving Byron Bay (which, by the way, is the most glorious place on Earth, for now) and passing through Springbrook National Park, we found ourselves in good ol' Brisbane. we crashed over at David's aunt's place and she made us the best dinner i've had for quite a long time: authentic indian curry chicken, dhall, ikan bilis goreng, telur masin...the whole works! plus desert too. nice.

the next day we went off to Dreamworld in Gold Coast. Dreamworld is the stuff made out of legends. the rides in there are just CRAZY! if you ever thought the Space Shot was insane, think again. They have this thing called Giant Drop, which is essentially like the Space Shot, but it's just a million miles longer. at one point while they slowly bring you up to the top before they drop you, you hit this plateau where you feel like you're not moving anymore even though you actually still are. this is because the world is so far below you that you can't judge from perspective whether or not you're still moving upwards. this is some crazy shit. and the best (or worse, depending on how you see it) part is: the period where they suspend each turn is different, unlike the one in Genting where it's a standard 10-12 seconds. so when you're up there, you've got no goddam idea when they'll actually drop you. for us, i think we were suspended for about 30, maybe 40 seconds, before they actually dropped us. and when they do, your heart falls out of your chest and into your mouth and the air is literally knocked out of your lungs.

GOOD SHIT!

however, for me, the best best BESTEST ride in the park is the Tower of Terror. you shoot from 0 to an insane speed (in the 100s of kms) in a few seconds...plunge all the way up this tower and then fall backwards back to the starting point again. it's the CRAZIEST ride ever, all over in 15 seconds. and the BEST (or worse) part is how they catch you when you're unawares. you're talking midway with Teen, when suddenly the lady behind the glass case presses a button and you're sent whizzing through thin air with your words caught in your throat and all you can do is SCREAM! all the while, David is screaming WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK!? next to you throughout the whole ride.

CRAZY GOOD SHIT!

so if you were to take my advice, the next time you find yourself in Dreamworld..GO RIDE THE GIANT DROP AND THE TOWER OF TERROR!





after DW, we stayed over at David's cousin's place (yea, i know, we're poor SO we freeload). it was excellent, they're such cool people. brought us out for some really great Malaysian food somewhere called Sunnybank as well as Hainanese Chicken Rice the day after. why does Brisbane have such great Malaysian food!? it's not fair!

then we left Brisbane, on route to Rockhampton and Yeppoon...with a stopover at Caloundra on Sunshine Coast. we arrived at Yeppoon at 3 in the morning, set up our tent on some beach and crashed. yup, we're that great.




now go watch the video!!

why i am not home yet.

around this time every year for the past 2 years, i'd be safely ensconced back in my own house..snuggled up against my pillow on my king-sized bed. i'd also probably have had my very own plate of roti-sardin-tak-mau-bawang from the local mamak stall, catching up with my friends over a cup of teh o ais limau.

instead, i'm still here in good old Sydney. a consequence of me taking up a summer research project funded by the university which is set to run for 8 weeks. i'll only be back on 20 or 21 January...God-willing, i'm hoping it to be by 15 January.

at first i was all buzzed and hyped about this summer programme. but now that all my friends are flying home one by one (some of whom are my closest are already home), i'm left wondering if i'd actually made the right choice. when i think about how everyone is back home and i'm not, i just feel like kicking myself in the nuts...if i had any, that is.

two more months to burn before i finally get myself out of here...let's hope that this summer will be a memorable one. after all, this will be the year that i will not only have NOT celebrated my 21st birthday with my parents and close friends, it will also be the year where i'll not be celebrating both Christmas AND ushering the New Year (2008, that is) with my parents as well as with the kajang posse and the sexayhood.

great times. sigh.