It’s been awhile since I been to church. The reason being is that I never around on Sundays, and even when I do go to church I find myself drifting off, most of what the priest says floats through my subconcious and is then placed at the back of my mind.
On this one Sunday when I happened to be around for church, I just managed to catch the last phrase of our creed. “The resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.” Could this be a prophecy? Could a zombie apocalypse be imminent?
Of course this is just an idea sparked by consuming all these zombie themed movies and games: Eg: The Walking Dead, Dead Island, Left 4 dead and etc… Ther seems to be a strange fascination with a world where humans start dying, and then start walking … and eating. It can't just be a coincidence that so much media is focused on these fictional creatures? All it takes is a small blunder in a lab, or a rare virus mutation or radiation.
The undead is always portrayed the same way in almost all forms of media. Rotting, decaying, slow and constantly HUNGRY for living flesh.
What are the possibilities that this may happen? Evolution or Devolution? I figured that after so much of human advancement in technology and so on, the big guy up there probably figured that an Ipad 5 simply will not do. So he decides devolve humans and let them start from square 1? Possible theory?
Natural disasters everywhere, famine, destruction of land, radioactive waste. There has got to be a reset button on this rock right? Is it the doing of some ominous all knowing being or are we pretty much screwing ourselves up?
Well I wait for the day when I have to choose to point a shotgun to your face, or have my teeth sunken into your juicy… juicy Braiiinsss!! Bad news either way!
Disclaimer: I do not own the picture above and I do not in any way predict a zombie apocalypse. Whatever happens in the future is of pure coincidence. =)
So I found this video of Ted Williams. Who is Ted Williams? Well he WAS a homeless man from Ohio turned overnight sensation. He is a classic example of how people can come back even after they have fallen from grace.
Inspiring! Just something I wanted to share even if you have already seen it. He got BURIED by his past mistakes with drugs and alcohol but amazingly he got clean and DUG himself right out of the hole.
Now hopefully, with this second chance in life, he will stay clean while we listen to him announce for the Cleveland Cavaliers or maybe we might hear him on the radio. Whatever it is, all the best to him.
Being in Amsterdam made me realize something. There is a whole different world where my values as a conservative do not apply. The level of deviance that is tolerated there is high. Vices that you would get hanged for in my country are so widely available here. It's just like going down to your local pharmacy (or in this case "Coffee Shop") to get yourself a packet of paracetamol.
A fast fact : The Netherlands is the first country to constitute Gay marriage. Fast Fact No 2: Marijuana/ Mushrooms is Legal and widely available Fast Fact No 3: Prostitution is legal. (and very open eg: The infamous "fish tanks" of the red light district.)
These facts made me think that this place is got to be crazy, scary and possibly dangerous! In fact it is much safer than my home country. People there are normal and I had no case of the jitters whatsoever even when I walk through an alley at night. I'd probably be risking life and limb if I were to walk through a dark alley back at home.
Well I am glad and grateful that I am not stuck in a box from nine to five. It is liberating to know that I may wake up in one place and go to bed in another part of the world, soaking up in the many cultures of the world.
PS: If you are ever in Amsterdam, try the Ribs at this place called Castelle's (second picture) . Its got a pretty neat fire place too.
winter strips its sheet of white to make way for the green of spring, Love shines bright with the spring light, The solemn sounds of winter, now a distant ring,
Spring light brings new meaning to your eyes, the brown iris shines ever brightly, with the promise of loves guise, that whispers to me so sweetly,
More than 12 seasons i have shared, With the one i would call my dear, With Every season we bared there holds a promise of love that is clear,
A promise of seasons to come, A promise of love unconditional, A love unchangingly, tropically unseasonal.
*Dedicated to my Darling Girl* Thank you for making the seasons bearable.
Its been awhile since i last blogged. I have been really busy with assignments. Anyway, I just wanted to post up my recent works and see what you guys think of it? This one would be my personal column. I did my first draft. Then, edited it a few times. I will post the first and final draft. Please leave comments on it if you'd like.
The story is fictional by the way. A little bit of truth to it though... anyway, enjoy!
Personal Column Draft 1 looks like this:
First Taste of Liberation
I approached the beach on Langkawi Island clad in just a pair of beach shorts that showed just a little bit more skin than I was usually comfortable with. I wanted to pull on a pair of three quarter jeans to protect myself from my own self consciousness when I started to think to myself; ‘hey what the hell, I if I am going to have fun I might as well try to feel comfortable in my own skin’. I dropped the idea of overdressing for the beach and hopped my way towards the beach. I put my feet into the sand and watched it slide between my toes. It has been a long time since I felt liberation. I saw the liberation in the horizon that separated the sky from the ocean, I smelt it in the salty sea breeze, I felt it in the wind that brushed across my face and then, and a liberation completely new and addictive to me was, the sweet nectar that flowed from the bottle of Bacardi that was in my hand. I sat down by the beach with my friends as we took turns taking a swig at liberation.
We played cards, told stories and drank until the moon was glaring down our backs. Then I stood up and a sensation unlike any I have ever felt before rushed from my feet, to my hands and vibrated throughout my body. It was like a strong blow to my head and everything started to go hazy. Just as quickly as the sensation came, it disappeared. I was kind of glad that it did. I dismissed the sensation as a sign of me being tired from all the bumming around. I continued to drink until the bottle was empty. Then I thought, that would be enough of the drink tonight. I turned to my friends to hint that we should go back to the chalets when, in front of us lay another bottle of the drink. Trying not to offend these new found friends of mine, I continued to drink the concoction which seemed just as sweet if not sweeter than it was in the previous batch.
I started to sweat, then, I let out a laugh. I heard my friends laughing with me. Or were they laughing at me? With that in mind I felt shame, then sank into a depressive state and started bawling my eyes out while lying in the sand. I guess nobody noticed me there. Or were they too engrossed in their own happiness to even give a damn?The sadness suddenly turned into rage. At this point, I could only remember snapshots of what was going on at the time. I remember getting up and screaming at the friend who jived to the music that blasted out of the stereo we brought to the beach. I remember lifting my hand and then everything else was blank.
When I woke up I was at the chalet. It looked like a tornado had welled up inside the cabin and made a very bad mess of the place. Some paintings were on the floor, some glasses were broken and the couch I woke up from was slanting to one side as one of the wooden pegs broke. What happened here? Was I asleep all this time? I would later find out from those “friends” of mine that I was the cause of this destruction. Apparently I get really emotionally agitated and lashed out at one my friends and pushed him into the water.Luckily, he was sober enough to not drown.
It has been a year since I last tasted the liberation in Langkawi. Our friends made a deal to let that incident stay in Langkawi but of course they never forgot. I would find that we hung out less, and slowly we didn’t really bother to hang out at all. I learnt that drinking may earn you a few social points, but when you do not drink responsibly, you will lose your friends as quickly as you can say “Alcohol”. These days I still drink from time to time, but I definitely left that over rated, friend loosing liberation I felt, back on that Island.
After re-drafting the end result looks like this:
Personal Column Final Draft
I dug my toes into the sea and watched my foot dissolve into the sand. I smelt the salty sea breeze and shuddered as the blissful wind brushed my face and caressed my bare skin. I turned 18 not too long ago and Lankawi Island would be a getaway, a treat just for me, so that I can taste the legal right to my freedom. It had been a long time since I felt so liberated.
The evening sun was just about to set. The night was still young but I was getting impatient. No way was I going to waste any second of my vacation here. So, I made my towards the ice box on the terrace and slipped my hand through the icy water until I managed to fish out the bottle of Bacardi.
“Hey Daniel grab one for me as well alright?” one of my acquaintances yelled from across the beach.
I grabbed 2 bottles of Bacardi, few more bottles of Coke and some paper cups and brought them back to the beach where a couple more of my acquaintances were waiting for me. I joined them on the sand and mixed the liquor out into the cups. I brought the concoction to my lips and felt the warm liquid wash down my gullet. That was the very first time I ever tasted hard alcohol. In my mind, this symbolized my liberation from being a child to becoming a man.
I could tell that the people around me (myself included) were having a great time. They were telling tales of ex-girlfriends, playing poker and dancing to the techno music that blared from the portable radio. Of course, everybody was tipsy by now. This would go on from the late evening; right up until the moon could be seen as a glistening reflection on our sweaty backs.
The hours passed, and everyone was talking louder as the alcohol circulated through their bodies. I stared at everybody blankly. My hand swayed itself to another cup of the sweet nectar, my mouth dry, waiting in eager anticipation for the liquid to once again pass my lips. Most of the drink splashed onto all parts of my body except my mouth. I struggled to even walk straight. My vision blurred and the world seemed to spin around my head.
Bottles of alcohol scatter on the ground as the drunks stumbled around them. By now, these were the only few people left standing. Everyone else was sprawled out on the beach, too drunk to care. Even if a big wave were to swallow them and wash them out to sea they probably wouldn’t even notice they were gone.
One minute I was laughing at nothing. Then I started bawling my eyes out as repressed memories of scarred relationships with family and friends start flooding back to my mind. Depression starts to boil over and turns into an anger unlike any I have felt before. The heat of the emotion started to flow into my blood. I could feel its heat flushed onto my face, the warmth magnified by the alcohol and the humid tropical weather.
I glared at this one particular bloke who I thought was looking at me funny.
“What are you looking at? I screamed
“You think something is funny?”
My hand moved on its own accord towards the guy’s chest, shoving him, closer and closer towards the water. I guess he was too wasted to even fight back. Everything else was just a blur.
I woke up the next morning to a nasty headache. I scanned my eyes around the chalet to find that it was an utter mess. Decorative paintings lay slanted on the wall, broken glass everywhere and even the toilet seat was not left unharmed as it swayed on its hinge, threatening to fall out at any minute.
I was told that, the man I shoved yesterday fell into the water but luckily the cold water shocked him into a temporary soberness that saved him from drowning. The fact is I could have killed him! Thank god he was too drunk and it was too dark for him to know who I was.
It has been 2 years now since I last came to Langkawi. I am here with my colleagues from work. This time there would be no more drunken teenage adventures.
M y colleagues have had a few shots at the bar. I smiled as I looked down at my can of Coke.
Yesterday I was at one of the RMIT computer labs where I decided I would sit there alone and reflect about the week’s assignments. Before I knew it I was already looking at my watch. Reflecting seemed to be a lot of work for me. But as I sat in that silent lab by myself, listening to the ticking of the seconds on my analogue watch, it suddenly hit me, like a brick through a window that I just turned 21 last week and I am getting old.
My recent initiation into the black jack’s club was unforgettable. It is not everyday a person turns 21 and I thank my friends for making it a memorable experience. It has been awhile since I received a birthday present and this one was definitely a special gift. As you might already know, the bike I lost not too long ago is now a distant memory. I got over it with my brand new bike I got from my friends. Hoorah! Mobility is mine again!
So far it has been good to spread my wings of manhood but sometimes it gets clipped down when my mum calls. When she calls to check up on me, I would still be out, at a time that parents might consider the zero hour. Safety is an issue that most mothers are concerned about. I think that my mum would dread to see an article with the headline “International Student Killed in Late Night Brawl,” when she reads the morning paper. Thus, I will try my best to be home early, or choose to not to pick up my calls. Oh, Jimminy Cricket won’t you be my guide? (reference to Pinnochio's conscience)
Time seems to run faster for me now that I am 21. I find myself trying to keep up with time before it outruns me. Before I know it I will be 22, 30 and then just a memory on a gravestone. For now I will live my life with my mortality in mind so that I will remember to not waste my life on regrets.
Have you ever had someone that you used to always hang out with, go places together, just somebody who would be right at your door step just as you walk out of your apartment?
Well i have, actually "I had". I lost that friend recently. I still recall all the good times we had together. We would travel around together. We would go around the city and even go over to my girl friends place. She was always there when i needed her but she was never that clingy to actually follow me everywhere.
When i would go to Big W, she would acknowledge that i want to get the groceries on my own and she would wait outside for me.
When i went back home she always respected that i was not that type of guy and she would never come up to my room.
She respected that i needed time on my own to hang out with my other friends and she gladly parked aside, feeling like an outcast as i selfishly clung to my own social peers.
She was my best friend who always stood by me, got me from A to B and she never ever made me feel like i owed her anything. Then one day, she vanished.
She was not waiting downstairs as i came out the door. There was no one waiting outside the grocer for me, ready to accompany me home. I feel lost without her. Who could replace that pillar of strength and stability as well as she could. I cant go from place to place as quickly and joyfully as i used to.
I know i only knew you for a couple of weeks now, but i feel that the connection that was much deeper than just a friendship. When i needed to get to places, you were that point of contact you were that moving grace. Unfortunately you were mercilessly stolen from me, but i forgive that person. Who could resist the magnificence that is you and they would probably want to keep magnificence for themselves.
I will miss you dearly my dearest friend, my bicycle, my black hawk with Dunlop tires and a red frame. I will keep the key to your lock and the helmet that came with you with the hopes that one day i will find you again.
Here is a picture of me and my dearly departed. Rest Easy where ever you may be.
i will go on ahead and dream of what might have been and where we could have traveled T.T
The most obvious memorable moment for me within the past month (considering the fact that i am an international student)would be, leaving home to come to Melbourne. The memory of that moment starts all the way from when i started packing my bags, checking the itinerary list: Clothes check, Toiletries check, (at least enough to last the month)Plane tickets check and Passport double check (i do not think the Australian immigration would take to kindly to illegal entry into Australia)
The memory of the moment continues as soon as i reach the airport. Mum was there of course, a couple of friends and my bags. I arrived late at the airport (it was a weekday plus the rush hour traffic was horrible) Checked my bags only to find out that it was overloaded by 4 kilos. Opened the bag got out a few things (one of my favorite pair of Jeans didn't make the flight to Melbourne unfortunately but mum was nice enough to send it over).
I didn't get a wink of sleep in the plane. I was to busy putting on the headphones trying to drown out that the cries of this one particular toddler who seemed to have had a caffeine trip by the way she was wailing and not wanting to sleep throughout the flight.
Anyway just as i touched down at Tulamarine airport, as soon as i got out from that plane and out through the doors of immigration, that was probably the most memorable moment of my life. New people, new environment, crazy weather and basically a brand new chapter in my life away from my home in Malaysia.
What you have just read was ultimately the memory of the preparation, the moving and the arrival into what would be (hopefully) the best damn time of my life.
I've checked some of my comments and on of them coming from my darling says i should try something more happy. Well here goes, ill give it a shot. Here is a poem dedicated to my dearest!
The Day we met
The days go by slowly before i met you, every second, every minute, every hour, before your coming, seemed like eternity multiplied by two
it has been a year and more, since that fateful day, the day of your birth and the birth of our meant to be as i ponder on things pass no memory could be as close to bliss as the memory of you and me
our beliefs and thoughts may sometimes differ but believe what we believe we still share the belief of 'us' you see
so as the years pass, we may seem a little bit colder argue as we may, each other we still cherish but know this and know it well as clear as day i can tell that everyday our love always gets just a little bit bolder till the day we part, love shall ever be you and me
Well, i was sitting in class today, and for some reason i started writing. I think its a poem...cant be sure but just comment on what you think about it. This is what i wrote...
Blind
darkness slowly creeps into the night, as clouds shroud the light of the stars, I look behind, i see darkness, I listen and i hear silence, thats when i came to realize, how alone i am in the dark
I start to walk just a little bit faster, but the darkness still follows, I run a little bit faster, but the darkness still shrouds me, I start to scream, I scream for the light, light my way, light my way, I say, but darkness still shrouds me, like the black of the night
I awake, ah it was just a dream, my eyes still closed i see nothing, I open my eyes slowly but the dreaded dark still grips me, thats when i realize i never could see.
-Shane-
ill tell you what the poem is about in the next post. Just tell me what you guys think first...
