Beyond

I recently travelled all the way up North from Brisbane to a rural little town called Cooroy, located in the Sunshine Coast area, to visit a good friend of mine. He is my senior from my Honours class and we sometimes hang around to chat after lessons. While showing me around the Sunshine Coast area in his car, we talked a lot about our post-thesis futures. My friend is moving to Nagoya, Japan to teach English as a private tutor. I couldn't help but feel so envious. The dude, coming from a place so rural that the train only stops by twice a day and the nearest bus stop is a 1 hour walk away, is going so far beyond his little town to begin a new chapter in his life in a new environment. He admits to being nervous about the move but I know he is looking forward to working in Japan. I want to be like him, going places that are far beyond the familiar, to seek new challenges and adventures.

Many people I've been catching up with here in Brisbane have been asking me about my plans for the future now that I've finished my Honours programme. The main concern now would be getting a job, and this will most likely have to be in Singapore. I love Brisbane and would very much like to work here or somewhere else in Australia, but the reality is that in recent years it is much harder for foreigners to find a job in Australia now that the Australian government has tightened the working visa rules. Furthermore, a lot of the jobs I am interested in working in or are related to my field of study require at least Permanent Residency in order to apply. This leaves me little choice but to return to Singapore to work.

Honestly, I have mixed feelings about returning to Singapore. On the one hand, I look forward to seeing family and friends, as well as eating cheap and good local food. On the other hand, Singapore is small. I don't  just mean small in the geographical sense, but small in the sense that there are many cultural, social and political restrictions on the individual. Ultimately, I think I'm reluctant to leave my peaceful and enjoyable life here in Brisbane to return to the fast-paced Singapore life, having lived here in Australia for almost four years. Four years. Has it really been that long ago when I first came here? And now my time here is coming to an end so ... soon?

Perhaps I shouldn't be looking at things this way. Sure, unlike my good friend, I'm heading home rather than a new country to begin a new chapter in life. I may be returning to the familiar, but I'm going back as a new person. The me today is not the same as the me who first left Singapore for Brisbane four years ago. At the end of my overseas university experience, I find that I am less timid and so much more confident of myself and my abilities. I'm pro-active, and willing to speak up and work hard in order to get what I want.

What I want is a challenging yet fulfilling next chapter in life. After all the adventures I had studying abroad in Brisbane and Leeds, I will never do boring again. I aim to see more of the world, meet people from all over and learn from them, because there is just so much to know and discover. To all this I'm going to have to start somewhere first, and Singapore really isn't a bad place to begin. I'm going to return and begin to prove myself. I'd work for a few years in an industry of my interest, establishing my career, before moving on to the great beyond just like my good friend.

Tomorrow, I will be leaving Brisbane to return to Singapore. I will certainly miss Brisbane very much; it has been a home to me for the past four years. I am also going to miss greatly all the wonderful friends I have made during my four years here. Some of them I will never forget, and will treasure their friendship dearly. We shall keep in touch and someday we will meet again. Thank you, thank you, thank you, for the wonderful memories. I shall tuck them away in a special place in my heart, keeping them like a charm to remind myself of the joy, adventures and fulfilment that going beyond my comfort zone can bring.

I may be returning to Singapore, but I shall not be working there for the rest of my life. No, Singapore is just a springboard from which I'll leap towards greater things. I'm ready to come back and take advantage of whatever opportunities I can find back home. I know I can. Beyond beckons, and I'm raring to make my move.

Saying my goodbyes

The last few weeks of each university semester is always the most bittersweet because I always have to say goodbye to good friends who are moving on to new phases of their lives. This semester is especially bittersweet because I'm the one who has completed my Honours thesis and am moving out of Australia very soon.

So, over the past few weeks since I completed my thesis, I have been seeing various people here in Brisbane who are dear to me. We meet up, often for a meal/ tea, talk and reminisce, exchange gifts, and part ways with hugs, handshakes, well-wishes and promises to visit if we ever visit each others' neck of the woods. It's hard and quite sad, especially since some of them are so dear to me, but I'm thankful that we at least got a chance to say our goodbyes.

I am quite touched to find out that I will be dearly missed when I go, even by people who knew me only briefly. The other day, for instance, I visited my favourite candied nut seller at the Jan Powers' farmers' markets held at the Brisbane CBD every Wednesday. She knows me, because I am a (fairly) regular customer who is a fan of her large-sized, well-coated, good quality Macadamias and Almonds. I told her I was going to leave for Singapore very soon and she said she'd miss me dropping by. I ended up buying three big boxes of mixed candied nuts from her to take home and share, and she was so touched she gave me a discount and a complementary small packet of candied Macadamias. We hugged, and after I told her I'd drop by again the next time I visited Brisbane, we parted ways.

My favourite candied nuts seller at the CBD farmers' markets. Her stall name is called 'Aussie Gourmet Treats'.

My FAVOURITE donuts ever come from this company called 'Divine Donuts'. They set up a stall in the CBD on Fridays and another stall at the West End market on Saturdays. I always buy their original donut, a large ring of crisp-outside-and-soft-inside goodness coated in cinnamon sugar, which costs only AUS$4.50 

Aside from meeting up with people, I've also been re-visiting my favourite hangouts and eating my favourite foods. While I was still studying, I told myself that once I finished all my studies, I'd grab some friends and we'd do a graduation trip around Australia or maybe New Zealand as well. Now that I'm done and dusted with my studies and have loads of free time, I find myself reluctant to travel very much. The only travelling I've done so far is further up North to visit a good friend in the Sunshine Coast, and then taking a plane to cross the continent westwards to visit a dear friend in Perth. I don't mind being in Brisbane most of the time. I like it here, and I'm determined to revisit as many favourite places and see as many people here as I can before I go.

A beautiful spring day. This is the Forgan Smith building, probably the largest building in my university

I absolutely love farmers' markets, and one of my favourites here in Brisbane is the West End markets, held at Davies Park in West End suburb every Saturday. I love getting cheap and good fresh produce as well as the abundance of freshly cooked food from all over the world!

 

West End is my most favourite suburb! It's quirky, a vintage haven, offers a variety of international cuisine (particularly Greek and Vietnamese) and has a fabulous farmers' market every Saturday.
 

Glorious, gorgeous Noosa Rocky Road from the Noosa Chocolate Factory. The best Rocky Road ever, and one of my most favourite candies ever. I just bought a large pack to bring home and I strongly recommend this local Queensland Rocky Road as a souvenir.

I have always loved Brisbane, for its not-too-stressful pace of life, great hangouts and lovely people. Now that I'm about to leave, everything and everyone somehow seems more beautiful.

Anime Review: World Premiere of Makoto Shinkai's "Garden of Words"

I've been wanting to review this for a very long time, ever since I first watched Makoto Shinkai's latest film Garden of Words on 28 April this year. Now that my thesis has been completed I can finally get round to doing it! Also, given that the film was just released in Japan about a week ago, this is a good opportunity to discuss the film and why I highly recommend watching it.


I was one of the lucky ones who attended the world premiere of Garden of Words on 28 April. The film was fresh out of Shinkai's studio that day, having been completed only 3 weeks before being screened at the world premiere. The screening was shown at the Pacific Fair Shopping Centre, located at the Gold Coast in Australia, as part of this year's Gold Coast Film Festival. I couldn't have been luckier! I happen to be living in Brisbane, which is about an hour's train ride away from the Gold Coast. 28 April also happened to be my birthday :) It was certainly a very happy birthday as not only was I among the first the view the film, I also got to meet Shinkai himself during the autograph session and shook his hand! All these perks made the highlight of the day even more special. As it turned out, Garden of Words is definitely another masterpiece from Shinkai, one that is best summed up as achingly beautiful.

Shinkai signing my Garden of Words poster at the cinema

(Note: Contains some minor spoilers!)

According to Shinkai, what makes Garden of Words unique is that this film uses the traditional Japanese understanding of love as "lonely sadness" or yearning someone in solitude, instead of the modern notion of love as romance. The use of this concept actually does not make Garden of Words too different from Shinkai's previous works, such as 5cm per Second, Voices of a Distant Star and Children Who Chase Lost Voices, all of which deal with the issue of coping with a distant love. However, Garden of Words differs from these previous films in that it focuses on the coming together of two people driven by their longing for each other instead of lovers who become separated from each other.

The two main characters of Garden of Words first encounter each other at a park during the rainy season in Tokyo. Takao is an aspiring shoemaker who decided to skip school to sketch shoes in the park whenever it rains. Yukino is a mysterious older woman who also decided to skip work to read and drink beer in the park when she feels like it. Both slowly get to know each other, discovering that they look forward to the rain that would bring them together at the park. However, they have difficulties working out their feelings for each other, and with the rainy season drawing to an end, they must quickly deal with the yearning they feel for each other.

The challenge of pulling off a film about how lonely desire draws two lovers together is that the love between the characters needs to be developed at the right pace and their blossoming feelings explored with sufficient depth. I'm happy to report that Shinkai has managed to tackle both aspects very well. This is evident in the care and attention he places on various little details that do not seem significant on their own, and are therefore easily taken for granted, but when taken as a whole are crucial in contributing to the beauty of the overall film.

Take, for instance, Takao's ambition of becoming a shoemaker. During the Question-and-Answer session at the end of the film, Shinkai explained that shoemaking actually plays a role in the deepening relationship between Takao and Yukino. Shoemaking is intimate because people do not normally show their bare feet to strangers. When Yukino removes her shoes and allows Takao to use her feet as a model for the shoes, as seen during the movie trailer, it reflects the growing intimacy between the pair as Takao is permitted to touch a normally private part of a person's body. In fact, making shoes is Takao's way of intimately connecting with other people. Coming from a family broken apart by divorce and living with a mother who is sometimes preoccupied with her younger boyfriend, Takao did not experience much love in his life. He seeks enjoyment in the craft of shoemaking, partly motivated by a childhood memory in which his father, older brother and himself surprised his mother on her birthday with a stunning new pair of shoes.  Ironically, Takao is so caught up in the intimate craft of shoemaking that he is unaware of the people around him, as Yukino observed at one point during the film.


Rain is another significant part of the film that deserves greater appreciation. Shinkai even went as far as to describe rain as a character of the film. Rain was present at many of the significant moments in Takao and Yukino's deepening relationship; it was what first brought Takao and Yukino together at the rain shelter at the beginning of the film and it made their subsequent meetings at the park possible. Rain was therefore central to the love that grew between Takao and Yukino. In a way, Shinkai explained, falling rain is like falling in love: you cannot help it happening.


Finally, one cannot help but marvel at the breathtakingly beautiful art and scenery that characterizes so many of Shinkai's other works. Shinkai mentioned that for this film he improved on his visual art by using a new colouring style. Shinkai's sharp attention to the film's art is reflected in the life-like details of the surroundings its characters are embedded in: the shimmer of the curtains, reflections in the dew drops, the sparkle of the rain and even faint clouds of pollen and dust in the air. At the same time, the dominant use of sky blue and jade green gives the film a lovely dreaminess. The mesmerizing quality of the film's art led the host of the Question-and-Answer segment to joke that the film was "scenery porn". Shinkai chuckled at that and replied that he never thought of his artwork as visual porn, for him, the gorgeous visuals served to enhance the overall film experience. One might argue that such emphasis on the beauty of the film's art may distract from the main story; there is a risk of style over substance in other words. Garden of Words would have fallen into this trap if the development of its story was weak to begin with. However, as described earlier, Shinkai paid careful attention to developing the intimacy between the two main characters that is central to this film. The loveliness and dreaminess of the Garden of Words' art therefore do not distract but reflect the mood of a film that sets out to explore desire.

Shinkai's Garden of Words is truly a work of art, not just in the visual sense, but also in its ability to capture the lonely desire that makes falling in love painful yet beautiful. I would even go as far as to rank it as highly as Shinkai's other widely-lauded film 5cm per Second. Others may disagree with this ranking but  this beautifully crafted film is sure to at least touch one's heart. If the reaction of the audience at the world premiere of Garden of Words is anything to go by, this film would be well-received: at the end of the film, there was a brief silence before a long applause. Shinkai admitted after the film that he was a little worried of how an international audience would react to his new film. "Did you like it?" he asked the audience hesitantly in English. The cheers and second round of applause said it all.

Living in Brisbane

My parents will be visiting really soon, for the main purpose of attending my graduation (see previous post), but while they are here in Brisbane I do intend to show them around. A number of fellow international students studying in Brisbane have remarked that Brisbane is a boring place to live in. Well, I guess it's true in the sense that Brisbane, being only the third largest city in Australia, does not have the big city vibes and excitement that can be found in Sydney and Melbourne, which are probably the two best-known and popular Australian cities. Indeed, when I visited Melbourne with a couple of friends recently, I could sense a difference in the 'feel' of the two cities. Melbourne was bigger, more crowded and more urbanized. My visit to Melbourne was a very memorable and enjoyable one, but I did also find myself being glad to be back in Brisbane and missing good 'ol Brissie.

I for one do like to live in Brisbane. What I like best about Brisbane is that it has a good balance of the urban and the country. That is, Brisbane has a thriving city centre and financial heart, but there isn't an atmosphere of stress and fast-paced living that you often find in many other major cities around the world. People are generally laid back and know how to achieve work-life balance. Also, beyond the city centre, the various suburbs and neighbourhoods have a nice, peaceful community feel to them.

As for the criticism that Brisbane is boring, my response will be that interesting activities and lifestyles don't fall from the sky onto your laps. There are interesting things to see and do in Brisbane, you just have got to look out for them, sometimes by going off the beaten track. Notging ventured, nothing gained. I also think that any city or country will eventually get boring, especially if you finish all the must-sees and must-dos promoted by tourism campaigns. The next stage would then be to immerse yourself in the local life and learn to appreciate local culture.

I do have my favourite hangouts in Brisbane, particularly the suburbs of West End and Fortitute Valley. At the same time, I enjoy discovering new places to hang out, the most recent being the suburb of Paddington, which has many excellent cafes and is a good place to go for vintage shopping. A favourite activity of mine is to go out for a delicious weekend breakfast, which seems to be a popular thing to do among locals, aside from going to the pubs and clubs for a drink and watching a footy match. When my parents visit later this week, I am definitely going to show them Brisbane as I know and enjoy it, and hopefully they'll fall in love with this great city too.

June holidays!

Now that I'm completely done with my Bachelor degree, I've been soaking up the sweet, sweet freedom the June holidays bring by chilling out as much as I could.

First, some updates on myself: I will be graduating next week (gasp! so soon!) and am gearing up for the big day. My parents will be coming over from Singapore to be present on this special occasion. Unfortunately, my younger bro is unable to come as he is busy with schoolwork. After graduation, my Honours programme will begin! Yes, I have been informed that I met all the requirements to do my Honours and am looking forward to getting started :D

Meanwhile, I have been enjoying my precious free time as much as I can. Unlike previous holidays, I did not go back to Singapore to visit this time as I felt that it will be better to stay behind to settle the various Honours application stuff. Also, a few good friends of mine are graduating and returning to their home countries for good, and I wanted to spend time with them since we may not meet again. There's not a whole lot to do in Brisbane so I've given myself little projects to do over the holiday. My aim is to pursue my hobbies as much as I can now that I have free time, as I know the Honours programme is going to be a busy one. So far, I've completed Book 1 (Game of Thrones) of George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series and the Game of Thrones TV season 1, made Chinese steamed bao and pounded a new batch of Thai green curry paste, kept in touch with some people important to me, caught up with good pals of mine, ate at my favourite eateries and discovered new favourites, did some shopping, resumed manga-drawing and finally got a chance to travel to Melbourne! Yep, life is good, really good!

Keep an eye out for more posts, I'm hoping to blog more about my life in Brisbane :D

Soliloquy on the end of school

Well, it's not exactly the end yet. I still have exams in a couple of weeks' time. Also, should all go well with my Honours application (I sincerely hope so!), I will be commencing my Honours year the following semester. But it is officially the end of lessons here at UQ, and until I receive an official letter from my Faculty confirming my successful Honours application, I can only assume that the 'student' chapter of my life is coming to an end.

Lessons officially ended last week, but till now my mind is still a whirl of thoughts and feelings about The End. I mean, I have been a student nearly all my life, beginning when I first started nursery and till now at the end of my undergraduate studies. While I do have some working and internship experiences, being a student is the only real job I have ever done all these years. So now that I am on the cusp of entering the real working world, I can't help but feel a mix of sadness, nostalgia, fear and excitement.

My Mum likes to tell me that being a student is the best time of one's life. That's because for all the stress homework, exams and tecahers give, coupled with the trials and tribulations that come with growing up, a student's life is still a shelthered one. Most students will depend on their parents to varying degrees for financial support, for one thing. Also, when you're young, people are more forgiving when you make mistakes. Once you become a full-time working adult, there're more responsibilities to take on and expectations of you are raised a notch. For perhaps the first time, you are truly on your own when it comes to supporting yourself.

For me, I feel the pressures of finding a job after I graduate more and more. It just doesn't help that the International Labour Organization recently warned that youth unemployment has become a serious issue worldwide since the Global Financial Crisis. I fear that I too might be one of those millions of qualified, educated but frustrated young people who either cannot find a job or end up being under-employed. The unemployment situation in Singapore isn't as bad as in Europe and USA, but with increased immigration of late the competition for local jobs have intensified. Ideally, I would like to get a job here in Australia as I feel Australia has more opportunities for my areas of study, but so many other international students also want to find a job here, which means greater competition for the permanent residency needed to apply for most Australian jobs. Probing deeper into my fears, I think I am basically afraid of leaving the comfort of student life and entering the uncertain, fast-changing territory of the working world.

I do have my dreams and aspirations, which I have been working very hard to achieve, but in the face of the unknown, there is no guarantees that they will definitely be attained. But I take comfort in the fact that at the end of student life, I have no regrets. I fought for and got to study the subjects I was interested in, my passion for my two main fields of study at university has been nurtured greatly and I have had the privilege of attending wonderful schools and learning under knowledgeable academics. Student life has been stressful, no doubt, but it had also been fun, fulfilling and comforting. I wish I had appreciated this more earlier.

Special mention must go to my University, for it was here at the University of Queensland that I really and truly blossomed academically and as a student. Until I joined UQ, I had only been an average student in Singapore. I worked hard in my studies, but so did everyone else, as that was how you survive the highly competitive education system in Singapore. I did manage to attend a couple of prestigious and popular schools in Singapore, but I wasn't one of their alumni who left with stellar grades and would be featured as 'high-achievers' in school magazines. I never had stellar grades in Singapore. I couldn't even get into the Faculty of Arts of the National University of Singapore because it was so competitive and my 'A' level grades were just decent. All this changed when I was accepted into UQ. At first, I had a big academic culture shock when I started university as the environment, responsibilities and expectations of university students were quite different from what I was used to in Singapore. It took me a few months to get used to everything and settle down. After that initial difficulty, though, everything was mostly smooth-sailing to my surprise. At the end of my first year, I received a Dean's Commendation from the Faculty of Arts. Subsequently, I have received a Dean's Commendation for nearly every semester except the first semester of last year when I went on exchange to the UK. In addition, I managed to go on exchange to the University of Leeds last year and I recently completed an internship at a public sector organization here in Brisbane. I'm still surprised that I achieved so much here as compared to my student days in Singapore, but I believe I can attribute my success to the academic environment of UQ. There is more academic freedom in UQ,  exams are not the be-all and end-all as is often the case with education in Singapore and I got to learn under many academics who are passionate about their areas of expertise. I also received a lot of social, emotional and academic support here at UQ (and from my wonderful parents back home), without which I am sure I would not have achieved as much as I have today.

This is why I so badly want to do my Honours year the following semester. I love studying in UQ, and I have an area of interest I want to pursue more deeply in an Honours thesis. And having studied abroad in two countries, I realize that the world is such a vast place that is uncertain and ever-changing but where there are still opportunities that await. Singapore will always be home to me, but as I have said before in this blog, Singapore is small in more than just the literal sense.

But maybe I need not fear so much what the future brings, for I do have rich and fulfilling school experiences (especially the ones I had in UQ) to speak of that would no doubt be of use when I finally start working. I cannot say with certainty what will happen in the future for me, but no matter what job I take on or wherever in the world I end up working, I have these precious student experiences that have greatly shaped me to become who I am today.

No matter what happens in the future, no one or nothing can ever take away the things I experienced, learned and loved during my student days for they are all in my heart and mind now.

Third year, second semester

This semester is the second semester of my third year. It is also the final semester of my undergraduate degree.

I am astounded at how time seems to have flown by in a flash. It really did not seem so long ago, only in 2009 in fact, when I first entered university in Australia. Two years were spent here in Brisbane, one semester in Leeds and now I am embarking on the last phase of my undergraduate journey. A friend recently asked if I looked forward to graduating. I admitted that I felt more sad than excited because graduation would mark the end of my undergraduate life, a life that I only began to settle comfortably into not too long ago. It has been a life of joy and discovery, save the occasional setback and difficulty, and I am sad to think university life might come to an end. There is also the prospect that, having graduated, I might have to leave Australia to go back to Singapore.

I probably won't be returning so soon, however. After my undergraduate studies, I firmly intend to embark upon my Honours year. It is both my parents' and my wish. I want to do my Honours badly, because it would give my degree that extra edge and it means that I can study in Brisbane one year longer. After my Honours, I'll look for a job in Australia or the Asia-Pacific region.

You may wonder why I seem so reluctant to go back to Singapore. It's not that I dislike Singapore; Singapore is deeply sentimental to me as the country where I was born and raised most of my life, where friends and family are and where good and cheap Singaporean food can be found. Yet, having travelled quite a bit and having lived in two countries already, I realize that the world out there is vast and many opportunities beckon. Singapore is small, not just in the geographical sense, but also in the sense that the local politics and social culture can be quite stiffling and constrained. Fellow Singaporeans would know exactly what I mean and I think many would concur. Singapore, I have come to realize, is too small for my dreams.


No, I won't be returning so soon. The greater world beckons and I am drawn to it. I will work hard towards my dreams and be the best that I could ever be. Second semester of my third year, watch me now.

Homeward bound

Another semester of university has come and gone. Tomorrow, I will be returning to Singapore to spend my summer holidays. In the days leading up to my departure, I ate out a lot, and met up with many friends. Eating out is one of my favourite activities to do in Brisbane, though I don't do it often because eating out in Brisbane is generally more expensive than doing so in Singapore. For the past few days, I checked out a few new eateries and revisited many favourite spots, eating the dishes I enjoy before I head back home. Brisbane has a pretty diverse and good food scene and I have sampled a great many cuisines here. Next semester, I'll blog more about my favourite eateries in Brisbane! I also caught up with many friends over the past few days. A few of my friends will be graduating and leaving Brisbane, and though we will certainly keep in touch via social media, it is uncertain if we will ever see each other again.

This time of the semester is always the most bittersweet part. You realize that the people in your life come and go, and you yourself will eventually move on to embark on a new stage of life. You fix that by setting aside time to meet up or to do something, and enjoy yourself. Yet, you think to yourself if only you had spent just a bit more time with so-and-so or doing so-and-so during the semester.

Oh well. I will still be in Brisbane  a little longer (and am intending to stay on longer after that), and I will definitely make the best out of my time in Australia. For now, though, it's bye bye Brisbane, for I am homeward bound!

My spirituality

I went for my second Baha'i gathering today.

The gathering I attended is run by an Iranian Baha'i lady at her home. Anyone, from any religious background or nationality, is welcome. At the gathering, people sit in a circle and discuss a topic of the week for about 2 hours. The first time I came the topic was "Happiness", today's topic is "Spititual Freedom". The discussion is a casual, friendly one in which everyone takes turns to air their views. After discussing, everyone indulges in a delicious potluck dinner.

I'm not Baha'i. Actually, I don't have a religion. However, I'm not an atheist either. I'd say that I'm a spiritual but not religious person (if only census forms come with that option when it comes to filling that section on one's religious affiliation!). It's not easy for me to explain the spiritual side of myself, because it was only very recently that I got in touch with it. My spirtual journey first began with taking an introductory course in world religions at my university. It's an enlightening, comprehensive course that really broadened my mind, particularly the assignment that required students to visit three places of worship. I chose to visit a Pentecostal Christian Church, a Tibetan Buddhist Centre and the above-mentioned Baha'i gathering. All visits were wonderful experiences where I met many lovely people. It was also eye-opening to actually attend a religious worship session, instead of merely popping in at the house of worship. Now that the assignment has been submitted, I don't have to go for any more religious gatherings, but somehow today I decided to attend another Baha'i gathering. It seems to me that once I had started on my spiritual journey by taking the world religions course, I didn't want to just abandon it even after the course has been completed. No, I'm actually keen to take my spiritual exploration further and see where it leads me.

I decided to come again for the Baha'i gathering because this one left the deepest impression on me. I like how the Baha'i faith embraces diversity and does not teach that there is only one correct path (thus implying that all others are invalid). I like the atmosphere of the gathering: the warmth and kindness of the lady host, the attendees who are of diverse nationalities yet get along like a family as well as the casualness and friendliness. I like the potluck dinner at the end of the session, where everyone bonds over the dinner that was created from the home-made contributions of each attendee. I enjoy the sessions so far, and am interested to come for more such Baha'i activites in the future.

Much as I like what I've particpated in so far, I don't know if I'll be a Baha'i in the future (the other religion I'm particularly interested in is Buddhism). Maybe, in the end, I will be contented to remain spiritual but not religious. But like I said, now that I've begun my spiritual journey, I don't want to end it just yet. This is my quest for the meaning of life, and whatever the outcome, I'm sure I'll gain a deeper understanding of myself and the world.

Mid-semester break

It's the end of the first week of the second half of the semester (and the first week of school after the mid-sem break), and I'm already longing for the holidays to start again soon. I had a good, productive mid-semester break. Productive not just in the sense that I got lots of school work done (well, I think I could have done a bit more but oh well), but I also got to do plenty of other things I've been wanting to do as well.

• I started on a new anime series - Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Awesome show, 2 more episodes to go (awww!). You know this anime's a hit when there are so many anime figurines of characters from the show flooding the market!
• I ate at some new places that have been on my to-eat-at list for some time, including this Nepalese restaurant in the Paddington suburb called Kathmandu Newa Chhe'n. Pretty good food, I must say, Nepalese food is similar to Indian food. Gotta go back to Paddington again to try some more of the eateries there that have received good reviews.
• I prepared and shared dinner with my neighbours. Three times. First time was penne pasta with pesto and garlic bread, next was spaghetti with garlic bread, third time we had a mix of Indonesian and Chinese food - Tahu Telor by my Indonesian neighbour (which I requested cos that's my fav Indonesian dish) and sweet and sour chicken (which I made, cos that one's a popular and well-known dish) and vegetables with oyster sauce (another dish I made). It was so much fun, sharing a meal together and talking over good food. We should definietly do this more often.
• Finally got to meet up with a good friend of mine, who was from the same primary school, secondary school and now university as me. We went to West End where we had Indonesian food for lunch, then we wandered around West End and then decided to have dinner at a Persian restaurant together as well!
• Highlight of the holidays - I finally went to Movieworld! With some of my neighbours and my neighbour's friends. Movieworld seems a bit small to me, but nevertheless, I had fun! I shopped, sat on the highly recommended Scooby Doo ride, watched a 4D movie, snapped lots of photos of the 4 o'clock costume parade and gaped in awe at car drivers performing jaw-dropping stunts. T'was an enjoyable da indeed!

Not bad, I must say, I got to do so many things in just one week of holiday (and it wasn't much of a holiday, I had some assignments to work on over that one week!). Now, if only the next holidays, the summer break, would roll around faster ...