Sunday, October 29, 2006
Looking too far ahead...
As usual, I have completely sold myself to the idea of what I'm going to be doing next year, and instead of focusing on my one little exam that's tomorrow, and my summer subjects, I've been on e-bay buying books that I'll need for my Masters course and ... well... loss of motivation... *sigh*
I had a shit day today. Really. I woke up only to find that I'd received the worst grade ever for my political philosophy essay. I knew what I was saying was a bit radical, and I tend to write stuff that's a bit out there... but I've done that all throughout my degree. And generally, I have a pretty good idea of how well I do when I work. As a general rule, amount of effort at input = final mark. I put in effort. I'm not happy with getting a C for a philosophy subject when I KNOW what I'm doing, and I understand the concepts better than I've ever understood for any other course.
My lecturer and my tutor were great, no question about that - I really learned a lot. But I don't think I should be penalized for writing something that didn't fit the mould. I never have, and it's just not my style. So I spent today trying to appeal it and stressing over the mark, etc.
And strangely enough, I bumped into my tutor, who had seen my paper, and my mark... Oh, well... thanks for reassuring me a little bit :) He did very cautiously mention that the lecturer seems to be a little bit critical when he marks.
So... I come home thinking I should try to get my mind off this before I start to study for tomorrow's exam... and decided to watch "Osama" (BIG mistake). Great movie. No complaints. A beautiful film.
Just tragic, that's all. Absolutely tragic. Highly recommended. But now I'm somewhat depressed by the plight of women in Afghanistan and could hardly care less about a little linguistics exam tomorrow.
Other than that, I dropped in on the linguistics department again... Julie's marked one of my essays, finally, and it's being double marked by Heather again. I guess it means, once again, that I've either done really well, or really poorly, just like last time I had to be double marked. I guess I shouldn't worry too much about that.
Things just seem somewhat off today. I met up with Joel to study for linguistics, but I just couldn't concentrate (not after the Philosophy mark)... I went and got a coffee from HQ in campus centre, but they ran out of soy milk... then I went to the Den, and Wesley, who works there, and who I always chat with, didn't see me. I'd gone to see Juliet in MAI earlier, and she was telling me about the tense political situation in Fiji for an hour (I love to listen, but her nerves rubbed off on me). Another friend failed a maths exam. And the guy who went to ALI with me during the winter break still hasn't handed in the second essay for 6 credit points (I did 12 credit points - which is why I had more essays to write) and thinks he's going to fail the subject. Is this just a day for bad news or what?!
Is there good news today? Well... yes... Yoga was good. As always! I got next Thursday off work, so I can go to Catherine's birthday party. Marika from MAI thinks that they might be able to arrange for Khun Phasuk Phongphaichit (ผาสุก พงษ์ไพจิตร) (แม่, do you know her?) to supervise me during my masters. MAI is moving their office (hopefully) to Caulfield next year... I might not have any reason to go out to the 'jungle' campus any longer (dunno if that's good or bad news though).
More good news? I actually spent all of yesterday relaxing - for a change. It started with agreeing to make Alex lunch... he came over, had lunch... had a second lunch (cos I over-cooked, as usual), played some music, sung... then Aseem called, and I decided to feed him, too... and Dood came home, and well, like I said - we just relaxed! :) :) :)
And... My sister in law, Sally, just sent me some pictures of Sand and Sea - now THAT'S great news.... but I just miss everyone at home a lot... homesick :(
Should I quit my whining and do some study? I guess... *sigh*
ิBy the way, แม่, isä, I do miss you - I just never seem to be able to find an opportune moment to call :(
fon @ 8:56 AM link to post * *
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
two ends of the spectrum
On one side of a pole, there is the kind of person who can always smile and pretend that there is nothing wrong, even when there is. On the other side, are the people who must let all their emotions out when they feel them without critically analysing them.
I'm not saying there are only two kinds of people. But which end is it better to be on? Obviously, somewhere in the middle is better... a person who would be able to be honest about their emotions, let it out slowly, and at the same time reflect on them. Atleast, I think that is the kind of person I would like to be.
Clearly, though, I'm more towards the end of the spectrum that makes me the person that can never hide my emotion. And the more exposed I am to people who pretend things are ok, the more raw and emotional I get.
The more respect I am given for the emotions that I feel, the more I'm like that balanced person I want to be.
I wonder... does it work the same way for those who are closer to the 'hide all emotions and smile' end of the spectrum? I mean, do they become more balanced when people realise that they don't want to talk about things?
I should be happy... just one exam left and this semester is over... it's as good as done now anyhow. But my motivation just grows less and less the close I am to graduating. Right now it just feels like a struggle to even do the work required of me... and excel? I can't now. I'm too preoccupied with other things. I need to find peace. I need to find balance.
fon @ 7:58 PM link to post * *
Caulfield
fon... you are such an idiot...
it's a good thing i dropped in on the asian studies department today (small update: i've decided to stay here and to my masters next year, focusing on language policy models for south-east asia - specifically southern thailand)...
my classes are in CAULFIELD next year... not clayton!
shit. after all that thought, i'd have to move house anyhow (no more should i stay or should i go?)...
yay :) closer to the city from december onwards then... and more expensive rent, therefore... *yikes*
fon @ 10:25 AM link to post * *
Monday, October 23, 2006
"There is nothing more dreadful than the habit of doubt. Doubt separates people. It is a poison that disintegrates friendships and breaks up pleasant relations. It is a thorn that irritates and hurts; it is a sword that kills."
Buddha
I believe that we can only move forward once we've made up our minds, one way or another - there is no point in speculating about all the things that could possibly go wrong. Once we've made a decision, any obstacles that we encounter after that will seem nothing more that a part of the decision we have already made. Why regret anything that has already passed?
Whatever happens in the future will happen in the future. Make a choice now, and live by that choice.
Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it.
Buddha
But if in the future we are unhappy, there is no law that says we cannot retrace our path and change direction. Just why worry about it now?
fon @ 10:37 AM link to post * *
Saturday, October 21, 2006
day of light
seed's fingers
germinate
roots spreading
green sprouting
flower bud
not ready?
not a weed!...
you pulled out
you are rain
you are light
no more roots
no more seed
heart s(l)owing
fon @ 8:29 AM link to post * *
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
No posts?
Think again...
I've been a busy girl... applied for masters, honours, written some essays, posted some older ones on the web... *phew*
Check under social commentary and philosophical writing
I'm sure the philosophy one is controversial, as I'm essentially argueing that a Monarch is necessary in a nation state... using the Thai King as an example...
Two more essays to write and I'm done with the semester (well, except for one little exam...)
On another note... A couple weeks ago I googled an old friend, Katie Wiebler... and well... I found her (after sorting though PAGES of random crap)! After about 13 years we are in touch again! That's amazing... Good ol' Google!
fon @ 6:27 AM link to post * *
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Crazy things people have said:
"I think that this is a very hard choice, but the price - we think the price is worth it."
Madeleine Albright, as US Secretary of State, on the 60 Minutes TV programme, 12 May, 1996, responding to the finding of a United Nations FAO report that 567,000 Iraqi children under the age of five had died as a result of sanctions.
"Short of changing human nature, therefore, the only way to achieve a practical, livable peace in a world of competing nations is to take the profit out of war."
Richard Nixon (1983), Real Peace
I do not consider Hitler to be as bad as he is depicted. He is showing an ability that is amazing and seems to be gaining his victories without much bloodshed.
Mahatma Gandhi, May 1940
fon @ 11:49 AM link to post * *
Saturday, October 14, 2006
crying dream
i'm a bee flying
to a cave - in a waterfall
there are people waiting for their country to be liberated
something to do with an electric socket not working and a war
i'm trying to get them candy from another cave
... having trouble choosing what
so i go to a huge warehouse
and suddenly i am human
i think a stuffed toy would be nice too
but then i don't like anything
and there are all these girls wearing things that look like weddind dresses, but they are wearing bonnets too...
and lots of flowers
so i cross the road
i see a red dress in a window, and somehow i'm wearing it, and black heels
and i walk
it's sunday and everything is closed
i've been walking foreverk, i think
finally, i end up in stockmann, in helsinki
outside, some friends are sitting on a table, but they don't recognise me
so i walk past
it's almost christmas
olga is there, and she want to get a toy chicken for her pet dog
she's asking this lady about it on the stairs
and i bump into her on the way down from the old lady's clothes section, where i ended up accidentally
we are glad to see each other, but i have to go cos I'm waiting for a ride from you and your friend.
i want to stop and have a break from the roadtrip
you say no
your friend has really cool earphones on his mp3 player
then we're on a bus
and we're sharing grapes and strawberries
but you won't share
so i take the grapes and throw them at you
they scatter all over the bus and i feel bad,
i feel childish, so i pick them up and give them back to you
and i ask you why you are so mean to me these days
and you are so cruel, saying you have nothing left for me
you say 'remember her? she finished off whatever was left'
and you laugh as my tears start rolling down
and i'm crying and sitting next to a stranger, cos you won't sit next to me
you ignore me
and continue eating grapes as i shake with tears
wake...
i've been crying in my sleep, and i wake you too...
fon @ 5:53 AM link to post * *
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Dreams come in series?
...I dreamed that I was walking towards the sunset, but I couldn't remember if the direction was East or West... To my far left was a mountain, a shadow by the light of the setting sun... That's where I wanted to go, if only I knew which direction it was, and how far away it was... would I have to cross any seas to get there? Or could I just walk? But even that was irrelevant, because I wasn't really walking, but floating...
fon @ 5:34 AM link to post * *
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Retrospective Democracy: An Asian Way of Doing Things
I attended a seminar in the Monash Asia institute today, conducted by another luk krueng like myself, a Ms. Virginie Andre. (more of this in my social commentary section)
She's got links with NGOs in Southern Thailand, which she said she will happily refer me to. That's great, given my interest in Southern Thai Education/Language policy.
I'd love to be able to do an internship for an NGO there, perhaps after my honours year?
fon @ 4:05 PM link to post * *
jail break
It all started with a famous jail break... How did he manage to get off the island without getting eaten my an alligator?
But then I was him. And here's how I escaped:
I told the prison warden I needed to get married, ... in the swimming pool, and swam out the drain into the beautifully green, translucent waters. And I was on a rocky island. And I knew I was being chased, but how did they know I was there? Why did I feel ok about escaping, like I'd done nothing wrong, even though my crime - murder - had been so horrendous?
I start scaling down this cliff, climbing rocks. I've got to get off this island. When I'm almost down to the water, it's dusk, and I notice I've landed in a bit of a cove, or lagoon. There are dark men with guns standing around the water. I'm not sure if they've seen me or not. I know these aren't the police that are after me. I've stumbled across some illegal trafficking of some sort. I don't know if they've seen me, and I slowly retrace my steps and hide myself in a niche.
I wake...
Time to study some philosphy!
fon @ 2:36 AM link to post * *
Monday, October 09, 2006
Fall-asleep-in-the-sun-day
I took a few pictures of flowers for my mother before I fell asleep in the sun before going to work on Saturday...
I was meant to be studying the my tests this week, but... well, sunny days... what to do? The park was just more inviting than the library!
Pretty flowers in the little park on spring street near parliament house...
A more close up view of ... what are these flowers called?
this palm trees holds a lot of fond memories... Daeshy know what I'm talking about...
OK, this may be weird... but I just had to take a picture of my lunch before it all disappeared into my tummy... it was an ABSOLUTELY delicious oregano bread from this lebanese bakery near Daeshy's place... if you have a chance, go and find some, first thing in the morning so it's fresh, on Hope street, near the train tracks!
Later on in the day, after waking up in the previous park, I decided to walk around to the other side of parliament house to sit in the park with the fountain... so that the little sprays of water from the wind might keep me awake... there were a lot of weddings going on, including one that somehow reminded me of the movie "my big fat greek wedding"... I kept wondering how sweaty the bride must have been feeling... *ouch*
***** ***** ***** *****
On another note....
My tenant in Helsinki didn't pay his rent... so I did some internet stalking, and here's what I discovered:
He's an evangelical christian immigrant-hating fanatic from Kuopio who plays indoor hockey and was (in 2004 atleast) engaged to another evangelical christian (who I haven't internet stalked, so I don't know whether she hates immigrants or not too). He's signed a petition demanding more money for students (who get around $650 worth of money per month) from the Finnish government and has some sort of interest in archeology.
This is the site the site where I found this guy's views:
Mulla taasen oo mitää maahanmuuttajia vastaan jos ne tekis töitä ja eläsivät suomen lakien mukaan.. ne elävät meijän vero rahoilla joka en mielellään kato sormien välistä.
This translates roughly into "I wouldn't have anything against immigrants if they would only do some work and live according to Finnish laws. They live off our tax money which I really don't want to see slipping through my fingers."
The good news is, he got severely slammed by two other commentators. One asked pointedly how he had come to the conclusion that all immigrants were as he described... and mentioned that many of them are valuable contributers to society - like doctors and entrepeneurs... whilst another asked whether law-abiding, tax-paying immigrants should demand that all welfare-case Nazi Finns should be deported from Finland by that same logic!
Go society! Some progress is being made against the kind of LOSER I have living in my house right now!
Too bad Finnish law prevents me from randomly giving this guy the boot from the apartment.
Ok... now some of you are thinking ... erm... Fon's a bit freaky... why the hell did she just research her tenant in Finland?
Honestly? I just wanted to know who lives in my apartment... I was thinking, well, if the person is a student, too, I understand if rent is late... I won't be annoyed.
But I CANNOT STAND IDIOTS LIKE THAT.
I hate prejudiced people. They piss me off. If there is anything that will get me in a foul mood is when I encounter prejudice.
And that's all in light of a conversation I had with Daeshy last night... about Europe, and the potentiality of going there some time. He was saying that with the exception of England, most of Europe is extremely racist. I was trying to defend them, saying that with the EU, we are seeing some very progressive policies taking shape, and development will be fast... but then I realised at one stage that there is a point to what he was saying. No matter how people in educated western countries pretend that they are too intelligent to be 'racist', it's there. Like in the attitude of this idiot. "I don't mind immigrants - if only they would do some work..." What a gross overgeneralisation! And OH MY GOD how often I've heard similar comments... the underlying attitude is this: Those poor people want to come here and take our money.
Get a real education, guys!
Another good point Daeshy made: It's not that there is no racism in places like England, America and Australia - it's just that they're a long way ahead in dealing with it! And now, they are atleast able to talk about it publicly, instead of hiding it under the surface.
There's my little vent over and done with... I've got to give a presentation on aboriginal language noun-class morphology tomorrow (WTF??!)
-_-
fon @ 12:03 PM link to post * *
Saturday, October 07, 2006
3 dreams
1) He was cheating on me... but didn't understand why I thought he was cheating... and I had to explain. The strange thing is that I caught him cheating somewhere in the restaurant where I work, and I was upset about it and had to go to a place next door (which doesn't really exist) and order a soy latte (I remember thinking long and hard whether I wanted a soy cappucino, macchiato or latte). I got my latte and went outside to the garden (reminiscent of the garden we had in KZ) which was so dry and kicked grass, looking for bits of glass that I knew were all over the place, but was afraid I would wake up the snakes under it. But I was so upset that I didn't care if I was bitten. I woke up in tears.
2) I injured my neck diving into a pool. It played in slow motion, like an angry documentary, and a red circle was drawn around my neck with an arrow pointing to it. A scientific but really fast voice talked about my neck injury that I would have trouble with for life. The strange thing is that I felt nothing when I jumped in the pool, but all through the scientific analysis, I was half awake and felt that my neck was a little stiff. I woke up a bit apprehensive about moving my neck.
3) We were writing a card for Daeshy's uncle in Germany. After I'd finished writing the card, he told me that it was all wrong. And I said that it was just a draft - that I would write it again. But he was upset because I didn't know his uncle like he did (of course not, I said, I've never met him!) and he proceeded to write the card again (using the one I'd already written - in neat paragraphs with headings - as a model). I suggested that we also send him a chocolate bar, and inquired whether I should melt it in the microwave first. He said yes, but then I realised the absurdity of doing such a thing, and asked whether he was sure we should do that. 'Trust me, I know my uncle'...
Ok...
Wake...
Daeshy said he dreamed all night, too...
It's a nice sunny day, and I'm going to spend (most of) it outside, studying philosophy... until it's time to work.
Yesterday I did the same... In the middle of work, during my break, I suddenly felt a sudden urge to hear my mother's and father's voices and called them. It was a nice little call... I should really call them more often, but sometimes I just feel that I don't have the time right when it would be an ok time to call them (obviously, I could call them now... but it'd be the middle of the night over there)... In the evenings I'm just too busy!
Time to head out...
fon @ 6:55 AM link to post * *
Thursday, October 05, 2006
too nerdy...
I just realised that I probably shouldn't have put the post on emergentist theory on my main page...
Does that mean I should put in a new link for linguistics? If I don't, I'm going to bore all visitors to my site sooner or later...
By the way - a little shout-out to the person who wanted my blog-address after the Descartes class:
Sorry! Didn't mean to run off like that... my phone rang... I should have just called the person back. See, I'm terrible with names, and although I may heard your name before, I certainly don't remember it... and it'd be nice to know who you are :) Point is, I just wanted to know who you are when the phone rang... so please leave a comment and identify yourself!
Anyhow, last night I went to the 'farewell party' for exchange students who are either going home or leaving home after this semester... Patricia (this girl from Mexico) took all the pictures, and I only took one... once the battery on hers ran out.
We were both really broke, not yet having received pays (in her case tomorrow, in my case early next week :P), and decided we still wanted another drink after the first two free ones on the house. My god how we plotted and schemed (I'll spare you the details)! In the end, we found that the cheapest beer at the Champagne Lounge were $3, and since I had $4 and she had $2, we could both have another drink. I've never enjoyed a drink so much in my life!
Champagne Lounge is just around the corner from Spaghetti Tree, so after Elvira finished work, she offered to drop me and Patricia home... She came to fetch us and security were being ... idiots... to say the least - and she cracked the shits. Seriously! Elvira being angry is a scary sight. Don't mess with her!
I sometimes wish I could be like her... I mean, when I get pissed off people tend to smile and laugh... I've even heard "You're so cute when you are angry" a few times. Not Elvira. Elvira is angry and the whole world stops. She means business!
But by the time she got to my place (Patricia had already been dropped off), she says "I JUST CAN'T STAND IDIOTS ANYMORE!!" and burst into tears... well... A few tears rolled down her cheeks... and coming from Elvira, again, that's just so sad.
As I've mentioned in a previous post, she's worked so hard since coming to Australia, and she really deserves a break. She's so strong, but that doesn't mean it's fair of the world to treat her harshly.
I hope she's ok...
*hugs to her* (although I know she doesn't read my blog)
fon @ 5:48 PM link to post * *
brain on sabbatical
It's almost end of semester... and I'm getting to a stage where I seriously cbf doing anything that I don't enjoy anymore.
I really loved doing my 12 points of independent research. I read what I wanted, I wrote about what I wanted... I got to do things 100% my way... now that that is over, I feel as though these last few weeks are a hurdle that I just have to get through... the unfortunate part is that I actually have to do well on these hurdles if I want to plough on and do the honours course (which I'm sure I'll enjoy) next year.
So, instead of working on essays and projects I'm meant to be handing in, I'm attending lectures on subjects that will not in any way benefit me in the next few weeks and taking up time reading all these articles that genuinely interest me.
Yesterday, I attended this lecture, by Claudia Riehl from Germany, about the bilingual brain, and how the brain functions in bilingual speech production and language acquisition...
Anyhow, the results show that early bilinguals (= people who learned to languages in the home or under the age of c. 3) have an advantage over late bilinguals (= people who learned a second language say, at school or in adult life) in the acquisition of a third language, fourth language, fifth language, etc.
This advantage is efficiency. The effect of learning two languages early in life is that the brain compounds, as it were, these two languages into a mostly overlapping area, and in doing so, has created a strong network that supports subsequent languages.
The late bilingual, on the other hand, stores these two languages separately, meaning that more brain mass has to be used in order to use language.
Thus, the implication is this: The early bilingual's language usage is less taxing on the brain than that of the late bilingual.
Of course, the problem is that showing that something is less taxing on the brain doesn't necessarily show that it is better. Although if we are willing to subscribe to the belief that efficient systems are better, then this view is viable.
This evidence, I believe, fits into a broader framework of linguistic emergentist theory, which I discussed in a paper (follow the previous link). I know this will count as evidence on both sides of the fence of the debate, but I'm an advocate of experience based theories as opposed to universal grammar theories. The problem here is that AofA theories are often linked to universal grammar and critical period hypothesis.
Obviously, this would be an interesting research direction to take. The findings of Riehl, C. do not imply that the final state of the third language in early bilinguals is qualitatively better than that of late bilinguals - but rather, that it requires less effort on the part of the brain.
Thus, the implication isn't that there is a 'Universal Grammar' housed in the brain that can only be activated in one's youth - but rather, that the brain becomes more efficient at language learning the younger one learns a second language.
For more discussion on emergentist theory, see:
O’Grady, W. (2001), The Emergentist Program, forthcoming in Cambridge Encyclopedia of the Language Sciences, http://www.ling.hawaii.edu/faculty/ogrady/EmergentistProg.pdf
Also, for work by Claudia Riehl, visit http://latina.phil2.uni-freiburg.de/raible/Schueler/ClaudiaRiehl.html (in German!)
Anyhow... so now I've illustrated my point. I've just spent time thinking about the bilingual brain again, when I'm supposed to be a) cleaning the house, and b) working on four projects due over the course of the next three weeks.
*sigh* Uphill struggle...
fon @ 12:38 PM link to post * *
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Shaping up for honours
Today was just plain comical in linguistics...
At 13:00, I dropped in to see Kate Burridge, the honours coordinator for the school, and found that she was not there, although... she certainly was meant to be... since I was meant to be seeing her...
But, well, you never know with the department...
So anyhow, I'm waiting in front of her door for half an hour, reading the stuff on the notice board.
Nobody in the department is in man...
Then, Keith walks in...
Me: Hi Keith!
KA: Hello Fon!
Me: Do you know if Kate is coming?
KA: Oh yes - she's meant to be having a chat with me!
Me: Oh... well, ... do you mind if I steal her for five minutes when she comes first?
KA: Well, if you smile sweetly
...
Later, Kate walks in, obviously after a couple drinks, and signs what I need signed, leaning over a pile of paperwork somewhat maniacally...
KB: What was it I wrote last time? What was I meant to sign?
Me: Erm... like last time... that you approve?
...
Me: I think the thesis is worth 24 points...
KB: 24? Oh yes... I knew that! I haven't been doing this honours coordinator thing for long!
Julie walks into the office, and seeing me, covers her face with a map she's holding
JB: Oh, no! Fon! Essays to mark!
Me: Well, you know, take your time, Julie... as long as I've got the marks to get into honours... I'm happy!
JB: Well, we'll see what we can arrange...
LOL...
I don't know if I should be worried about being on rather congenial terms with the lecturers... is that just weird? Nerdy? Nah..... ... ?
fon @ 6:20 PM link to post * *
Monday, October 02, 2006
Back to the grind
It's time to grit my teeth and just try to do well for the last two weeks of class, and one month of uni. Think I can do it? I sure hope so.
Now that I'm newly energised after having a few days off, I think I can handle a little more hard work!
So here's how Sydney went:
Day 1:
We arrived in the afternoon, after an uneventful flight, and immediately embarked to find food... and boy did we! Vegetarian Yum Cha! Yum! I wish I'd taken pictures of that, because it'd be worth going back to Sydney just for the delicious lunch we had that day...
After that, did a little bit of shopping... got myself a hot new pair of boots (they were on sale :):) and... some other stuff :P
Daeshy had to see his uncle in the evening, so I had to entertain myself for the evening (wouldn't you like to know how?)
We didn't go out anywhere that night, but had a bit of a champagne free-flow :)
It's hard to find places in Sydney that are still open after midnight, though, which is kind of surprising!
Day 2: Beach day!!
Before we got to the beach, though... bwa ha ha! We had decided that we would take a train back to Melbourne on Thursday morning so as to enjoy the countryside for the day... booked out. No trains back to Melbourne on Thursday at all. Flight? Nope, no flights... What did we do? We got seats on a bus... Thursday 4:30 p.m.! (Shit)... next time should plan trips better!
Anyhow, back to the beach... (after that slight panic at the thought of being stranded in Sydney!)
Too shy to post the bikini pictures, I think :o
Home, spa, nap, and a couple tequilashots later, we were ready to head off for a big night out...
I'm not telling where we went after Darling harbour... let it suffice to say that I probably shouldn't have worn the boots... and that we were out until 4 a.m....
Final day, Thursday: A not too late wake-up... a walk-around in chinatown... I managed to impress myself and Daeshy by remembering exactly where this vegetarian place called "Purple Lotus" was ... but then some main pipe had bust and the restaurant was closed due to lack of water anyhow. Oh, well... they did have take-away, though, and we had that in Hyde Park...
... and that brings us to the boring journey back to Melbourne... which I mostly slept through (thank god! it took 14 hours!)
Luckily, I did wake up at 6 a.m. and watched the sun rise over the bush... It was gorgeous!
The pictures I took out of the bus window just can't convey it...
Right before sunrise, there was a moment where all you could see were shadows, and mist rolling over shadows of the land like great silver snakes undulating over hills. It looked like if anyone were to walk in, they would never come out again. But that was short-lived, and by the time I pulled my mobile out, the mists were gone, giving way to a sleepy sunrise.
It felt so strange being back in Melbourne, back to work on Friday night and the rest of the weekend... Back to study on Saturday and Sunday... Today, back to Uni...
Well, like I said in the beginning of this post... back to the grind.
fon @ 2:55 PM link to post * *