Cinema Paradiso

It's good to blog again after so many days neglecting it. Well, now at least there's something fresh to read.

To put it shortly, I am in a dilemma. There is this one thing/event I am expecting... let's call it Event X. Now, Event X is something that I would desire (or at least that's what I think of it - desirable), which will probably lead to Event Gamma (something perceived to be good.) There is a good likelihood Event X will occur. Now that Event X is no longer improbable to occur, I should be somewhat happy... right? Not really. Right now I'm really scared should I found out what I have been waiting for will bring other sets of implications. Ouch.

On New Year's Eve, I went to Singapore [again] for another day trip. The MRT map is somewhat emblazoned on my brain. At the Changi MRT station, there was this sign. It basically mentions (in some sort of directive language and suggestive shorthand drawings): no alcohol, no smoking, no eating, no durian. No alcohol - I can understand that, the Government is notoriously known on discouraging alcoholic beverages consumption. No smoking - it makes sense as well from a public health perspective. No eating - it's understandable they want to keep the place spotless (which somewhat explains the lack of rubbish bins in stations.) No durian...?? This, I have never heard of before. The smell is prohibitive though... hahaha... :D

I was shocked to Nokia 7270 (the firelighter-looking one) on sale at Lucky Plaza, as it was supposed to be out in January. It was still expensive though, which drastically reduced its affordability and desirability. At least now I know how it works (managed to suss out the shopkeeper into putting it on show ^^ ) Meals were also priced rock-bottom up there. I ended up spending something like less than $10 on a big meal, a smaller one and nibbles. Wow @.@ no wonder people gain a lot of weight there. There was a couple of uncomfortable glances from the local; couldn't work out why. I looked quite normal that day.

I was also lucky to be able to have a good chat on the flight back to Melbourne with a Melb Uni guy. We talked about lots of issues from the perennial "why study at Melbourne" type of questions to "who actually found the New World" discussions. Oh, I'm recommending everyone here to read the book titled 1421, which basically overthrows common wisdom of who found the New World (e.g. Columbus, Da Gama, Magellan.) There was no direct evidence as the country/people in question had their travel journals burned by government officials, but the artefacts findings were satisfactory. The linguistic, biological and zoological findings as a whole supports the theory. It would be of little surprise, coupled with previous historical knowledge (still remembered from days of primary school education/rote learning), to believe this theory can be reasonably applied as a whole. It is funny as well to learn how Europeans are ultimately the beneficiary of this knowledge.

Since leaving PwC, I've been on a different beat, an escapist's beat. It's true work changes people, I'm just hoping it's a good influence (as in getting me more motivated to study well). I kept thinking about ice skating, cooking, reading history books, jewellery-making, singing and drawing. I seized a university offer on a somewhat impulsive spirit just for the sake of not losing it. All I could think of is "finish this degree, defer the next one and work". I will be missing Melbourne Uni, as it is where I grew up. This might be another first-time syndrome; don't know what to hope, whether it is or not.

The whole city is on sale and if possible, I'd like to go shopping by sometime later this week ^^ and start saving again in February. Oh well, it's late into the week anyway. Aiming for a skirt, sandals, the ruffled shoulder-drape and some gears for the AX night in March - if the plastic permits. It's quite a hit to be earning in Rp and spending in A$, all done when you are away from parents... hehe... missing them... nah, not really. January is usually a bad month since (1) the city's on sale and you'd hate to miss it (2) need to pay for all sorts of bills (3) need to buy uni books. Earlier today I went to this Metropolitan Museum of Art shop and stared at their Fabergé costume jewellery. Well, it's not exactly costume jewellery as it is made out of .925 silver, but it's not the Fabergé atelier-made pieces anyway. For rhinestone-studded, enameled sterling silver, the price they are asking is rather outrageous. Hence the staring and not the buying ^^;

The song lyrics will come later; there's something absurdly wrong with my computer. Oh well, I'm glad it now has got extra leg rooms of 80GB. Heh heh heh heh heh. Yet I will still need to be careful on hard disk usage, as I wouldn't like filling up more than 50% of the disk. It's a psychological (behavioural?) notion brought about by years on less than 10GB and seeing file sizes quadruple over the years. Also happy to bring the satin ribbon roll from Jakarta... it's sooo nice. Anyway, take care and good night! ^o^

Se tu fossi nel mio cuore per un giorno
Potreste avere un'idea
Di chio che sento io
Quando m'abbracci forte a te
E petto a petto, noi
Respiriamo insieme