Unsettled thoughts.

It's been a two days since I arrived. Nothing much has happened, just a whole lot of unpacking and organizing my new room. It feels different – definitely, and I dare not say that I have fully settled down, but I guess it’s happening slowly.

If anyone mentioned that studying overseas is a great experience, it really is true. No, I’m not talking about the mere cultural differences or the disparity in educational systems – it really isn’t very significant over here considering the large Asian population here – but rather, the whole process of it all, from preparing yourself to moving in to getting used to it, it really is something I have never before experienced.

I used to have this idea that moving overseas to study was rather easy, especially when I’m supposed to live with my cousins – quite wrong in fact. You start to realize that perhaps a lot of things have been taken for granted. Even simple items like nail-clippers and combs have become something I needed to make an effort to get.

Walking into school today was a really great feeling; I am sure that the entire experience would remain in my mind for countless years to come. Two years ago, I visited the school while on a holiday trip, and here I am today, a student of that same school. Remembering the tour my cousin took me on during my trip made me go a little fuzzy. I guess it’s also the excitement in me that made it a really wonderful feeling. Even if it does not look as crowded or as busy as any part of Singapore, the school seems to emanate some warmth that made me feel rather comfortable. Well, whether or not this is going to last is something I will have to wait and see, but for now, I guess everything seems nice and friendly.

I suddenly see the whole ‘independence’ thing about studying overseas. Being independent isn’t just about taking care of your own self, cooking, doing the laundry, blah blah blah. It is this entire package that encompasses an unmentioned self-discipline that I never saw in myself – not that I see a lot of it now, but I’m sure that more if it is going to be required of me in no time. I am lucky that I already have cousins here who have lived here for some time and are have been really helpful.

I guess it’ll take me slightly more time to fit into my new environment. As of now, I still call back via Skype everyday to chat with family and friends. I really don’t know if doing this would only keep me shackled to my Singaporean life and hinder any (as of now, unseen) progress in living my new life here. No, I’m not saying that I ought to throw my past away and start totally afresh, and neither am I supposed to cling on to it and remain closed to this new lifestyle. Telling myself to find a balance between both extremes is easy, but as like any other of those easier-said-than-done advice, finding the balance itself really doesn’t seem that easy.

On one hand, I’m really excited at the prospect of meeting new friends, yet I’m very afraid of losing my friends back home. Not that I’ll lose contact totally, but I’m sure that a certain distance would be formed when two people are apart, and that distance is what I would want to minimize. So I guess it is essentially down to how much I want to minimize this gap.

Anyways, there really is quite a lot to think about now, but in a sense also quite pointless to do so. Perhaps given some time here, things would naturally work out to a nice balance and I’ll be able to keep a fair share of my past while opening myself up to a new life here. I suppose that all I can do for no is to wait and see. Maybe an answer would surface in a week or two. Just maybe.

Movie: P.S. I Love You

'P.S. I Love You' is based on the best-selling novel by Cecelia Ahern. In this romance flick, Hilary Swank plays Holly Kennedy, a young lady married to an Irish husband, Gerry Kennedy. The movie starts with a heated argument between the couple that ends rather comically. In the scene following their make-up love, Holly faces the sudden death of her husband due to a brain tumour, and is left to fend for herself.

Months passed but the young widow is still unable to move on from her past. On her 30th birthday, however, she receives a surprise - a voice recording from Gerry. Following the recording, Holly receives more letters from her loving husband, who prepared everything, including a holiday trip to Ireland, before his death. Every note and letter ends with a "P.S. I Love You" that never fails to leave Holly (and even the audience) longing for more. However, this plan to help her get on with life with ease threatens to backfire and keep her captive in her past as she waits obsessively day after day for more letters to come.

I liked the way the script was written, able to fully display each character's personality, and same for the pace at which the plot develops. Great acting by Hilary Swank, and kudos too to Kathy Bates, albeit having a somewhat smaller role in the movie. As you watch the movie, you marvel at the master plan and wished that you could, one day, find/receive such love. However, you are also constantly haunted by a heart-wrenching reminder that that sweetness comes with a heavy price of losing a loved one - almost as if someone was playing an evil trick on you. 'P.S.' has a great story that leaves you with a sweet-sour feeling tingling inside. A decent movie to watch if you aren't into explosions and gun-fights.

Arrived in Melbourne

I've arrived safely. I need to unpack and settle some stuff. And first of course was the internet. Next is to clear my room up. School? Forget it, that's last for sure.

The flight was good, managed to catch some movies. I tried to aviod thinking about stuff, and thanks to the movies, Adrian didn't become some emo-traveller.

Okay, back to settling other stuff. More to do tomorrow.

Work in progress.

I had been putting every blog post on hold since awhile ago. No time to really sit down to write, so that's why my recent posts have been quite dry.

Give me awhile to pack up, move off and settle down. I'll clear it all and get back to my blogging. In the meantime, bear with the boring stuff.

Cheers.

Meeting up.

Meeting up with everyone's great.

At least we met up. And I hope to see everyone again real soon.

Lost and un-found.

I get weird answers when I ask myself questions. Just when I think I know what I want, I realise that it really might not be the case. Fickle, maybe?

Or simply just lost?

I can't even figure that out.

Branded spending.

I think I have heard enough of complaints from the older generation regarding the way the 'younger generation’ spend their money. Words like ‘splurging’ and ‘materialistic’ have been quoted countless times on the newspaper forums, and such remarks are usually followed by a reminder for a need to ‘educate the young of today on financial planning and healthy spending habits.’
So, are the youngsters of today really spending more than they ought to? How much is too much, and what should be the limit? Is there really a restriction we ought to set for these children, especially since they mostly have not started earning an income of their own?

Today, the younger generation is caught in an environment where spending money is more than just buying an item itself. In modern times, money spent on a shoe goes not just into the manufacturing and transportation cost, but also into the goodwill and branding of the manufacturing company or the designer. Cotton on a shirt cannot cost $100, but you see such prices in many shops in cities all around the world. We have moved into an era where branding has become such a widely-recognized concept, and brand-recognition is taught to all the young of today. There is no running away from names like Nike, Adidas, Nokia, Sony, etc. To add to your financial troubles, seeing a Nike shoe on 50% discount sometimes seems like an offer you simply cannot decline, and out comes your card again.

We are victims of our own capitalism, of our own brands, of our own marketing concepts.

How much blame can we push to our children for all the wastage of money? We always label the young people as being materialistic and brand-conscious, and that they are over-spending. We cringe whenever we see school children queuing up at Starbucks, because we see a coffee shop across the street that offers coffee at a fraction of the cost ($0.70 compared to $7.00). We condemn the children, claiming that they do not recognize the need to save money, or that they are wasting hard-earned money their parents earn. We go on talking about how we used to have very little money to spend, without considering the fact that society has become more affluent.

I am not encouraging your children to spend $7 on a cuppa, but perhaps we ought to take comfort in the fact that the young of today are enjoying a higher standard of living – what are we working so hard for anyway, a better life, right?

Japanese table tennis.

Here's a video of a peformance on a Japanese gameshow. It must have taken them ages to perfect it.

Pre-departure gathering.

A departure that brings a group together. Ironic.

But dinner was great, and drinking was fun. Thank you for everything.

Love is?

Love is seeing a value of S$200 in a bunch of nicely-wrapped flowers. And blowing bubbles on a bridge.

And oh, happy valentines day.