Wednesday, May 24, 2006

May 25th

What's in a date? Dates are just numbers on a calendar, and calendars are used to mark the passage of time, to remember important events and happenings. It's imperative for historical purposes.

Tomorrow, May 25th is an important day for me. It marks the beginning of something, the end of something, an anniversary, a birthday and last but not least an important day for a friend of mine.

As far as the anniversary goes, it's the 4th year celebration for me and a person who has been like a sister to me. I'm proud of that. It's such a pity I don't get to talk to her often. The birthday refers to someone I admire, love and respect. And I know for a fact I'm not the only one celebrating her birthday tomorrow.

As for my friend, tomorrow's the day she takes an important step into her adult life: the driving test. I remembered my first test. I failed on that day. I don't know how it happened, I thought it would be a piece of cake, but I slipped where I wasn't supposed to, and some bad luck with the car didn't help either. But I passed the second time, thank God. Felt great, though these days driving on the road is more of a burden than a luxury.

Speaking of my friend, I certainly hope she passes. I care for her, and there are times I worry for her well being. As a friend, I try my best to lend her a hand whenever I feel she needs it. She's been facing the harder side of life these days, and I hope along the way something good will come that will put a smile on her face. Passing this test may just do the trick. I'll pray for her tonight.

11 minutes to go. Goodnight.

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Little Things

Damn. It happened again. This time with her.

Have you ever had your mood improved by little things that turn out right? Like flipping through the newspaper and finding a piece of good news among the bad? Or turning on the radio and hearing your favourite song playing? Or arriving just in time to catch the 7.20am bus to work?

For me, it was about a girl today. This girl in my office. We've been colleagues for 3 years now, ever since I walked in on my first day. And every time she walks in through the door every morning, or walks by my desk, I'd give her a glance. Yes, she's very pretty. Small built, nice smile (which she doesn't give very often), very slim and long brownish hair that stretches down to the centre of her back, calling her attractive is an understatement.

In the past 3 years, I have made moderate contact with her. You know, good mornings, smiles, small talk in the printer room. But today, something else happened. During my lunch break, she came over to my desk and put something in front of me. It's a delicacy she bought from Redang, her recent vacation destination. (I know for a fact it wasn't a family vacation, lucky her!) So anyway, after she said "here you go" and just before she proceeded to the next desk in front of me to continue passing her stuff around, I had only enough split second time to say "thank you". She came back again a few minutes later to give me candy, and this time I had the opportunity to ask her where she went for her vacation.

I know, this is a little thing, she's only my colleague after all. But I was having a cold this morning, and though this act of kindness wasn't enough to cure my nasal irritation (the cold pill did the trick), it certainly made my afternoon. And not a moment too soon, because when I'm sick, I'm not in the best of moods.

If she wasn't already attached to someone else, I might court her. But then again, even if she wasn't, I could think of a few reasons not to. Anyway, the point is good things do come in small packages. It's how you look at it.

Family Vacation

I dread family vacations. More often than not, I try avoiding them like the plague. You might be wondering what's so bad about spending quality time with your family away from your job and all the hustle and bustle of living in a big city like KL. Well, one part of the reason why I hate it is the fact that I don't get to pick the destination.

In the last twenty plus years, I don't think I've ever got to say where I want to go on holiday. My mum would just come to me and say "Hey Aaron, we're going to (insert location)." And I don't know how or why, but it rarely lives up to my idea of having a good time. I think my last memorable vaction was 14 years ago. THAT long ago.

So my latest vacation was to Genting Highlands. It's a nice cool resort in the mountains. Been there dozens of times in the past 20 years. Nothing much has changed, just more hotels and more theme parks been built, and more being built even now. People go up there mainly to gamble, since it is the only place in my country with a legal casino. The kids and younger adults on the other hand can enjoy the theme parks. Me? I'd just enjoy the cool atmosphere.

So at this point, you'd think: what could go wrong? Been here before, not a bad place etc. The problem really isn't the location, it's the company. I went up there with my family, made up of someone extremely fussy, and someone who loves procrastinating. So in between, there's me. The impatient, let's-get-this-over-with kinda guy. Getting out of the house was already nerve wrecking. You wouldn't believe how petty things can really mess things up. Then there's the journey, and I hate the journeys. Though I must admit, this time it wasn't so bad.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I didn't get to do much, other than play a few games, watch the scenery and take a few pictures. Taking pictures. Now there's something I don't get to do much, so this time I made it a point to enjoy doing that. And I got some good ones too, though the best ones didn't have me in them haha.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is this: I can have a good time, just let me do what I want to do. I love my family and all, but I would really love to take a vacation from being around them. And I'd like to go where I WANT to go. My best vacation is the kind that doesn't have the word 'family' accompanying it. I'd give anything for that.

Friday, May 12, 2006

Here We Go

So what is this doing here? I don't know. I didn't think I had anything to write about, I'm not much of a writer, to be honest. But lately, I feel like there's more to the online experience than I thought, hence this blog now exists.

Would this blog help me in the long run? I don't know, maybe. Perhaps I need a place to vent, perhaps there are things that I never thought I needed to say, and now suddenly I feel like I got to let it out.

If that makes sense, then that's an achievement, because sometimes I'm too distracted to notice anything.