Oh my gosh.. I oughta punch myself in the nuts for not blogging for more than two months. It's not that "I've not put in the homework".. but more because there have been so many events I would have want to remember, hence blogging them down... such as... such.. as.. urm. See!

I have been around due to my work to places such as Sibu, Ayer Tawar and Pengkalan Hulu. There was this one interesting moment I bumped into Karpal Singh in the Sibu Market and I finally got to take a picture with him and shake his hand when he was campaigning around Sibu for the Sarawak State elections. DAP went on to do pretty well in the elections, winning 12 of 15 seats. I managed to shake hands with Alice Lau the night before the elections, but the next day she lost.. so.. I better not shake any contestants hands in the future.. unless I want them to loose. 

Yen and I possing with Karpal Singh, DAP President

Still, there is some room for a nutshell. The past couple two months have been rough in terms of my job. We've seen the most controversial things take place in BB.. which unfortunately have made me sick to my gut. In the next few months, the next few entries (if I bother putting them up) will reveal some small changes in my life. Nothing unplanned for though.

It is amazing how God works. Since the time I starting seriously believing in Jesus till now, all the good times and the bad in the past seem to have some connection and reason for happening. All the experience gained have indeed had it's purpose. 

I can sense my calling still being very much intact, not just because of some fuzzy feeling I have in my heart, nor all the logic in my mind.. but by looking back at the path God has laid behind me.. all the experiences made, people met, opportunities gained and so on. Even the less obvious ones like the day dreams and random deep thoughts have some relevance to where I am now. A good test of whether you are living your calling is if you're able to apply whatever you have learned in the past to whatever that is happening now. While I can't say I'm in the best spot right this second, I feel prepared to take everything on. As I wait on Him for the next move, I know whatever it is will surely be good.  Even with so many blessings, doors are still opening.. almost without any effort on my part. God is truly awesome. 

The year is moving so fast, perhaps it gets faster as we age and stress up. I can only look forward to more of His promises. 

 

Also, I want remembering my late grandfather for his passing on the 20th May 2011. I hope he is in a good place..   

 

Is it possible..

 

That when we bask in the limelight for too long we will simply refuse to leave? 

With total disregard for our own self-respect?

In total ignorance for the well-being of our fellow brethren?

Including bending laws, twisting rules and scheming through?

Doing whatever it takes to cling on, including stealing, lying and murder?

Almost feeling like we are on the same level, if not higher than God Almighty himself?

 

I'm starting to believe so. God help us all. 

 

Since I was a kid, I was always fascinated by war films and was in awe of the might of the US military (which now looking back was just me being suckered to pro-US/democratic propaganda during the Cold War). Even now, I would take time to read up military planes, ships and history (on Wikipedia). Not long ago, during my free time I marked scoured the US coast using Google Earth and managed to seek out most of their aircraft carriers. Movies like the 1976 made Midway made be believe that these floating boats were symbols of power and might. I had a chance to set my eyes on one in 2007 when the USS Kitty Hawk was in Sydney, already I thought I was the most blessed person on the planet.  

However - beyond my wildest dreams, on the 24th January 2011, we were (extremely-off-the-scale) privileged to be granted access to visit the USS Carl Vinson. Now, for me to just see a carrier 4 years ago was enough to leave me mind boggling.. to actually set my foot and touch a US Carrier - a nuclear powered Nimitz-class carrier, which currently is the biggest in the US Navy.. would just be an experience that will qualify me to enter Tanjung Rambutan when we're done. 

It all began with a tip-off from Lawrence Tay that another Navy ship is making port in Malaysia and we were given the invitation to visit their ship (we had earlier received the crew of the USS Dubuque weeks back). In another conversation, he confirmed that it was a carrier. From then on, there was no stopping me from getting on that ship. This trip was opened to 30 of us and many Boys showed their keen interest when this announcements were made.. some with absolutely zero doubt they would want to be on that ship.

The morning of the 24th itself we gathered at the bus stop of SMK Taman Desa at 7.20am (and I hate waking up early, but no choice since I was heading this group), the Boys were asked to come in their 3rd KL Company Blue t-shirts (something which will haunt me forever - I initially wanted them to wear full uniform). We left for Port Klang and was told to reach no later than 9am. We were spot on time at the former Star Cruise Terminal, now called Glen Cruise. We checked in at the guard house where I traded my IC for passes. 

   

At the guard house, we could see the first clues of the carrier - several fins above the tree line which indicated the presence of jet planes. Any tiredness at that point was replaced by seer excitement. When we were allowed to drive in we were greeted by marines and sailors all erect and smiley (they were wooden boards giving us directions to to the car park). At one point after a major turn, we could see the "Island" of the carrier. Freaking awesome. But nothing was to compare to what we had in store an hour later. 

I said an hour because apparently our tour guide was late. We were the group of many groups to visit the ship that day. A high ranking officer, who is also the ship's public relations officers was on his way back from KL. Apparently he was caught int the jam and it was only by 10.30am we were allowed to move on. While waiting, we spent some time talking to one or two of the US Navy sailors, all dressed in camo dress.. looked almost like Marines. Some off-duty shipmates were also sporting enough to take pictures with our Boys. It was certainly a constant flow of personnel in and out of the ships (two ships were docked).. but that's to be expected when the Carl Vinson was capable of housing 5 thousand people (about 3000 were aboard at the time). 

Soon after 10.30am, our "tour guide" returned, all dressed in ceremonial wear. We spent no time clearing "immigrations", which are scans for security reasons. This was after all, the most valued asset of the United States. 

Once we were on the pier, the sights were simply overwhelming – a full view of carrier (minus the center section which was blocked off by the pier’s roof). Right beside it was it was the USS Bunker Hill, a Ticonderoga-class Missile Cruiser which would’ve been pretty impressive on its own, but since it’s bigger sized brother with a big 70 next to it, it was pretty much overlooked. Our guide mentioned that their battle group consist of another 2 destroyers which made port in Singapore instead – truly a major PR job for this US fleet. Earlier on chatting with one of the sailors, they revealed that they just came from South Korea – something which certainly rang a bell as it was all over CNN where the North Korean’s artillery striked their Southern brothers, prompting a “joint exercise” between the South Korean and US Navies.

Continuing in the walk to the ship, we were able to see their hangar bay, which was inside the ship. Little did I realize at that point that it was our first stop. The first foot on the carrier was onboard the ships massive elevators, capable of carrying multiple aircraft at a time. Entrance guarded with a single armed personnel with an M16, all smiles and the hangar bay evidently in “exhibition mode”.  We were split up into two groups and which basically taken for a stroll towards selected sections of the ship.

   

   

First stop was an introduction of the ships emergency equipment, mainly those to put out fires. We were also introduced to several pilots to talked about their F/A-18 Fighter and Seahawk helicopters. The following stop was the ship’s museum, which was basically a memorial dedicated to US Congressman Carl Vinson of whom the ship was named after.

We made our way topside which was a long narrow walk through the ship’s less impressive interior. Some of us were still trying to grasp the reality that we were even on the ship. But our next stop proved to be the most thrilling part of the trip – a visit to the flight deck. I initially believe that this would be a restricted area. I mean, who would allow a bunch of kids and unknown outsiders to within literally zero distance to all their gear and aircraft. Too good to be true but were truly there on the flight deck. For a military buff like me, that was truly emotional. We were allowed to walk to the edge of the angled flight deck, with most of the ship’s F/A-18’s, hawkeyes, seahawks and another aircraft packing the deck. There was probably more aircraft there than YMCA’s carpark can ever fit.

Standing on top of the freaking flight deck baby!!!

 

The next spot was to be the bridge, a 4-5 storey climb via ladders, passing through the Executive Officer’s and Captain’s quarters. Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed inside.. and it was too bad we couldn’t see C&C.. which was basically their war room – for understandable reasons.

Despite such a short list of stops, it was already an hour which has passed. We made our way back to the hangar and final stop. Some of the Boys had a chance to buy souvenirs, but unfortunately they required US Dollars which only Mr Terence and Han Sheng had.

Soon, it was a say goodbye to the carrier.. and I doubt I’ll ever have another chance of seeing, yet alone setting foot on one. 

I would like to thank the YMCA, particularly Mr Ivan Christie for giving us this once in a life time opportunity.

Probably the closest any of us will ever get to US military equipment. Thank you God!

Didn't figure that one that this blog will be used for announcements.. but here it goes anyway. 

To my Communication Award students. Please refer to http://ofvoon.blogspot.com for notes of the this semesters Communication class. Also refer to further announcements from there, the same page will be updated from time to time. 

Sorry for the delay. Thank you and all the best!

Sitting in the office during the new month on 1st November 2010, I was corresponding with Lawrence who (I though was) in Indonesia for work. Months back, I promised my Indon friends that I would join them for an important fund-raiser they've planned. I email Lawrence to verify the date, expecting it to somewhere at the end of the month or in early December. To my shock and horror, I found out that the event was coming up that very weekend! Within just 5 minutes, I made the rashes decision of my life and secured buying tickets to and fro to Medan, Indoneisa. 

The event was a fundraiser for their Full Time Staff, funding their salary and operations as they fuel their massive expansion accross Indonesia. Currently BB Indonesia has only two full time staff, one based in Medan and another in Indonesia. But with Companies popping up in Semarang, Bandung, Surabaya and interest in Papua, there is certainly need for not only a full time staff, but an entire office of able field officers to bring BB to more places. There is also need to start focusing BB Asia's resources elsewhere, which means Indonesia's needs to start learning how to stand on it's own feet. 

Anyway, enough BB talk. My trip there was not for business. It was a personal decision as I wanted to support their event. And I know my bosses won't pay for this trip although I can technically claim travel expanses from work, based on their previous decision not to let me go for BB Singapore's 80th Anniversary Dinner. Oh well. 

My flight took off from the LCCT at 5.30pm, via AirAsia on Deepavali Day 5th November 2010. It was a short 50 minutes or so, landing in Medan at ironically, also at 5.30pm. It was my first time finding myself in an earlier timezone than Malaysia, so it felt pretty weird. Medan has a small airport, making getting out of it fairly easy. I was amused at how their immigration officer function as some people were able to just walk through without passports being processed. I though even aircrew personnel needed to have passports stamped.. hmm. Right after leaving the departure hall I was greeting by a blast of horns from the nearby traffic, taxis and the whole world just exploded in frenzy. Ironically, the first thing that caught my eye was a Petronas petrol station. Found that pretty cool, didn't know they had a presence in Indonesia. 

  

Left: Statue of Guru Patimpus, Founder of Medan. Right: Arapaima Gigas at a Javanese Restaurant we were at for dinner

I was picked up by Pak Saud, who was around with us for 2 weeks in Malaysia (Pak means Mister in Indo). Accompanying him to the airport and to receive me were Mr Ray Louis from the UK and Mr Ong Tiong Hoon from BB Singapore. It was a short 10 minute to Swiss-Bell Hotel where the two stayed and dropped off before I headed to Inn Place Hotel another 5 minutes away where I would be putting up for the next two nights. Lawrence was already there and I was surprised to find Tan Chee Keong there as well (he was due to fly back to KL in the next couple of hours having completed rekkieing Medan for his tuition centers upcoming excursion).  

 

Left: The REAL gado-gado. Right: A typical durian "restaurant" 

 

Left: Cambridge Apartments - the most expansive high-rise property in Medan. Right: Mr Ong Tiong Hoon (left) and Ray Louis (right) having a durian feast.  

 

Left: Lift area of the Cambridge Apartments top floor. Every floor has a different design. Right: Penthouse view overlooking Medan on Cambridge Apartments

 '

Left: The food stalls along Surabaya Road. Right: Chocolate and Peanut Butter Appom 

 

Appom makers making their signature snacks

 

Left: The senseless traffic of Indonesia where miracles happen every second. Right: View overlooking Medan.

 

Left: Terong Belanda - a local drink which taste like ribena. Right: Pak Wally and Mr Lawrence

My trip to Medan was really just eat, eat and eat.. since I did not have time to explore the countryside. Sure there were times when we had (unexpected and unplanned) meetings with a church and school officials, but apart from it's pretty much a test for the stomach and absolute pleasure to the tongue. Unfortunately, I cannot remember most of the names of the meals I had..

 

Left: 1st breakfast. Medan style wantan mee. Right: 2nd breakfast A dish which had ketupat and mee hoon with an Medanese taste

  

Left: A Batakese feast - almost all of the dishes were pork. Right: Kicap manis (sweet ketchup)? Guess again. It's pig's blood!

 

Left: Bika Ambon - a unique local cake. Right: The ultra rich in Medan (sorry, no pictures of the poor - in the city can't really find the ultra poor)

 

 

Towards the end of the day and the dawn of the night, we proceeded to Duck King Restaurant where the fundraiser was held. There I as not only treated to a wedding-class meal but also the speculars sights and sounds of Indonesia. The culture here is so rich and colourful. The beautiful voices of the traditional choir as well as catchy dances really made the night interesting. I even participated in a dance (twice) by going up on stage, first time to "donate money" in a dance of offering and the second time was just for fun with the top brass of BB Asia and BB Indonesia. Good fun. 

 

Left: Creative drill display by BB Indonesia. Right: The bright colours, catchy chereography and fantastic music all part and parcel of Indonesia's diverse culture

 

 

At the end of the night, BB Indonesia announced that they had a profit of 70 million (Rupiah)!!! Which is about RM25,000 profit. Not bad for a start. Well done to the organisers for their painstaking hard works and labour. 

Before long, it was time to leave Medan and Indonesia. I had to leave first thing in the morning as my flight was at 9.05am via Malaysian Airlines. I slept the entire flight (didn't even feel the take off). A really short trip, but a great eye-opener and learnt much from it. I'd probably be back again for other BB events and to see the rest of the country. 

 

I'm writing this down now before I forget, I almost did at one point. It's my Australian number I've been using for three years. 

0430127726

I remember I picked this number cause it was quite similar to my Malaysian number.. it's 012.. and has 772. Oh well. Good times with a free phone and a $29, then $49 cap.  

Over the weekend on the 23-24th October, less than a week since coming home from Melbourne.. I found myself hitting the road once again. My Boys' Brigade Company (which is the volunteered part of it, rather than the one I paid for at Headquarters level) will be having a Year End "Camp" a few days before Christmas. This year the committee, made out of the Company's Staff Sergeants (that is from 18-late 20 years old) decided to have a tour of Perak. 

I was engaged by them to go for a rekkie (or a reconnaissance) as they need to check out the venues they've booked and confirm other arrangements. I just saw it as a opportunity to have some fun.. so I agreed to it. 

We set off pretty early in the morning, meeting at 8am at Mr Lawrence Tay's residence, having a mamak breakfast before setting off along the North-South Highway enroute to Ipoh. Our first stop was Ipoh Wesley Methodist Church where the Company will spend it's first night sleeping in classrooms under sleeping bags. We talked to the church administrators as well as it's Pastor, who is the Chaplain of the 1st Ipoh (and 6th Ipoh) Company.

After inspecting the Ipoh Wesley we meet up with one of our designated camp speakers, Pastor Timothy, who was formerly the Pastor of Canning Gardens Methodist Church and now Pastors an independent church. Quite a jovial guy. Can't exactly agree with his points of leaving the Methodist church and his measure of success.. but hey, the world is round! =D Still, a very nice guy.. brought us around town for lunch and coffee.

  

Left: Ultra thin kaya toast. Right: Hoe Kit's expression says it all (well, it does look agonising but he's actually enjoying it) 

We tried this kaya toast at what is said to be the original Old Town White Coffee (which is opposite to the first franchised outlet, just opposite on the other side of the road) which was no ordinary kaya toast. It was probably just half a centimeter thick.. or half the thickness of your ordinary kaya toast. Surprisingly, that helped bring out the flavour. I believe the bread and kaya are homemade. 

The Famous Ipoh White Coffee served from it's original shop in Ipoh

After coffee, we headed back to Ipoh Wesley (we hopped onto Pastor Timothy's car for lunch) and to my delight we saw some BB Boys around! It wasn't a full parade.. these were mostly Form 1-3 Boys who were helping out in 1st Ipoh's Junior Section. Interestingly, no Officers were around - perhaps a norm for 1st Ipoh's Juniors in line with their tradition. I thought it was a good way to train leaders (but it has it's risk too). When we approached these Boys, we converged each other like magnet. This is something I love about BB.. we might be from different Companies with not a clue who each other are personally.. but as long as there's the BB Anchor (logo).. we are family no matter where we came from. It's too bad we've not formally having a session together during the Year End Camp. I think both our Companies will hit off well.  

After we said our goodbyes, it was back on the road. We were guided our by Timothy heading towards Gua Tempurung where the Boys will be for 3 hours during the camp. It does look to be quite interesting! It offers an unforgettable caving experience.. and the place does look to be quite clean and well organised. I'm definitely signing up for this. Anyway, it was a short stop were we merely enquired details and made bookings. Shortly after we were back on the road again heading towards Sitiawan. 

We passed through Ayer Tawar.. a town 10 kilometers from Sitiawan which was also the home of the 3rd Manjung Company. We stopped by at Ayer Tawar Chinese Methodist Church hoping to catch them midway in parade. To our despair, apparently they have their meet in the mornings. This was the same for 1st Manjung and 2nd Manjung who were not meeting when we tried visiting them. Oh well. Better luck next time I guess. 

We move on to Sitiawan Wesley to make inspections and to confirm bookings there as we will be putting up the 2nd night of camp there. After another short stop, we made our way to another famous Perakian delicacy - Gong Pian. Only good when served hot.. and rock hard and simply uneatable when cold, it is made from onions and pork lard from a mega hot furnace. Apparently you can only find this in Foo Chow towns (of which Sitiawan qualifies). Damn sedap! 

  

Left: Meastros making heong peng. Right: The insides of gong pian (was stationary when picture was taken btw)

Gong Peng

After grabbing our biscuits and eating away in the car, we move on to Lumut to park the car before grabbing a ferry for Pangkor Island. We were picked by by Mr Tan who is the owner of Seagull Resort, the place the Company will be putting up for two nights. All in all, we got a pretty good deal.

Pangkor's actually one beautiful place.. in terms of it's potential. Unfortunately, it's been totally neglected, run down and just a sorry sight to look at. There were some developments, but it is basically building on natural treasures. How dumb. What I found amusing is that this is the Perak Chief Ministers (something like the Premier) constituency.. and yet he is just screwing it. I thought the Menteri Besar's place usually gets all the goodies. I guess it doesn't matter when you're far away in Ipoh living in a house worthy of millionaires while the people rot away.

Anyway, our rekkie was a success and we managed to make crucial arrangements before our coming camp. I hope the Boys will be blessed by it. 

 

Left: Posing shots in the ferry. Right: Pangkor jetty. 

 

Left: Hornbills. Yes, they exist in Peninsula Malaysia too. Right: Walking down the "beachfront" (which some idiot decided to erect buildings on)

 

Pangkor has alot of natural treasures to offer. In the right hands, I'm sure this place can be the very attractive stop it once was

 

Left: Nice beach? Wait till you get here! Right: Cheers!

 

Left: Ikan Todak's (or Garfish) in the water. Right: Our stop in Teluk Intan where we had Mee Rebus + Rojak

On our way home as we were approaching Teluk Intan I was pulled over by the police. I was making trying to overtake a slow moving lorry and executed the move when it was still a dotted line. Half way through the line turned solid and the next thing I knew, after I was done overtaking there were two police waving me down with a red flag. *Grunt*

I believe I was innocent and prepared my case in my mind. But guess what, as I talked with the police.. he told me that the solid line isn't the reason I was pulled over. Apparently, I cannot even overtake when it is a dotted line! From that point, the smell of bullshit was so great.. it made my blood boil. Honestly, I cannot remember the rational.. it just did not compute in my mind. He did say it was a no-overtaking zone.. but hey.. if that's true it wouldn't have been a dotted in to start with! He then said "I've been teaching traffic rules for 16 years and I know you can't overtake under the dotted line". I rebutted by saying "Well, I've driven in three other countries, all under the British road system, and they all say you CAN." I guess he really didn't have a case on me. He did let me off without a summon. But even that part was dodgy.. only my details were taken down on this rugged notebook. He wasn't even the traffic polis.. he was in navy blue uniform. It is possible that he and his colleague were just fishing for bribes. But not me. Geez, our police. What a damn shame. 

Anyway, we got to Teluk Intan and bought some souvenirs.. Heong Peng (or "Smells good biscuit"). Managed to call Mr Lim Chong Ho, Captain of 1st Teluk Intan BB for tea where he treated us to mee rebus and mee rojak. Awesome guy. 

Finally we were on the way home to KL amidst the huge storm. What I was glad to see in this trip was that the younger Officers are stepping up and learning to take up greater responsibility. Hope this is the start of greater things to come. So yep - Jiehan, Hoe Kit and Wai Kien. I'm keeping an eye on you! 

My final entry about my trip back to Melbourne. This entry starts from 14th October 2010, on Thursday when I visited OCF Berwick. I'm so glad to see a brand new and bigger bunch in this campus. It is so different from the days when we first started with 3-5.. sometimes just ONE (yea, me). Gotta give it up to God and the past committee who has laboured diligently to make a difference in campus and to stand up for His ministry. Also very proud to say that OCF is the only club or society which is active on campus. All the other clubs either closed down or only meet once a year. Apparently, the Student Union is so impressed with OCF that even they don't want to see it closed. God is awesome! Anyway, my prayer's to the new committee for 2011 headed by Michelle and Irwin. Good on you for taking up responsibility, be it reluctantly or willingly. 

OCF Berwick before the start of the week's meeting

After OCF we went for a dinner and Pastor Ken Teo, who was there with us right from the start, graciously gave me a ride home.. all the way from Berwick to Clayton. Thanks again Pastor Ken! I was in time to see a bunch of ex-OCFer finish off a transition program at my former home in 20 Bettina. Good catching up with some people I have not seen for a long time. The next day would prove to be more exciting. I rented a car and took a drive up to Yarra Valley headed towards Marysville. It was a simple and straightforward drive following the Maroondah Highway. 

Quite a stunner of a drive. It's probably the only major tourist route I have not tried throughout my entire stay in Melbourne. Many wineries, parks and scenic views. Unfortunately, that Friday also happened to be the 24 hour rain day. So that made it abit sucky. But overall, a VERY relaxing drive and definitely my favourite part of the entire trip. 

 

Healesville Reservoir 

 

Awesome wine and cheese along the Yarra Valley - the winner of the entire trip!

There was a sobering moment while I was at Marysville. The entire town as well as several other rural Victorian towns were burned down on 7th February 2009, a day also known as Black Saturday which killed 173 people. Marysville was the biggest town hit. It was evident that the town was a bustling one just a year and a half ago. Now it seemed like an empty construction site waiting for buildings to be put up along its main road. Nearby suburbs with open fields, where hundreds of houses once stood. As I was driving along one of the off-roads I saw a burnt out tree stump, charcoal black, with bright flowers tied around it along with a personalised note. Truly tragic. I've been following this event on the news but never knew how big it was until I watch it on History Channel in Malaysia. 

 

Marysville, Victoria
Left: Where houses once stood. Right: The main street which once was bustling with activity, now looks like an empty construction site 

Towards the late afternoon I headed to the city to meet up with Rachel at QV. Had dinner and drinks at Max Brenner before dropping her off her place and saying hi to Sash. Poor guy got bitten close to death. It's okay now, doing tap dances on Rachel's wooden home floor. 

 

Hanging out with Rachel, Faith, Alison and... Jap-Malaysian friend at Max Brenner

After a long day out, I spent most of the night preparing for camp the next day. Yes, for the fourth year in a row I found myself going back to Wilsons Promontory. All wasn't smooth sailing. The weather didn't let up. In fact, at night when we were in Rock Kung after OCF it hailed at least three times. The next morning, there was snow in Mount Dandenong and the entire Mount Hortham was snowboard worthy. Some of us wanted to bail out from the camp due to the terrible weather and some did. However, I have to salute Kong Chian's perseverance and insistence to go ahead with it. So we set of, slightly later than planned from Clayton around 10am on Saturday for the Prom. 

The weather seemed to have improved as we neared the Prom, nice and sunny. Upon reaching, the weather was erratic to say the least. It will be raining for half an hour and nice and sunny the next.. for most of the day. The only thing constant were the 60kmph winds that constant blew down out tents. Still, it was a good experience. 

I decided to go AWOL after one night - the cold and winds were just unbearable. So I followed Chee Kai and Chien Aun home - they only planned to stay the night anyway due to some other commitments. The Singaporean dudes - Kang Wei, Kong Chian and Vib continued on defiantly to Sealers Cove and managed to catch snappers for their dinner. I am truly envious! 

 

  Left: The bridge at Tidal River. Right: The guys fishing on the same river

 

Left: It was a luxurious steak for dinner for each one of us! Right: A true camping experience - all guys in one tent

 

Left: The beautiful walk along Tidal River. Right: Chee Kai and I posing overlooking Squeaky Beach

Coming home early did allow me to meet my aunts and cousins, so that's pretty much what I did on Sunday night. The next day would be the more sobering task of buying souvenirs and packing up to go home. I did visit Monash Caulfield to inquire more about my course.. I'm still four units short of the Masters. I said final farewells as well as treating the Bettina's to steak at Outback Jack's in Knox. 

The last day, I took the train together with Nic to the city where he got off at South Yarra while I moved on to Southern Cross via the City Loop. That gave me alot of time to think. I have to admit that during this trip, I was seriously tempted to rethink taking the Australian PR again. Life was good in Melbourne and coming back for a holiday here really was a preview of what life once was - picking up exactly where I left off. With the plane, despite an 8 hour flight (of which I slept 7 hours.. so really felt like 1 hour).. both worlds seem closer than ever. So what's the big deal settling down in Australia instead? Would I get used to the "reality" of work here in the bustling city, cramming into the Metro trains and going shoulder to shoulder with fellow Melbournians, climbing corporate ladders and running a rat race in a country I'm unsure if it even welcomes me. 

These thoughts all crossed my mind. I couldn't help it. 

I was facing towards the back of the train. The Comeng trains have the configuration where the seats face one another and I so happen to be pointed the other way. I felt that it was God's way of showing me the dilemma I was in. The train was moving forward and I'm sitting in the train looking back facing things that has passed. The more I look (or think about it), the giddier it gets. I would only become disillusioned with what once was. In the end, the best position to be in is one that looks forward. Not quite knowing what's ahead - but it is the only way to go. 

Australia isn't for me - yet. Looking ahead for me is this ministry and fighting the corruption which is tearing the organisation apart. 

I really thank God for the refreshing break. Will miss Melbourne. 

Coming back to Melbourne is more than just a holiday. I came here trying to reconnect with my past routines and a lifestyle I miss, that is a very laid back and blessed culture. Day 3 was a Sunday and I went back to Citylife Church Knox, the church I attended for much of 2008 and 2009. To my delight, it's senior pastor, Mark Conner was giving the days sermon. After church we'd typically go for lunch if it's a Sunday, supper if we've attended the Saturday afternoon service. Since I was the VIP, my pick was Springvale for a taste of Vietnamese food. I found out why my favorite dish is called broken rice.. cause they smash them to smaller piece (break them apart) before cooking them. 

 

Left: Mark Conner giving his sermon - and wow.. he's using an iPad. Right: One of my favourite Viet foods, broken rice

I headed to the city after lunch, meet up with Faith Ho and Glenda offered to drive us there. We parked the car near Lygon Street and pretty much trammed and walked out way to Burke Street and to South Wharf DFO. Faith had some shoes to buy while I just wanted some new clothes. I realised that I was wearing the same exact stuff I wore last year. Sorry la, I had to address my ego. Especially after the first things my ex-housemate Sabrina said was "oh my gosh, you are still wearing the same clothes!". Gosh man. 

Anyway, the trip to the city was satisfying. Almost brought a tear to my eye. I've never been to South Wharf nor the Melbourne Exhibition center, so the trips there was quite interesting. 

 

Right: Faith, Glenda and I hanging out along the Yarra River

 

Left: Upward view of Burke Street. Right: Some sailship from Ireland next to the Melbourne Exhibition Center

  

Right: Swanson Street. Right: Little Collins Street aka China Town

 

Left: Another view of Burke Street - a shopping district. Right: Wow! I get to touch one of the rentable bikes I've been seeing on the news.

 

Left: Melbourne inner skyline from the Yarra River with Crown Casino on the right. Right: Awesome bimbimbap

Day 4 on a Monday was another beautiful day. The three of us again decided to head down to Mornington Peninsula for a relaxing time. Pretty much visited the same places.. Sorrento first for breakfast.. Portsea for a view of the sea.. the long pier at Rye.. the breathtaking view from Chapman Point.. visiting the winery at Red Hill. Unfortunately some places were closed like Merricks Chocolate Factory and the Sunny Ridge Strawberry Farm. Still, it was a relaxing trip. 

 

Left: An echidna caught on camera while in Portsea. Right: Common sights of birds in formation at the pier in Rye

 

Left: An ancient GPS from Point Chapman near Arthur Seat. Right: The famous Sorrento Vanilla Slice!

 

Left: The classic breathtaking view from Chapman Point. Right: Monash Caulfield where I last studied for a year

On Tuesday, Day 5, I slept for quite abit and only woke up at around 2pm. Yes - the weather here has made me lazy and waking up in the afternoons in more than one occasion. But I was determined not to waste the day. I meet up with Faith Luo at her place to catch up before heading to the city to meet Grace Sim and Amanda Teo. Was good time just catching up with the few people I still vaguely keep in touch with over cyberspace. It was also the only time I got to try the pasta along Lygon Street, an Italian Street filled the mafia runned cafes and restaurants. And of course, it's back to Fredo's.

 

Left: Finally in Fredo for it's awesome gelato! Right: Melbourne City from the end of Lygon Street.

 

Left: Baileys and Fruiti di Basco gelato. Right: View from Russell Street

An awesome possum trip. I'll definitely will miss this place again. One more entry after this to conclude the trip. 

It all started with a AirAsia promotion announcement in June for free tickets to selected destinations. Melbourne flashed upon my eyes. A couple of months prior to that I've had the interest to head back when they had another round of cheap tickets, but I hesitated and missed it. Then came the June promotions - one way FREE. There was no way I was going to miss it! I miss the fun and the life in Melbourne.. so.. here I am - again. 

Just 10 month since I left Melbourne. People might say that's like yesterday.. I partially agree, but at the same time it feels like it's been ages since I left. So much has changed yet so much has remained the same. It was a very jakunfied first day.. wowing at everything I'm familiar with. 

I miss every part of it:

The nice chilly whether. The people saying "How are you?" as a form of saying Hi. I miss the slights of the city... passing through the M1 or the Princess Highway to get back to Clayton. I miss cautiously climbing into a cold bed and waiting for it to gradually warm up with my own body heat. I miss taking a hot bath during winter like conditions and contemplate offing the tap when I'm done. I miss the places where I used to go to for food.. to shop.. to just chill and talk until the break of dawn. 

Tullamarine Airport, Melbourne - Dead quiet at night

20 Bettina St - My old home

Bettina Street facing Monash - the road I'd take to class and work almost every morning in 2009

Arnott Street - The land under construction next to Monash Accommodation is almost done.. but still not done after 10 months. 

Robert Menzies Building - new elevators going up

Rotunda and Alexander Theater

Campus Center - Different colour schemes and layouts

OCF Clayton 2010

The New OCF Clayton President 2010/11

Back in Ocean King for my favourite two dishes!

Something don't change.. people poking fun at Glenda and she resiliently fights back. Always good to watch. 

OCFers OCFing for 15 minutes after an event as usual

 

My Second Day is less eventful - been just lazing at home. Hopefully Day 3-12 will be more exciting!