Friday, August 18, 2006

Nostalgia




The story of life

I have often heard many a praise,
of a place in the clouds, covered in haze.
Heaven its called, a beautiful name-
A realm in which our Lord God reigns.
Its grandeur I’m told is surpassed by none,
with verdant fields, sparkling in the sun.

With flowers clad in brilliant red,
lying row after row, bed after bed.
With birds so pure, so innocent, so sweet
Devoid of vile, of anger, or greed.
God lived in harmony with his surroundings
But slowly and stealthily, lonliness crept in.

Perhaps he soon grew weary of peace,
It was then he knew, something was amiss.
God wanted someone that could converse with him,
Thus, he created the human being.
Adam came first, followed by Eve,
For one without the other simply cannot live.

Next He created the Garden of Eden,
But in it lay hidden, Satan the Serpent.
Satan was jealous of God’s new creation.
He plotted to orchestrate their perdition.
By sowing his seeds of evil in them,
The beginning it was, of their end.

From the moment Eve bit,
The apple laced with misdeed,
It contaminated her tongue, body and soul.
She became too filthy for Eden to behold.

God then decided that they had to go,
For good from evil they did not know.
Stepping into the world they had to learn,
To experience every emotion before they return.
By climbing and falling time and again,
They became adroit at playing life’s games.

The world was not a pleasant place,
Though it seemed so on the surface.
But God was with them night and day,
A guiding star, lighting the way.
In times of hardship and despair,
the Lord God was always there.

The journey of life was hard and long
Often they felt they couldn’t hand on.
Yet memories of Eden remained vivid and strong,
Knowing one day, their sufferings would be gone.
With gritted teeth and heads held high, hand in hand they walked-
Towards the end.

Friday, August 04, 2006

Rural Week: Part 1

In the week commencing 30th July to 4th August, I was squatting out in the Australian bushland. More specifically, out in Rawson, Gippsland. Cool? No. COLD. Someone googled the average winter temperature for the area and found the figure 15 deg. cel. The actual temperature was around 1.5.

Rural week was actually quite a bit better than I had expected. Although we were packed 3 to a room, I have no complaints for my room mates were the funniest people I had ever met! I don't remember laughing more in my life than I have this week. Every night, we would gather for discussions on a range of topics ranging from the Isreal war to relationships. It may sound mundane, but its anything but mundane when you put Hyacintha and Shahara in the same room. Here are some excerpts:

No. 1
I can't believe there are more cows than humans in this place!
(Shahara)

Precisely! I feel so conned! City of Rawson. City of Moe. City of Tralgon. Do they even understand what the word 'city' means? I'll show them what a city is. They call this a city? I say its SHITTY!
(Hyacintha)

No. 2
On Monday night...

I can't wait! We've got 3 nights to go before we get back to civilisation. (Hyacintha)

Huh? You forgot to count Thursday night.
(Me)

Oh that's not counted coz I don't plan to sleep on thursday night. I want to stay up to look at my watch and count down the number of hours till 2pm. friday!
(Hyacintha)

On Thursday night...

What if the staff suddenly tell us that we've got to stay the weekend coz the bus isn't working?
(Me)

I don't care. I'll get on a cow and ride home.
(Shahara)

*Laughing* What about your luggage?
(Hyacintha)

Easy! I'll put it on another cow...it doesn't matter. I'm going home. (Shahara)

No. 3

There are f**king blood stains on my quilt.
(Hyacintha)

Erm, this is a honeymoon destination and yours is a double bed...*Hyacintha tries to kick me* So what's the differential? Could it be a**l sex?
(Me)

Some time later, we find ourselves discussing married men having affairs outside...

All it takes is for another women to open her legs.
(Hyacintha imitating her granny)

*Groans*
(All)

Yes, she can say it so matter-of-factly and then just walk off.
(Hyacintha)

Thank You gals for making the week so bearable for me! U've turned a *&^%$##$%^ rural week into a memory worth cherishing.

Summary ratings for Rural Week:
Food: 5.6/10
Activities: 6/10
Living conditions: 8/10 (considering its rural, of coz)
Company: 20/10

Picture time!



Ben's 2nd childhood.



They are the reason I survived rural week. Sue Wern, John, Kary, Hyacintha.



Honeymoon pic of Kary and Daniel.



The meddies trying out wheelchairs.



Beautiful scenery of Rawson.



These people turned hell into heaven. Kary & Hyacintha.