wake me up when september ends

1. ophir trip was great, albeit painfully marred by misplaced confidence in virgin army boots which proved tragically too small. cue grotesque blisters (2 big 3 small), which broke even before we reached the causeway. it's hard to accurately put across the state of mind as i climbed, step after torturous step; grateful that being in charge of kids forced me to don a veneer of invulnerability and thus become a man bigger than who i actually am, or curse at my horrible state of under-preparation? in the end though, the air of purposeful intervention was almost apparent, especially given the near-perfectness of everything else from staff to weather to timing; i humbly accept this lesson, even as i banish the boots to the deepest recesses of my cabinet. i am grateful too for the acquaintance of zaid and huifen, the both of whom have impressed me no end with their sherpa-like skills and uncanny knack with triggering unmotivated kids (positively the bane of my life; if life was a game of d&d, i should have a -12 skill modifier for that). interestingly, watching zaid in action reminded me even more of the difference between a good leader and a wannabe, and how i really am better suited being a spec (not to underplay the role of specialists).

2. this is of course tragically outdated, but eternal sunshine of the spotless mind was beautiful, painfully and exquisitely so (which, unnervingly, actually echoes certain themes from the previous paragraph). one of the best films i've had the good fortune to catch, if only because i found myself wishing i had caught it with someone special.

3. thanks to my brother (and his friend), i have a new (ok, almost) dvd-rw drive! *does a mental fistpump and highfive* despite the euphoria in having saved a good $100+ and being able to finally view the dvds i've hoarded (ok, just a measly 4), i find myself wishing that, again, *forlorn whining alert* i had someone special to watch them with.

4. had a hoot of a time crashing in at the rf supper together with a whole bunch of old-birds on sunday; you just can't fake camaraderie and rapport, and it was good to bask in the real thing, uncontrived and natural, even if it was just for a fast and furious 2 hours. missed jianfa and cesheng though; they would've made it all so much more.

5. was good seeing emily again at the supper though, even if it came across rather ironic that our first meeting after two months would be under such settings. not too sure about her, but i actually didn't feel much awkwardness; if anything i wished that we had more time to talk. in all honesty, it almost felt natural sitting beside her; i could almost imagine reaching over to hold her hand, sharing the closeness of body and heart as we once did. some part of me feels the possibility that we will get back together again some day, but i guess only time will tell.

6. surprised to learn from erik that corporal punishment for children has been outlawed in most parts of europe for over a century; wonder if i'll resort to the cane in the future (i nimbly evade the huge possibility that i may never actually have to meet with that dilemma).

7. mid-sem break is here, and even though i cannot profess the same level of stress that many of my peers seem to be undergoing (in fact, i think i'm at the other end of the spectrum), it comes at an opportune time for me to catch up on all fronts; looking forward to meeting up with occet ppl, old fogeys from hall, larissa even? in any case, whilst i foresee a meltdown coming end october with all the termpapers due, life looks really warm and sunny now, which is more than i can ask for.