Words that enlighten my world.
It’s a matter of choice, we just need to open our minds to see the light.

chinese version here.

Post from: quaint melody | A Malaysian's life in the bungy land

• 080808 Once in a hundred years
• Pathway
• Light
• Light
• First of June

It is funny, how quickly you move
Flowing through those happy moments in the blink of the eye
It is merciless how slowly you drag on
Through the dark and hollow hours

I am lost
In the waft that is time…

It is moments like this I shall persevere
Resting like a bear in hibernation
Long as I could I wait
For the idyllic days won’t be far
Longing for the psychedelic lights
Shinning upon me once again

我拼命想抓住那 時間的沙流
卻怎麼只有 空洞的風
陪我漫步欄柵

Post from: quaint melody | A Malaysian's life in the bungy land

• Masquerade
• Daze
• Haste
• Blossoms
• Season of whole

I spent the mid-autumn festival afternoon on Mt Eden. It is always very windy up there. I started snapping photos while waiting for the moon to come out. The temperature was freezing and my fingers seemed to have taken on a life of their own after awhile, but still I kept on snapping. Funny how our passion almost always enable us to push through unfavourable conditions.

Standing atop the once volcanic mountain braving the freezing winds, my mind wondered off to those days where festive seasons spelled out fun and laughter. As a kid, I anticipated every traditional celebration. I remember walking around the suburbs back home with my colourful lanterns every mid-autumn festival, prancing around with my friends. The laughter and colours are still fresh in my mind. Those picturesque moments are permanently locked in the precious corner of my memories.

Life may throw me a curve ball ever now and then, but I soldier on the passages, continue to search for the buoyant nature in me as a kid, the simple bliss of life.

Post from: quaint melody | A Malaysian's life in the bungy land

• Moonlight rendezvous
• Colours of autumn.
• What a wonderful world
• Shadows in the sun
• Let’s talk about weather

This photo disturbs me a little, but it’s also one of my favourites.
It seems so much like life. At times, it is like a bed of roses, but there will always be thorns lurking in the most unexpected corners;
When we thought things had hit their lowest, the lights often present itself during our most
forlorn state.
Sometimes. that little bit of imperfection is what makes it perfect.
That very shattered bits are what we need to put things back in perspective.

Disastrous yet hopeful, such is life.

Post from: quaint melody | A Malaysian's life in the bungy land

• Tenacious light
• Little things in life
• Masquerade
• The sound of silence
• A beautiful feeling

I pondered, over and over, searching for something that wasn’t there.
‘Let it be for now,’ a voice rang in my mind.
‘Just remember, this too shall pass.’

Post from: quaint melody | A Malaysian's life in the bungy land

• Daze
• Of love and broken hearts
• Idyllic bliss
• Silver lining
• Light

Going through transitions. In search of one’s self.
Life is a never ending-road of discoveries.

Post from: quaint melody | A Malaysian's life in the bungy land

• Silver lining
• A beautiful feeling
• Light
• Living life
• This too shall pass

Ecstaticism came in a form of a cool black casing mechanism that is Nikon D80 this winter. An early birthday gift from my loved ones. Happy is not enough to describe the waves of emotions I’m feeling right now. Thank you so much! I am truly overwhelmed.

I’ve been using the good old Sony Cybershot T30 for quite a while. While it is a good little point-and-shoot camera, it is just not able to take those money shots. I’ll make sure to deliver some great photos and try to make full use of my new gadget from now on! The party is on!

Post from: quaint melody | A Malaysian's life in the bungy land

• Euphoria
• Living life
• A song for you
• 080808 Once in a hundred years
• 24/7

Read an article the other day that left me pondering, have you ever had anyone told you that you’ve changed? I did recently, by a friend whom I used to be closed to. She told me that I’ve changed. She wanted to believe I have, saying that it’s the cause of us drifting apart. But I’ve always been me all these while, only we don’t speak the same language anymore. The truth is I’ve stopped sharing with her. What has changed is in fact our friendship, not me. I’m merely showing a different side of me. It has always been there, though she had never noticed. What bound us together is our past, the memories. I’m still content, though we’re on two different paths. The memories we have is enough to last me a lifetime.

As time goes by, we have to accept that people come and go, some are here to stay, and some only make brief stops, nonetheless, all leave behind memories for us to treasure time and again. Just make sure you grasp the moment, that’s all that matters.

Post from: quaint melody | A Malaysian's life in the bungy land

• Slow loading of nuffnang ad
• Shadow of the past.
• A hell of a roller-coaster ride.
• Of love and broken hearts
• A game of hide and seek

Have you ever played the game of hide and seek when you were little? I remembered that I loved this game as a kid. A group of us would run around looking for places to hide on the count of 10. Though the point of the game is to hide, what gave me the adrenaline rush were the moments my friends found me. It felt good to be remembered and had people looking for you.

I supposed in the vast and seemingly illusory space of worldwide web, people grow accustomed to those who come and go. We seem to know someone online to a certain a level but there’s really no definite realness to hold on to. For the period of time this blog went into idle mood, I rested my mind holding on to this belief. Who in the world would care for the lost of a tiny dot on the supreme map right? Only I was wrong, for that I am truly sorry. Thanks for you who care and came looking. All these while I thought I enjoyed being alone, but your care broke that vicious cycle. It might not seem much but sometimes a little gesture can make all the difference. For that, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I guess such is life, sometimes we fall down, but what matters is to pick up the pieces and move on. There is always tomorrow to look forward to. Thank you for showing me that.

It took a while, but I am back.

Post from: quaint melody | A Malaysian's life in the bungy land

• Feeling
• 080808 Once in a hundred years
• Crazy woman called Jordin Sparks obese
• Cold shots of reality
• Yum Cha.

It’s been raining every day lately, cold and wet winter days, makes me want to snuggle in my warm bed and do nothing all day. I always feel nostalgic in gloomy weather, thinking of the sound of heavy rain drops on the roof when I was a kid. Sweet memories.

In a nostalgic mood lately. I was chatting with Davin (who writes about his new life in Canada, with lots of interesting photos) over MSN and we started talking about our childhood and the things we used to collect in those years. Why someone so young is so nostalgic, I wonder? Maybe he has an old soul? Just joking Davin. (Eh, did I just imply that I’m old? NO! I’m youthful, I’m full of youth!)

Anyway, I digressed. As a young teenager, I used to collect a lot of things. From the usual stamps, first day covers, erasers, stickers to the unusual tissue paper wrapper. Major head-scratching moment on the last one. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, it’s those wrappers from small individual packaged tissue paper packs. Haha, lidat also want to collect. But you’d be amazed the various designs they used to produced back then. Not sure whether they still do, haven’t used those tissue packs for a long time. My collection was up to the hundred mark I think. I collected them from my friends and family, then flatten them in between pages of heavy books. It was quite a ‘in’ thing to do amongst the girls then.

Of course, let’s not forget about the ever-so-popular stamps and first day covers. I spent many years in my childhood collecting them. Well, I’m sure many have. Though towards the end it was not so much of me collecting but my mom. Heh. All these collections are neatly kept in stamp books and first day cover holders, and kept in a big box back at home now. I call it a box of memories. Along with the stamps and first day covers, are books of stickers, diary(heh, girly talks), some souvenirs, yearbooks, old address books, photos, letters and postcards. Every time I go back, I would open the box and look through its contents for hours, reminiscing the old days. Every single item in there represents a feeling, a momentous, a story, a part of me. They remind me the different facets of my life that I’ve been through.

Ever since I come to New Zealand, I’ve been keeping a box too. Inside, there are letters, postcards, dried leaves(yes, I collected those), dairy, photos and more letters. I used to write a lot when I first came here, when I was a lonely student with some language barrier. Not anymore, since I made new friends and abandoned those back home. Haha, joking! Everybody just became lazy and stopped writing eventually. Well, we still do every now and then. Just not the mountainous volume that was back then.

I treasure these boxes of memories dearly. For I imagine to pass them to my children one day, maybe many years down the road, when I have become an old lady. To let them know of my days and thoughts. To serve as some sort of memoir, a mark of my existence.

Memories, good and bad, all be treasured, all be buried in the deepest of my heart.

memories nostalgia hobby

Post from: quaint melody | A Malaysian's life in the bungy land

• Bookworm in da house
• Wedded bliss – Part 2
• NZ South Island trip from 2003 – Christchurch
• Packing again.
• Shadow of the past.

A song has been playing in my mind for days. It is a song that reminds me of my adolescence years. How I wish I could turn back time, back to the time when everything was still simple as black and white. It was a much simpler time, when hardship of the days were homeworks and exams; when serious business meant fueling between friends; when the true ugliness of the world had not been dragged into the picture.

Tapping with the melodies, for a minute I thought I was in those naive years again. But it was just a memory lapse. I’m still here in my living room, listening to the song, over and over again.

yesterday once more Carpenters

Post from: quaint melody | A Malaysian's life in the bungy land

• Raindrops of yesteryear
• 080808 Once in a hundred years
• Crazy Chow phenomenon
• Good things come in small ways
• Where I was

It’s one of those day. Everything seem to be gloomy and sorrowful. In a dark place, where tears are constantly flowing. Dark clouds are gathering around me. I’m afraid I can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel right now.

Keep telling myself to stay on the bright side, I do. I am hang in there, I really am. Just give me some time. I’ll be ok. I promise.

thoughts darkness

Post from: quaint melody | A Malaysian's life in the bungy land

• Tenacious light
• Light
• Orakei Marina, Auckland
• Season of whole
• Epiphany toilet.

There were countless times when I refused to go to bed even though I was tired. Simply because my mind was still hyperactive. For the longest time, my body suffered from exhaustion. I really envied people like Mr K who seems to have a shut down button in his mind. A press of the button and everything shuts down right away. He can go to sleep in seconds. I kid you not!

There was also a period of time when I suffered from bad dreams. Night after night I would wake up sweating, pondered over the dreadful dreams I had. Really, every single night! It was really that terrible. You’d really have to have experiences like that in order to understand, I guess.

Anyway, to end abruptly, I resorted to aroma therapy and it helps a great deal. Though I still have some problems every now and then, it is no longer as bad as before. Lavender oil is my saviour I tell you! Haha. The end. ;P

p/s: Heh, what do you know, I’m up and blogging again!

insomnia restless mind

Post from: quaint melody | A Malaysian's life in the bungy land

• Insomniac
• Man and nagging wife
• Moonlight rendezvous
• Social withdrawal syndrome
• There she goes again…

Please pardon my craziness, I’ll go and stare at the walls for a little while.

social withdrawal syndrome

Post from: quaint melody | A Malaysian's life in the bungy land

• A child’s innocence
• Where I was
• A hell of a roller-coaster ride.
• 6 weird things about CC
• Those were the days

I love to look into a child’s eyes, they tell wonderful stories, a story of innocence, when things are simpler and pure. Here, I leave you with a photo I took a long time ago, with my trusty old Nikon D50 SLR film camera. Happy Weekend!

p/s: Between busy schedules and sleep deprivation, I am officially burned out. Will spend the whole weekend resting. Thanks for those who has tagged me, will do them in a bit. Sorry for the delay ya! Normal posting will resume on Monday. Stay tuned!

photography child

Post from: quaint melody | A Malaysian's life in the bungy land

• Hold
• Window of innocence
• Touched by an angel
• Little things in life
• Good things come in small ways

I used to be the black sheep amongst the crowd. Being an only child didn’t help as well. People tend to judge you as soon as they know you’re a single child. Words like, spoilt brat, unappreciative and pampered spring straight into their minds, faster than lightning. It’s almost impossible to fight such assumptions once they set in. I had someone told me straight to my face that she had heard of me long before we met while her face snickered. I even had a few teachers who intentionally picked on me (and for that, shame on them!)

Although I did have many acquaintances back then, only few were my true friends. I used to try incredibly hard to mix in, worried about what was deemed ‘right’ and ‘wrong’. The peer pressure I felt then was tremendous. I dreaded going to school every morning, finding every excuse under the sun, even pretended to be sick at times. It was that bad. I lived in the constant fear of being judged by people around me.

Of course, those were the painful adolescent years. Somewhere along the line, I decided not to be swarmed in self-pity. God only helps those who help themselves. I learned not to let insignificant comments affect me. To hell with them, I told myself. And ironically, as time goes by, some of those people came wanting to be my friends again, after they had learnt that I was living overseas and thought I might be of use to them . *shudders*

That’s one of the reason why I started this blog, to re-discover myself, to speak my mind without any worries. and most importantly, to serve as a reminder to be true to myself. And that, would be an never-ending journey.

Post from: quaint melody | A Malaysian's life in the bungy land

• 6 weird things about CC
• Of love and broken hearts
• Changes
• Feeling
• Long time no see

As you all know I am leaving tomorrow night. As the hour draws closer, my heart becomes heavier. I can’t possibly put my feelings into words, but I’ll try. It has been a really long time since I’ve stayed at home for an extended period of time. Ever since I finished high school actually. I went to college in Kuala Lumpur and after that, in New Zealand. I almost can’t believe it’s been 9 years! (Yea yea, that kinda gives away my age, but who cares?! ) 9 long years I’ve been away from home. It’s so good to be home finally and be able to spend some uninterrupted time with my parents, although it is under these circumstances, but still, good times.

After almost 3 months of spending time with my family, it’s so hard to say goodbye once again. Harder than I’d imagined. As the date of departure draws closer, I find myself getting reluctant to part. I can feel the sadness in the air. Every corner I turn, there’s something that reminds me of the good times I’ve had. The familiar scent, the old photos, every turn and corner, even the dying plants in front of the house could trigger a sense of nostalgia.

After so many goodbyes over the years, I have still not gotten used to it. I don’t think there’s any getting use to when it comes to parting with loved ones. There’s a Chinese saying, the toughest thing in life has got to be parting, alive or death. I know I am having a really hard time to part this time, the hardest yet. Please don’t ask me why we choose to be so far away and be apart from our loved ones. Things just work out to be this way, at least for now. We certainly hope to be re-united with our family and never to be parted again in the near future. Wish us luck! For now, I just have to hold back my tears and walk to that departure gate strong and brave.

So goodbye my homeland, my families and my friends, till we see again…

Technorati tags: goodbye

Post from: quaint melody | A Malaysian's life in the bungy land

• Friendship
• Feeling
• When thank you seems to fall short
• Going home
• Shadow of the past.

寂寞城市

寂寞城市今晚的夜色很美
美得讓人想遲一點睡
若是夜空少了星星的點綴
月亮會不會纍
這夜色凄凄的美
沒有愛的人容易憔悴
就像霓虹般亮麗的周圍
只是一種寂寞頹廢
城市裡所有寂寞的人類
有幾個和我一樣偷偷的流淚
若是將它一滴一滴積纍
會不會流成一條冰冷的河水
城市裡所有寂寞的人類
有幾個像我一樣厭倦了疲憊
若是真心一顆一顆的摧毀
會不會全世界和我傷悲
整座城市陷入漆黑
孤獨人在尋找自己的定位
偽裝變成了一種防備
防備怕被人看穿心碎

LONELY TOWN

High and lonesome blows the wind
In Lonely Town
Well I can see you come from Lonely Town
by the angle of your eye
As you cast an anxious glance around
for a way to say goodbye
You’re wary of a lovin’ heart
that could rope or tie you down
Cause lovin’ hearts go homeless
on the streets of lonely town

CHORUS:
Where the tears fall on fields of broken dreams
And a love call is never what it seems
And when you’re torn down by a heart that can’t be found
You might be allowed to hang around
Lonely Town
Lonely Town

Well you sparkle like a teardrop
though I’ve never seen you cry
And you break a heart so casually
you never seem to try
Then you lead your walking wounded
on the pathway sloping down
Through the maze of good intentions
to the gates of Lonely Town

REPEAT CHORUS

Where the victors and their victims
lead their symbiotic lives
And jealousy and treachery
parade as man and wife
Where the misbegotten children
stone the hapless circus clown
Who takes their jeers for laughter
on the streets of Lonely Town

Well they scorn you when you get there
and they mock you when you leave
Cause there ain’t no room in Lonely Town
for a soul that still believes
That a heart can feel redemption
that a true love can be found
Lovin’ hearts alone can
break the spell of Lonely Town

REPEAT CHORUS

High and lonesome blows the wind In Lonely Town

Post from: quaint melody | A Malaysian's life in the bungy land

• Going home
• 24/7
• Fadeaway
• Light
• A beautiful feeling