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

Dawn of light outside my bedroom window. click photo to enlarge.

Waking up just before dawn, feeling a little drowsy.
I was standing in front of the window, waiting, staring into the morning darkness.
It always seems so calm and serene this time of the day, with birds chirping and the refreshing light breezes gently blowing to my face.
Slowly, threads of light emitted from the horizon.
I looked up and there it was, the glorious rays of sunrise.
It seemed like eternity, all 10 minutes of it.
My mind was perpetually stuck in this amazing freeze frame.
The dazzling moment stayed with me for the entire day.

How can I complain, when nature has empowered me with such privilege,
To see the brilliant colours, to feel the flow of emotions;
To sense the wonders, to appreciate the beauty that is life.

Sunset over Civic Theatre click photo to enlarge.

5:52pm . Sunday . Queen Street
People hurrying away home, preparing for the week’s start.
A stray of orange clouds appear in the sky, over the heritage Civic Theatre.
I stroll along the street, observing the beauty that is the city.
Sunset came and went away, so beautiful, yet so quickly.
Like many things, it’s gone before we even realised it’s there.

Carpe diem! Seize the day!

Can you spot the rainbow? click photo to enlarge.

After what seemed to be two days of sunshine, the rain resumed. Gloomy clouds roam the skies once again. Although the greyness can turn one’s emotion to be melancholy, it certainly has done some good to my much neglected garden.

Isn’t that how life is? There’s always two sides to a story, always a silver lining in sight, although sometimes we need to really pay attention to see it. Much like the faint rainbow in the picture, it is there, just subtly, waiting for you to discover.

Sometimes, perception is everything.

UPDATE: The answer is here. Did you spot it?

Sky on a winter afternoon. click photo to enlarge.

The panoramic view outside my window, on a beautiful winter evening. click photo to enlarge.

The Maori named New Zealand Aotearoa for a reason. It means ‘The Land of the Long White Cloud’. Sky like this is a common scene all year round. With the cotton-candy-liked clouds hanging low and extending into the distance.

As you know it’s been one hell of a winter, with continuous rain and strong winds. Yesterday was surprisingly a pretty clear day.The above photos were taken then.

I marveled over the beautiful sky, looking forward to the good days to come.

當輕風吹來，當白雲飄過，我心中輕輕響起典典韻樂。

click photo to enlarge

A shot of the morning sky outside my window to kick start Monday.
It instantly brightens up my day. Hope it blows away your Monday blues too!

View outside my bedroom window. click photo to enlarge

It’s been a very wet and gloomy winter down under, raining more than usual. The weather pattern surely has changed dramatically in the past few years. Auckland weather can be very unpredictable. With the sun shining one minute, and gloomy clouds roaming the next. Climate over here is direct opposite to those in the northern hemisphere, with summer starting from December to February, autumn March to May, winter June to Aug and spring September to November. While the weather here is generally temperate, mainly maritime, summery sun can be quite unbearable. Though the general temperature seldom hits the 30 Celsius mark, the UV levels are very high due to its closer proximity to the sun at that time of the year. It is really not advisable to expose oneself under the hot sun for a prolonged period of time, even if sunscreens are applied.

Coming from the tropics, the thing I enjoy the most about living in the temperate climate is the many colours that comes with it. While summer is too harsh, winter too gloomy and spring too garish, autumn yields the perfect season for me. It is then when everything turns colourful and breezy. The whole town seems to turn into a big dazzling picture, with coolness in the air and leaves swaying on trees in shades/hues of reds and yellows. Even the most unromantic people will feel the poetic moments in the air. A walk in the park is most pleasurably at this time of the year. I always feel a little surreal emerging amongst the breezy air and splendid colours of the season. It never fails to amaze me.

On another note, forecast said another storm is heading our way. This gloomy winter weather is killing all my fun to get out of the house for some decent photo shoots. Somehow the sun only comes out occasionally during the weekdays and rains all day long in the weekends! The sky pretty much looks like the above picture lately, albeit a little less dramatic (what to do, I’m all about drama!), but still, gloom! I’m just going to roll into bed and hibernate.