Emerging

Gone are the cold winter days and nights. Slowly I am emerging from my cave which I have been hiding in over the past few months!!! I love the warm weather...absolutely love it!!! I have already plunged into the lovely waters at Clovelly Bay - twice!! And we (me + my two crazy friends who swim with me) are already acclimatising to the currently "cold" water temperature. It's about 21 degrees I believe :-) But with the warm weather, the water should be warming up pretty soon (we hope! as well as every other normal person!!!).

So aside from the Saturday or Sunday early morning swims, I also started playing in a mixed touch-footy comp two weeks ago. The first week was cruisy and I felt like I hadn't run around as much as I would've liked to (by the end of the game). We were playing against juniors! haha!!! But then last week, we played against the Division winners from last year!!! So needless to say we got our asses whooped - even with a 5-point handicap!!! Yes, quite embarassing I know!! hehe...Nevertheless, it was a great learning experience and also, I think I got more than enough of running around that evening!!!

The warmer weather is also melting away my "social recluse"-ism :-) I don't even know when I started becoming a social recluse...maybe it was when I was in Switzerland...yeh...I think that was it!!! All along, I have been blaming 'old age'...but of course nobody ever bought that, not even me!!! Anyway, I ventured out to a friend's 40th birthday dinner two weeks ago in Cremorne, and I had an absolutely fantastic time!!! It took quite a bit of coaxing from my friend though!!! I'm glad that she persisted!! :-) Then I hung out with some of my colleagues after work, which was good fun too!! Who ever would have thought huh?!! Not about my colleagues, but just about me actually being out and about!!! haha...

Anyway, things are looking up and I'm slowly building up my social life again :-) It's been about 3.5years since I've actually felt like being this social!!! God! What have I been missing out on?!!! I've been in a deep sleep!!!

As part of my rehabilitation to rejoin society, I went to see The Living End at the Enmore Theatre last night with my cousins...and WOW!!! TLE totally rocked the socks off the place!!! Frontman Chris Cheney was looking better than ever!! Not that I have a crush on him...but I thought he looked really fit and totally in his element. Every performance I have seen from TLE has been awesome, but I must say that last nights' performance was just exceptional!!! I've never seen a band look so comfortable on stage (and I've been to many concerts!)...and by far, it's one of the best concerts I have ever been to!!!

I watched as they played from their soul. You could feel the incredible vibe. It was like they just melded with their instruments, with each other, with the stage and with the audience...can't really describe it...you just had to be there...:-) just incredible :-)

Proud

It's only been in the last week that I've felt the spark of Olympic fever. I wasn't interested in reading any articles or watching any special lead-up programs to Beijing 2008. I didn't even think I'd really get into it this time around.

But as I sat down last night and watched the Opening Ceremony with my mum and a family friend, and then later my dad...I felt so proud to be Chinese. What I saw really moved me on a deeper level and I thought how amazing it was for China to put on such a spectacular show, to show the world!!!

As I watched the faces of the volunteer performances, I saw how proud they were to be there and to be a part of history. Pride for their country, pride for their culture, pride for their people. It took me back to Sydney 2000 when I felt so moved during the first full rehearsal of the Opening Ceremony. I remember hearing the crowd cheering and the air was just so thick of excitement and pride...for one's country, for humanity...knowing that I was part of something truly special.

I love the spirit of the games! It's sadly one of the few times where nations unite with no political, racial or religious indifferences. If only humanity could live in this way...

I Heart Google

It really pays to quickly google "discounts" for anything you are looking for, whether it be concert tickets, fast food, books or electronic items online. Let's take last night for example. I had a real craving for Domino's pizza the night before, but since dinner had already been prepared, I thought it'd do me good to save a few bucks.

But last night I thought...it's pizza night!!! I wondered how much pizzas were these days since I hadn't had some in quite some time. The last I remember was that a Domino's pizza cost something like five or six bucks. So when they had a special offer on the Domino's website for $7.95 a pizza, I thought it somewhat expensive.

Not satisfied with their 'special offer', I quickly went to www.hotdockets.com.au to see if they had any discount vouchers. They did. Pizzas were going for $5.95 each for pick-up. But they were for all the Domino's within 10km of Blacktown except for the one closest to us!!! Typical!!!

So, still not willing to pay $7.95 a pizza, and not willing to drive any further than I needed to, I kept searching...and my efforts were duly rewarded when I found a discount code which gave me three large pizzas for $14.95!!! Oh what a bargain!!! And so, after choosing my three pizza toppings and entering in the discount code, I ordered the pizzas online!!!

Here's another example from a few weeks ago. I was looking for discount tickets to Billy Elliot the musical. My godsister suggested we take our mums to see it, and she also had another friend coming along. It took me a while to find discount tickets, as discounts don't usually apply on Saturday nights...but what I found was just awesome!!! Personally I didn't get a discount, but for my godsister and her friend, who are both under 25yrs old, I managed to save them more than $50 each for their ticket!!! The reason? During World Youth Week, discount tickets are available for under 25yr olds!!!

Oh how I love google and the internet!!! :-) And the discounts even more so ;-)

Leaving

It was time to leave, my work was done.
In one embrace you dissolved all my tiredness.
You squeezed me tight and held me near.
Eternity passed as our souls connected.

One more chance to say goodbye.
I closed the door and you stood there waving.
A feeling of sadness swept over me.
Maybe it was a deep sorrow from lifetimes ago.

As the physical distance grew, so did the sadness.
I wanted to sob; to bring to surface the deep sorrow within.
My heart wanted to turn back around.
My head said no.