I moved in to the new apartment, a tad closer to school and shops (which means even on my lazy days I'll have no excuse to board the bus!). It looks more apt as a student establishment with secondhand furniture lying out of place at the lounge area and the backyard, posters of various activism and cultural events sticking out on the walls and uhm, condoms splattered on the coffee table besides the magazines.
Now, before you catch your breath and make the awful sound of unbelievable gasp - please know one of my housemate is taking women studies as her degree, which explains the various tools and advices I find surrounding the house. My other housemates are from India (doing his PhD in photovoltaic), Italy (doing his Master's in biomedical engineering), and Spain (he moved out today).
It's a good and interesting change from the last house. I think I was officially inaugurated as the member of the house yesterday, as I managed to attend the dinner/birthday party offered by my housemate to her friend. She used to worked as a chef, and she made cannelloni (kaan-nelloo-ni, as my Italian housemate taught us) with salads for dinner. One of the girls I met remarked with cheerful gesture I had managed to get myself a crazy house.
Oh well, I thought - the crazier the better.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Beauty Needs No Ornamentation
So I finally made it inside the Sydney Opera House, and I think for the most amazing performance I've ever experienced in my life. For those of you who might not recognized the group in the picture, I can only recommend you to watch ONCE, a "life imitating art" movie revolving around the story of an independent artist trying to make a break in music industry.
Glen Hansard's voice is a powerhouse, he performs with such agility and flexibility you would think he's going to lose his voice right there on the stage, but he didn't. Marketa, on the other hand, is so gentle you feel like you're looking at a child. Looking at both of them together is simply, magical (Ah, the lots of you know what a romantic fool I am!).
They are funny too, when Glen brought out a cup of drink for Marketa as she was about to sing. Marketa simply said, "Oh, well, it's great isn't it?". All of us burst out laughing and she continued to say, "This song is for all men who make their women a good cup of tea." So Irish, so lovely - I thought.
They performed about 15 songs, Colm Mac Con Iomaire (look how Irish the name is) the violin player is amazing, while Joe Doyle I think looks a bit like Mark Rufallo. All in all, it was a concert to remember. Now I can cross it out of my 18 Things to Do in Australia, a great one to note!
Listen to The Swell Season by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova.
Glen Hansard's voice is a powerhouse, he performs with such agility and flexibility you would think he's going to lose his voice right there on the stage, but he didn't. Marketa, on the other hand, is so gentle you feel like you're looking at a child. Looking at both of them together is simply, magical (Ah, the lots of you know what a romantic fool I am!).
They are funny too, when Glen brought out a cup of drink for Marketa as she was about to sing. Marketa simply said, "Oh, well, it's great isn't it?". All of us burst out laughing and she continued to say, "This song is for all men who make their women a good cup of tea." So Irish, so lovely - I thought.
They performed about 15 songs, Colm Mac Con Iomaire (look how Irish the name is) the violin player is amazing, while Joe Doyle I think looks a bit like Mark Rufallo. All in all, it was a concert to remember. Now I can cross it out of my 18 Things to Do in Australia, a great one to note!
Listen to The Swell Season by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Out of Bounds to Nowra
Dear friends,
Nowra is a part of the New South Wales South Coastal areas, which is where I had spent camping with my dad's friend and his family. I had a fair share of camping experience in Malaysia, and once last year we went to The Basin up north in New South Wales. But this time I find the camping experience is beyond revolutionary. Forget about tents and campfires. Think caravans and a truck-ful loads of camping equipments. We took 3 hours to set up the campsite alone.
Anyhow, it was a week well-spent. We went bike-riding through the bush trails and disc0ver whatever gems hidden at the end of it. Imagine bushwalking and being stopped in the midst of it because a group of kanggaroos came hopping at you in the opposite direction, staring at you wide-eyed as if waiting for you to say hello. Imagine hopping on the beach rocks from one end of the beach to the other, and climbing uphills only to find you couldn't find your way back to the main trails. Oh, that one was challenging. I truly thought we're going to get lost - I was with my dad's friend and his vivacious seven years old granddaughter.
I wouldn't be able to weave a full and complete story yet, but I hope you enjoy all these bits and pieces. Tonight I'm going to the Sydney Opera House to watch Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova.
Lots of love, Ati.
Nowra is a part of the New South Wales South Coastal areas, which is where I had spent camping with my dad's friend and his family. I had a fair share of camping experience in Malaysia, and once last year we went to The Basin up north in New South Wales. But this time I find the camping experience is beyond revolutionary. Forget about tents and campfires. Think caravans and a truck-ful loads of camping equipments. We took 3 hours to set up the campsite alone.
Anyhow, it was a week well-spent. We went bike-riding through the bush trails and disc0ver whatever gems hidden at the end of it. Imagine bushwalking and being stopped in the midst of it because a group of kanggaroos came hopping at you in the opposite direction, staring at you wide-eyed as if waiting for you to say hello. Imagine hopping on the beach rocks from one end of the beach to the other, and climbing uphills only to find you couldn't find your way back to the main trails. Oh, that one was challenging. I truly thought we're going to get lost - I was with my dad's friend and his vivacious seven years old granddaughter.
I wouldn't be able to weave a full and complete story yet, but I hope you enjoy all these bits and pieces. Tonight I'm going to the Sydney Opera House to watch Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova.
Lots of love, Ati.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Speed Reading
Now I feel like working.
The past week, in the event of my deceased (I hate to think so, but I'm coming to term with it now) laptop, as well as the fact I'm staying at the Malaysia Hall Sydney which is devoid of immediate ICT facilities - I've been living like a real postgraduate student.
Waking up at 5.30 in the morning and later on walking to my school with the grave intent to finish my assignment, I spend the whole long day at the working room, coming out only to make occassional coffee or to have lunch. I walk back by 7.00 in the evening, reading book before bedtime and falling asleep as early as 10.00. I've finished the Secret Life of Bees, People of the Book and the Last Lecture. My Name is Red, unfortunately, is still a struggle.
Somehow I turn out to be productive more than ever.
The deafening silence still gets to me sometime, but not as bad as the first few days since I arrived. I was missing home like mad, nothing a reclusive person like me can ever imagined.
But I realize now what is it which drives me to finish the course with flying colours; it's my family back home. It's hard to accept I'm growing old and somehow rather wistful now, but alas, if it means love, so be it.
The past week, in the event of my deceased (I hate to think so, but I'm coming to term with it now) laptop, as well as the fact I'm staying at the Malaysia Hall Sydney which is devoid of immediate ICT facilities - I've been living like a real postgraduate student.
Waking up at 5.30 in the morning and later on walking to my school with the grave intent to finish my assignment, I spend the whole long day at the working room, coming out only to make occassional coffee or to have lunch. I walk back by 7.00 in the evening, reading book before bedtime and falling asleep as early as 10.00. I've finished the Secret Life of Bees, People of the Book and the Last Lecture. My Name is Red, unfortunately, is still a struggle.
Somehow I turn out to be productive more than ever.
The deafening silence still gets to me sometime, but not as bad as the first few days since I arrived. I was missing home like mad, nothing a reclusive person like me can ever imagined.
But I realize now what is it which drives me to finish the course with flying colours; it's my family back home. It's hard to accept I'm growing old and somehow rather wistful now, but alas, if it means love, so be it.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Closure
I've finally read the last installment of Harry Potter. Albeit being an avid reader who craves for real stories, I thank God for all the good endings J.K Rowling has woven into the book. Now Harry and his friends can live inside me, untarnished. There will be no deaths unmourned, nor there will be good memories betrayed.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
My Life as a Reader
A new year passes by, and I suppose the one and only thing which remains unchanged inside me is my reading self.
I had spent the one-month holiday break reading considerably. I finished the Inkheart Trilogy (Inkheart, Inkspell, and Inkdeath), which I found it immensely enjoyable as novels about books. The author's imagination is something a reader like me would envy, I think. Because like Meggie, I would give anything to be in the world full of characters like Farid, Capricorn, and Dustfinger. Especially Dustfinger, of course. The thick book would be daunting to initial readers. But trust me, it'll take you to a whole new world afterwards.
The Historian proves to be an interestingly gothic reading, albeit the loose plots. While My Name is Red shook me, although I'm still halfway through the novel at the moment. Both novels reminds me somehow to the Thirteenth Tale, which I re-read together with the sixth Harry Potter, simply to get myself out of the goth trance.
To put it shortly, the end of two thousand eight has been quite a dark reading for me.
Happy 2009 Everyone!
I had spent the one-month holiday break reading considerably. I finished the Inkheart Trilogy (Inkheart, Inkspell, and Inkdeath), which I found it immensely enjoyable as novels about books. The author's imagination is something a reader like me would envy, I think. Because like Meggie, I would give anything to be in the world full of characters like Farid, Capricorn, and Dustfinger. Especially Dustfinger, of course. The thick book would be daunting to initial readers. But trust me, it'll take you to a whole new world afterwards.
The Historian proves to be an interestingly gothic reading, albeit the loose plots. While My Name is Red shook me, although I'm still halfway through the novel at the moment. Both novels reminds me somehow to the Thirteenth Tale, which I re-read together with the sixth Harry Potter, simply to get myself out of the goth trance.
To put it shortly, the end of two thousand eight has been quite a dark reading for me.
Happy 2009 Everyone!
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