Spring ‘Non –teaching period’
I always go into mid-semester breaks with the loftiest of intentions. I always tell myself that each day I’ll wake up early, go for a swim then study all day, stopping only to go to the gym or for a bike ride. In fact, in the last few weeks before the break if something doesn’t get done, it is fine: the mid-semester break is coming up; I’ll get all my work done then. But then, as sure as the sun rises in the east, the break comes and goes without me having even come close to doing everything I wanted to get done.
This break though, I’m rather happy with how I’ve spent my time. Sure, I didn’t wake up early each morning and swim (actually my toes didn’t even come close to dipping in anything close to resembling a pool), but I enjoyed myself, I did a lot of exercise and I got the majority of my work done bar one assignment. Right now, as the sun sets to mark the end of a beautiful spring’s day, the only thing remaining before travelling north is to say goodbye to Sherly and say goodbye to my family.
During the break, Sherly was suffering from tendonitis in her fingers, no doubt due to overworking on her computer science projects, and she was in a considerable amount of pain. I tried my best to be there for her as much as I could to support her and make things just that bit easier for her. I was terribly concerned for her; she had to miss several exams that she had been studying hard for. It wasn’t all doom and gloom though, we shared many good times together and I’ll cherish them for a long time.
On Wednesday I had a corporate lunch at AXA, which was organised as a ‘meet and greet’ and ‘congratulations’ event. I dressed in my finest suit and caught the train in, but foolishly didn’t take my umbrella and got drenched by the pouring rain. At the lunch, I was hoping my cologne was overpowering the smell of my saturated suit. I felt foolish asking one man “So what area do you work in?” only to later find out that he was the CFO of AXA for the whole Asia Pacific region. Overall it went relatively well and my yearning to start work was rekindled anew.
One evening, I decided to go to church with Sherly. For quite a while I’d been putting it off, as I feel that religion and church is not some pet show or shopping centre that you go to with your partner just to make them happy, it is a house of God and you shouldn’t be there unless it is your own personal will to be there. I’m not a very religious man at all, but finally I felt that it was right, that I should go; so I went.
Years of bible bashing tends to make people instinctively tune out when others talk about religion or church, and that’s why I guess I was so shocked when I arrived at the church despite Sherly telling me several times exactly how it would be. The service was held in a large auditorium at the Freemasons hospital on Victoria St, and I gasped as I walked in. The room was dark with flashing laser lights with hundreds of people gathered around the stage, singing along and dancing to the sizable rock band that was strumming upbeat tunes. It could have been a rock concert for all I knew. I turned to Sherly and asked in disbelief, “Are you sure this is church?” She just laughed at my shocked expression and grabbed my hand and led me down to the ‘holy mosh pit’. I was hesitant and stiff when dancing and generally felt awkward and uncool, which was definitely something I wasn’t counting on feeling in a church. But as the time passed, I relaxed and looked around and realised it was just a diverse group of individuals expressing their devotion to their religion in the way that came most naturally to them.
The entire service was rather surreal; it was like religion had formed a partnership with M-TV. The sermon was delivered by a charismatic man in a funky suit and included props and pastors who looked like models. All in all it was an interesting experience and I’m glad I could share it with Sherly.
On Thursday I thought I’d spend the whole day with Sherly and take her to see St. Kilda, Acland St and Chapel St. So, I arrived at 11am, just as a said I would and greeted Sherly, still in her pyjamas. After much prodding and coaxing she finally got ready and we boarded a crowded tram and rattled our way to St. Kilda. By the time we’d reached the esplanade, it had turned into a beautiful day, and I looked like a fool carrying an umbrella in my hand. We disembarked and walked along Acland St, deciding to have lunch before tasting one of the many delectable cakes that adorned the windows of several small bakeries. We strolled along the beach and found a nice bench to reflect and absorb the surrounds. There is something about the salty smell of the thick sea breeze, the squawk of gulls and the gentleness of the sun’s rays bouncing off golden sand that makes for such a relaxing environment.
Despite being allergic to alcohol, and despite me pleading with her not to pick a cake with liquor, she did and was itching all the way to Chapel St, turning red in the process. “I told you now, didn’t I?”, “Yes…” She murmured in the same tone as a child would after disobeying advice from a parent and then suffering for it.
Despite my deeply embedded hatred of shopping stemming from many days of my childhood school holidays stuck in clothing stores waiting for my Mum, I had decided to take her shopping. I knew she would enjoy it and that would be enough for me. So, we wandered up the street, zig-zagging from one side of the road to the other while Sherly entered almost every clothing store. I don’t how women can derive such joy from trying on countless clothing items while buying only a very small percentage, but I could see Sherly was, so that made me happy enough. The day eventually drew to a close and we ate a simple dinner back at her place.
I met up with Chris and Derek the following night. Over Thai food, we caught up on all the things that had been happening in my absence and I enjoyed seeing them again. There was somewhat of a sombre mood to the evening though, but that didn’t stop us all having a good time together. On a burst of spontaneity, we decided to wander the city in random directions and see where we ended up, but the problem with having city streets designed in a grid, is that it is not very easy to lose yourself; you’re only ever metres away from a main road, which was something that Chris was quick to point out.
Tired of the fruitlessness of our pursuits, we walked back to Melbourne Central in response to the call of warmth and Japanese crepe ice-creams. Only Chris ended up getting one in the end and we sat with him whilst he ate. After being shooed away from that area, we made our way down to the train station, where Derek made a statement about the probability of train arrival times. I was running through my head whether or not I should correct him, and like magic, a distraction presented itself in the form of 10 women dressed in traditional national dress costumes, and I thought I’d let it slide. Derek’s train arrived and then mine a little while later and the three of us parted company once more.
I’m not over the moon about heading back, but it is the home straight now; only 6 weeks of classes to go. I’m kind of looking forward to finishing, though at the same time a little reluctant to enter the ‘real world’.
Until next time,
Take care.
I always go into mid-semester breaks with the loftiest of intentions. I always tell myself that each day I’ll wake up early, go for a swim then study all day, stopping only to go to the gym or for a bike ride. In fact, in the last few weeks before the break if something doesn’t get done, it is fine: the mid-semester break is coming up; I’ll get all my work done then. But then, as sure as the sun rises in the east, the break comes and goes without me having even come close to doing everything I wanted to get done.
This break though, I’m rather happy with how I’ve spent my time. Sure, I didn’t wake up early each morning and swim (actually my toes didn’t even come close to dipping in anything close to resembling a pool), but I enjoyed myself, I did a lot of exercise and I got the majority of my work done bar one assignment. Right now, as the sun sets to mark the end of a beautiful spring’s day, the only thing remaining before travelling north is to say goodbye to Sherly and say goodbye to my family.
During the break, Sherly was suffering from tendonitis in her fingers, no doubt due to overworking on her computer science projects, and she was in a considerable amount of pain. I tried my best to be there for her as much as I could to support her and make things just that bit easier for her. I was terribly concerned for her; she had to miss several exams that she had been studying hard for. It wasn’t all doom and gloom though, we shared many good times together and I’ll cherish them for a long time.
On Wednesday I had a corporate lunch at AXA, which was organised as a ‘meet and greet’ and ‘congratulations’ event. I dressed in my finest suit and caught the train in, but foolishly didn’t take my umbrella and got drenched by the pouring rain. At the lunch, I was hoping my cologne was overpowering the smell of my saturated suit. I felt foolish asking one man “So what area do you work in?” only to later find out that he was the CFO of AXA for the whole Asia Pacific region. Overall it went relatively well and my yearning to start work was rekindled anew.
One evening, I decided to go to church with Sherly. For quite a while I’d been putting it off, as I feel that religion and church is not some pet show or shopping centre that you go to with your partner just to make them happy, it is a house of God and you shouldn’t be there unless it is your own personal will to be there. I’m not a very religious man at all, but finally I felt that it was right, that I should go; so I went.
Years of bible bashing tends to make people instinctively tune out when others talk about religion or church, and that’s why I guess I was so shocked when I arrived at the church despite Sherly telling me several times exactly how it would be. The service was held in a large auditorium at the Freemasons hospital on Victoria St, and I gasped as I walked in. The room was dark with flashing laser lights with hundreds of people gathered around the stage, singing along and dancing to the sizable rock band that was strumming upbeat tunes. It could have been a rock concert for all I knew. I turned to Sherly and asked in disbelief, “Are you sure this is church?” She just laughed at my shocked expression and grabbed my hand and led me down to the ‘holy mosh pit’. I was hesitant and stiff when dancing and generally felt awkward and uncool, which was definitely something I wasn’t counting on feeling in a church. But as the time passed, I relaxed and looked around and realised it was just a diverse group of individuals expressing their devotion to their religion in the way that came most naturally to them.
The entire service was rather surreal; it was like religion had formed a partnership with M-TV. The sermon was delivered by a charismatic man in a funky suit and included props and pastors who looked like models. All in all it was an interesting experience and I’m glad I could share it with Sherly.
On Thursday I thought I’d spend the whole day with Sherly and take her to see St. Kilda, Acland St and Chapel St. So, I arrived at 11am, just as a said I would and greeted Sherly, still in her pyjamas. After much prodding and coaxing she finally got ready and we boarded a crowded tram and rattled our way to St. Kilda. By the time we’d reached the esplanade, it had turned into a beautiful day, and I looked like a fool carrying an umbrella in my hand. We disembarked and walked along Acland St, deciding to have lunch before tasting one of the many delectable cakes that adorned the windows of several small bakeries. We strolled along the beach and found a nice bench to reflect and absorb the surrounds. There is something about the salty smell of the thick sea breeze, the squawk of gulls and the gentleness of the sun’s rays bouncing off golden sand that makes for such a relaxing environment.
Despite being allergic to alcohol, and despite me pleading with her not to pick a cake with liquor, she did and was itching all the way to Chapel St, turning red in the process. “I told you now, didn’t I?”, “Yes…” She murmured in the same tone as a child would after disobeying advice from a parent and then suffering for it.
Despite my deeply embedded hatred of shopping stemming from many days of my childhood school holidays stuck in clothing stores waiting for my Mum, I had decided to take her shopping. I knew she would enjoy it and that would be enough for me. So, we wandered up the street, zig-zagging from one side of the road to the other while Sherly entered almost every clothing store. I don’t how women can derive such joy from trying on countless clothing items while buying only a very small percentage, but I could see Sherly was, so that made me happy enough. The day eventually drew to a close and we ate a simple dinner back at her place.
I met up with Chris and Derek the following night. Over Thai food, we caught up on all the things that had been happening in my absence and I enjoyed seeing them again. There was somewhat of a sombre mood to the evening though, but that didn’t stop us all having a good time together. On a burst of spontaneity, we decided to wander the city in random directions and see where we ended up, but the problem with having city streets designed in a grid, is that it is not very easy to lose yourself; you’re only ever metres away from a main road, which was something that Chris was quick to point out.
Tired of the fruitlessness of our pursuits, we walked back to Melbourne Central in response to the call of warmth and Japanese crepe ice-creams. Only Chris ended up getting one in the end and we sat with him whilst he ate. After being shooed away from that area, we made our way down to the train station, where Derek made a statement about the probability of train arrival times. I was running through my head whether or not I should correct him, and like magic, a distraction presented itself in the form of 10 women dressed in traditional national dress costumes, and I thought I’d let it slide. Derek’s train arrived and then mine a little while later and the three of us parted company once more.
I’m not over the moon about heading back, but it is the home straight now; only 6 weeks of classes to go. I’m kind of looking forward to finishing, though at the same time a little reluctant to enter the ‘real world’.
Until next time,
Take care.
posted by Travvy at 6:30 PM
3 Comments:
Oh good, so his comment about maths proving that you would always arrive a minute after your train had left was, in fact, crap? I had my suspiscions. Good to hear that you managed to get some exercise over the break though. Haha.
"pastors who looked like models" haha.....Pastor Ben looks hot yeah! He's a SEXY MAN OF GOD! haha....those pastors are only around our age u know, apart from pastor Russel, who was preaching that nite.
I'm impressed - you actually took Sherly shopping! Shopping is not something that guys do willingly, especially with a girl...
Post a Comment
<< Home