Australia Day

The 26th of January is where all those wildly patriotic, beer-swilling, cricket-loving blokes get out and bellow the national anthem at the various foreshores around every capital city in Australia - around every city in Australia, for that matter. It's a great time, I also found out, to catch up with people you said goodbye to just two months ago at the end of high school. Yes, I was at Shelley Foreshore with a couple of friends, and we ran into more old friends ... including some year 11s who knew me by reputation (??) and of course, my good friend Mr Whippy. It's such a pity that the street my home is on doesn't qualify for Mr Whippy to drive by, so Shelley Foreshore was good enough for me.

I have decided on what to do for university, for those interested. It was a difficult toss-up between Med in UWA, or Actuary/Commerce in ANU ie. Canberra ie. far from home. It was a matter of weighing up the pros and cons of each, but in the end going on instinct. Do I want to do a course which I would enjoy but is far from home, or stay here with a course I'm only just partial to but would guarentee me the support I need?

Tough call, huh?

Yes, I know this is a short blog entry, but nothing much has happened in the past week. Wait a sec ... I got my driver's licence. For those who will follow, the Hazard Perception Test is without a doubt the hardest part to pass. Even the practical doesn't compare to a computer test where the image is grainy, you don't have the same vision you'd have when actually driving, and you have to accumulate 25 hours of solid driving experience before they'll even consider you for the test. I hear they're talking about upping the time to 60 hours. I pity those poor sods.

Anyway, the P's are finally official, I have the card (yes! No more presenting my library card at the cinema to prove I'm over 15!), and it's a pure pleasure to drive alone in the car without a backseat driver telling you you're speeding at 51 km/h in a 50 km/h zone.

And great fun was had by all.

Winners never say die. At least, they're not supposed to. But think about it. Just as an action hero, all waxed up to show off that muscular torso, is about to blast the bad guy into oblivion because he killed his parents, wouldn't he shout, "DIE YOU B***ARD!!"?

Just curious.

After the draining events of last week - PlanetShakers is very shaking - you'd think a period of relaxation would be in order. To some extent, I got it. My parents, in particular my mother, don't mind Battle for Middle-Earth as long as playing it doesn't get interminable. However mixed in of course is endless chores and moving rooms. That's right, I'm swapping rooms with my sister - an interesting situation because the room my sister is moving into is called the 'Study Room', so called because all siblings before and after me live in the Study Room while undergoing years 11 and 12.

The Study Room is the largest bedroom in the house (excepting my parents', of course) and is closest to the parents' bedroom. Unfortunately there's no lock on the door, opening the way (pardon the pun) for mum to barge in at any time and tick us off for listening to music rather than studying. Even more unfortunately (though most wouldn't think so), it's also the bedroom closest to the TV and kitchen, providing the best distraction possible.

My leaving the Study Room as I complete high school just brings home how old we get so fast ... I'm 17!! ... I don't feel like being back in year 8 where, from being the big fish in the small pond, I became the small fry in the big pond. But that's what faces uni students, unfortunately. Oddly, it doesn't daunt me whether I'm in Canberra or Perth.

Went bowling today and had great fun. Proving my technique is superior I won twice in succession, whereas some people threw 5 consecutive gutterballs - not mentioning names, of course. It's just great to relax with friends for a few hours with no pressure, especially as I may not see them for a while if I go interstate.

And great fun, as they say, was had by all.

Inhibition

I was thinking recently about how my natural inhibitions came about. I couldn't help blaming my parents; I mean honestly, they brought me up, didn't they? Whatever they taught me in my formative years, I followed. So it's their fault, right?

But it's no one's fault. Sadly, it never is. We were all designed a certain way - I believe that. And as much as we think we're shaped by our environment and interactions, the fact is that all our experiences will only reinforce what was always in our genes. What I think is an enforced lack of ability to present myself is something that was always going to happen no matter what.

Well, not entirely.

For those out there getting scared, do so with good reason. Because only something really dramatic, something impossible, will change who we always were going to be. All we need to do is find out what's impossible - or rather, what people would believe is impossible - and think of the only way that can make the impossible possible. To change us.

I think people will know what I mean. Planet Shakers, which I've attended the past two days, has helped me lose a lot of inhibition. And since I think inhibition was inbuilt into me, the only way I could lose it was by something really powerful. Here's what I think. We can all change what's inbuilt into us by believing in what's been dismissed as impossible.

That friend I was talking about? His inhibition has been lost - but in a bad way. And he didn't deserve what happened to him. Because he did get changed in such a great way. I mean seriously, he was quite the arrogant one beforehand. Then he was changed so powerfully - only to find out what had changed him had decided to rescind.

But he doesn't need to backslide. Hopefully with the support of friends, he won't. For the rest of us out there, we just gotta find the one way to change who we are for the better. And I hope we all do.

So what's the one way? Let me put it this way - it's something most people would rather scorn.

Choice

People think it's such a great idea to get out of school so you can enjoy 3-month-long holidays ... well, they're right and they're wrong. Because while 3 months off further education is a boon in anyone's book, it inevitably leads to incredible boredom.

Having been off school since early November, I've had a lot of time to ponder the end of high school. And it's not such a great thing. You feel like you're back at the start of yet another stage of higher learning, only last time it was just high school where you still had escape routes and your life hadn't taken path yet. But when entering university, you better hope you get lucky and choose something you'll enjoy, because if not, there's no easy escape route.

What if, for example, I don't enjoy studying in Canberra? My friends have been phenomenal to me in Perth - despite the fact that I seem to miss many social outings due to miscommunication - but I think I could make new, lifelong ones in the Eastern States. I should be able to exist independently without the safety net of my family. But what concerns me most is the course itself. Actuary has a very high drop-out rate, as it's a drawn-out, boring, and very difficult course. The mathematics involved is highly abstract and you have to really enjoy maths - not just be good at maths but enjoy it - to stick with it. I do enjoy maths (a shocking discovery I made only last year) so the 'stickability' factor, as Tim Winton's Cloudstreet would put it, shouldn't be a problem. But if the maths is really so complicated, and so abstract, that I fear I would soon be crying out for release.

The alternative is Medicine here. Yes, I realise it's what a lot of my friends will be doing, but it's a career path that never really jumped out at me. As john's pointed out, I like finding out how people click, so psychiatry has become a distinct possibility. However it's a six-year course - and that's just the university component. Add in the fact that it cuts like hell into your family life because of insane working hours, and it's a less-than-tantalising proposition.

It all depends on what your heart feels is right, I guess. If you believe in God, as I do, you'd pray for guidance, but how do you know when you're being answered? It's a decision I would rather not make alone, but the final choice is ultimately mine. I just wish someone would go make it clearer!!

And a recent traumatic event in a friend's life has made me realise what consequences that plunging into a decision can have. It really requires a lot of thought, and to this friend of mine who's now deep in depression because he thinks he made the wrong choice, he has all my sincerest sympathy (if he reads this blog). I can only hope I make the right choice by everyone.

Singapore pt 2

I spent most of the time walking around the city, using the MRT/bus, or watching cable TV (which seems to exist in every home in that country). Sim Lim Square, Suntec City (not sure if that's how it's spelt), Night Safari etc. all flashed before me - oh, and a little trip to Little India, where for the first time ever I stepped into a Hindu temple. Another thing worth mentioning is those genius inventions of Ezy-link cards ... say goodbye to paper MultiRiders.

Also watched a couple of movies while there (National Treasure, Meet the Fockers), and what got me was the fact that they're shown with Chinese subtitles. This meant that the Chinese people were reading ahead with the subtitles and got the jokes before us English-speakers/readers actually heard them, which meant they were laughing even before the joke was delivered on-screen. This is very annoying, but I guess inevitable in such a Chinese-dominated country.

Spent some time in Malaysia too, which made Singaporean drivers look like saints. In Singapore they overtake and switch lanes without indicating, and traffic jams extend for a long time. But in Malaysia, one has to wonder if they have laws on the road (or driver's licences for that matter). People ruthlessly cutting in, motorcyclists buzzing past you like flies, no lane markings ... the list goes on. In addition, I witnessed the truly horrifying sight of watching a young girl fishing for food with her hands in a drain next to the road. Yes, a drain where excrement flows. This disgusting sight brought home how truly blessed we all are to be born into the lives we are.

Now that I'm back in Australia, I realise how much I missed it. The humidity in Singapore and Malaysia was incredible, and I'd take the sheer heat of Australia over the humidity of Singapore any day. Also you come to realise how much we take simple things for granted here - availability of quality milk, social security, education, driver politeness, among countless other things. So while I'm back I'm going to relish what we have, including quality time with friends before university.

On a more positive note, my results were very satisfying, thank you very much.

Singapore pt 1

Going overseas cuts into blogging time, obviously, as does roaming the streets of a different country. But seeing as it's a new year and I'm home now, I can relate the best Singapore holiday I've had to date.

Probably the best part about going overseas during extended holiday breaks is the distance you get from whatever issues you have at home. I have some issues (that still need to be resolved) and yes, one of them concerns women. Only recently did I realise how massively I don't understand them - not that men do anyway, but I found out just how much I have to learn. Let's hope I have better luck with the opposite sex in the future. I would say more, but this is a public blog.

Right ... Singapore. The main reason was our family reunion - and believe me, this is a big deal. On my father's side alone (which is the side of my family living in Singapore) there are a whopping 35 members, varying in age from 8 to 37 (and that's just the cousins! :P) so these reunions mean a lot.

More to come - I'm out to dinner.