Est modus in rebus

Sorry to be so obvious, but yes, it’s the last day of the year.

I am not supposed to be online, but something in me feels I should just write

something for today. I don’t have my fancy pictures etc today, so I’m just

going to let it rip and hope it does not end up as verbal diarrhoea.

I did not want to have another usual New Year’s eve. I think I have had

enough partying in my life and moments of drunkeness whereby I inevitably

become entertainment for my friends and end up becoming a character

from the Fight Club. I didn’t want to just wake up the next morning in all

too familiar circumstances, thinking ‘Oh yeah. This again.’

It’s not the usual refrain of ‘Oh i’m getting older, cannot do this etc’…

because in all honesty, I’ll probably be drinking it up in Penang tonight!

But … it will be different. I will be waking up going

‘Ah…this is different.’

.

Yes, I am in Penang. With one of my dearest friends alive. She had

always told me to come stay with her for a bit, and the pathetic reply

to that recently had been a ONE NIGHT stay sometime in June/July.

How rude. LOL.

Well now I’m here, and we have had our brilliant conversations as usual.

I booked two nights stay at G Hotel simply because I wanted, after a hectic

period of work recently, to just get away. To feel like I lived in a hotel for a

while, near a pool and spa!  Yes, I’m shallow like that.

Kat came to join me for pool time and chill time in the hotel, which I

really like and will probably use again and again. The fact that it’s right

next to the mall is excellent, because I walked around all relaxed and even

caught Avatar 3D again by myself. And Kat tells me we are going to

watch the movie again tmrw. I’m so game for that, I don’t know why.

I think I’m trying to dissect that movie bit by bit to see why it works.

But yes, I think the highlight, as always, are the chats I have with Kat.

.

During our first dinner here we launched into this long conversation

about the nature of our families and why we feel so blessed to be

able to learn about them more, to be aware of our own flaws

and theirs, to have a better appreciation of why we have turned out

the way we have.

Other topics that have gotten us all wide eyed and excited are our own

little excursions into becoming more environmentally-friendly in our

lives, and our relationships, friends, careers …

We spent over and hour the night before just circling town in her car,

having an almost academic discussion into Lauryn Hill’s ‘MTV Unplugged’

sessions and her music and life … our er “theories” were so interesting I

think that deserves a separate posting heh.

.

I swear if there was some quiz about what I do day-to-day, or what

I’ve done lately etc, Kat would kalah in the quiz…but if it was about

what I would do in situations or how I would react or feel, she would win

hands down, she’d probably beat everyone else, really.

She also reminded me about how crazy I have become with work and

the Internet, and how important it is to keep your distance from all that.

I mean, I know of people who say they are hippies, but they

can’t even get to the originality of Kat’s hippie-ness. And she doesn’t

need to dress or act “hippie”, if you know what I mean – it’s in her

attitude and being .. its very earthy but totally unpretentiously so.

She told me to becareful or one day I would be the type who will get

so frustrated with everything I’d escape to some jungle somewhere

and shut myself off from the world forever or something.

Hmm. “Yeah, you would just completely go the opposite way, I tell you”,

after eyeballing me once I told her how my life had become

Internet/Twitter/Wordpress/News/Magazines/Everything-dependent.

She wasn’t too impressed. I wasn’t too impressed with myself either.

Felt like the nerd nerds makes fun of when I told her all this.

And then as if fated, my phone died and once I went to her house,

I couldn’t connect my laptop to her Internet connection. So now I’m

using their ‘dinosaur’ system, as they call it … and

have less of an inclination to be connected. But yes, one last writing

release before 2010, I suppose.

.

.

Kat’s now making final calls about our night on Penang Hill tonight

to usher in the new year.

And now we’re making plans for going into town, Kat & I are on the

hunt for some goodies in antique shops.

Have a brilliant 2010 folks!

What did 2009 mean to you?

I learned a lot this year – that I like new challenges, that I can work

harder than I’ve ever envisioned. And that I love it.

But I know I still have fears.

And some things still remain though… like China, like love, like trying to

be the person I think, I know I can be. That I want to exceed my

expectations of myself.

Perhaps 2010 will be that year.

That I exceed my own expectations, and people’s expectations of me.

That’s so .. Invictus, innit? But it’s true. May we all be less dependent

on the things that don’t matter so much – the drinks, the partying, the

socialising .. the sheer vanity, oneupmanship, keeping up

with the Joneses ..the twittering, the FUCK YOUR LIFE, LOOK AT

MINE!!!, the I-make-more-money than-you-ness.

.

That’s why I’m glad to be here. Kat reminds me of the girl I am, the

one I used to be in college.

And now she’s telling me OKAY COME ON LAYCH LET’S GO NOW.

And so I go!

Goodbye folks, have a good one!

xoxo