Redang Trip In A Nutshell ( Well, sorta )

It's been a week and a day since I got back from Redang, and I still feel like I'm merely existing. I've left my life back in Redang. Ah, the life of sunshine, laughter, and underwater world.

It was a great vacation. I was there with Rosanne, Hui and Jun to get our PADI Open Water Diving licenses. I hadn't been on a vacation for years I guess, so you can imagine the excitement built up towards this Redang trip. Thank god it's everything and more than I could ever ask for.

Redang was breathtakingly beautiful. It's the crystal clear water, the soft white beach, the random boats, the less-than-azure-but-nonetheless-stunning-endless sky, the wooden jetty, the  swaying branches, the off-peak serenity, the starry night, the mirrored full moon in the sea, the silhouettes of distant islands, the hyper squirrels, the amazing marine world, the growing bubbles, the laughter on everyone's face, and every other little thing. They got into me, and they possessed me.

Diving was different from what I've imagined. How different you may ask, but I cannot answer, for I did not imagine much to begin with. It was just a blurry idea of a person in the water with a tank of air supply. No big deal. Rosanne asked me to join her, and I said yes without thinking twice. Well, it definitely takes more than just a tank to dive. There were skills and knowledge that we had to learn. The beginning of it was a bit perilous (okay fine I'm exaggerating) but it was all worth it. Now I'm in love with diving and the sea.

Not gonna write much. I've already written 11 pages in my A4-sized personal journal. Go to Redang and feel it for yourself. =)

Been coughing and sniffing for the past few days. Guess I'm missing Redang too hard.

BookFest! Woohoo!!

The crowd was unimaginable I tell you. It's like Cheras Taman Connought Night Market, only it wasn't Taman Connought, it wasn't at night, and it wasn't a market. Uh, yea, I suppose that was pretty clear? It was the BookFest in KL Convention Centre.

The photo above isn't really translating the magnitude of the crowd. (Magnitude?) See if I were to take in the crowd as it was, which obviously I couldn't, but to best capture it, I would have to hold my camera phone high above the crowd - which is not something that I will ever do. It draws too much attention. And this was outside the exhibition halls, mind you. In there in the halls, it's Connought Scenario at it's worst. Well, I might be exaggerating a bit, but it was really packed up. There were so many people queuing up to pay that I managed to finish off a Sudoku on my iPod while waiting in line. I was actually a bit touched to be able to fight alongside my fellow comrade of bookaholics on our way to nirvana. Ah, bliss of life. They had quite some great bargain books over there. For those who have not been there yet, you should go. For those who haven't been there and won't be able to or read this post after 4th September, well, too bad. XD

And the crowd wasn't just there at the convention centre. It was everywhere in the shopping complex too! You have no idea how much perils I had to endure to get to the top, where Kinokuniya was. I felt as if I was climbing Batu Caves, and every step brought me closer to my House of God. Didn't you other people have better places to go other than where I wanted to go? Worshiper goes first don't you know. Argh, the nerve of you people...

Anyway, all in all, it was a great day!!!

Like, Real Random.

These are the photos that I wanted to share for the past few months but failed to do so. =)

The bunnies from my childhood. Not mine though.

I want a library like this, with books filling up every nook and corner, sunlight streaming in at just the right angle.

Ah! Tintin!! I suppose I've read every single one of them here.

The Stinky Toufu! Yeah baby!

I'm missing my dog... <3

I want to bask in the sun too!!!!!

The Books and I

I got a mail yesterday, an e-mail. It was one of the numerous e-newsletters that I subscribed to. Why worth mentioning? Well, it brought me news, tidings from the distant land of Alagaesia. Christopher Paolini is coming out with the last book of the Eragon saga, Inheritance! God knows I've grown a few inches taller over the wait. (The neck, got it? Plus, I think I did grow taller, by centimeter though.) It's coming out in November. Yea, months to go still.

I still remember my first encounter with Eragon. It was back in high school. I was at the awkward age of 15 or 16. The shoes were white, the dress was blue, AND THE BAG WAS HEAVY. Sharp ten on bed for normal days, blazing light through the nights during exam week. (Granted, it was the light only. And yes, days were classified into exam day and non-exam day.) Life was as boring as it could dip, as crazy as it could soar. Time passed as fast as slow. Friends were as best and insane as they could be. Sleepy mornings, draggy afternoons. The sky was blue, and dreams were big: be an astronaut, own a bookstore, build a castle, write a book, etc. It was when we never complained of the cafeteria food. (At least for me.) It was when fast food was a luxury. It was when recess time meant library time for me.

I was always on hunt for books. When I saw Eragon, I'd just finished whatever there was of Harry Potter for the Nth time, craving for more like a vampire craving for blood. While browsing through the books, Saphira caught my eyes. It was love at first sight. I jumped right in, and days after, I resurfaced alive with the urgency of the Ice Age squirrel seeking his acorn, seeking the sequel. Ever since then, I have been waiting. And it has been more than five years.

So the mail actually reminded me of those books that accompanied me into adulthood(So-called). Harry Potter and Eragon are by far my favorites. The story sort of grew along me. I feel connected to it somehow. All those eager-waitings, those staying-ups whole night when I finally got the books were part of my awkward adolescence. They helped shaped it. They kept me alive. (Seriously. When SARS hit, I was thinking: Please don't let me die, at least until I finish reading Harry Potter. I was that unambitious. Or you can say 看破红尘.) There were the books that never made it to adulthood too. R.L. Stine's, Christipher Pike's, Hardy Boys, Sweep Series ( I do miss Hunter and Cal. Now that I've mentioned it, I really really miss them! =( ), etc. This post shall be my tribute to all these books, (mentioned or not), thanks for being there with me when I was as lost as I am right now. ;)

Bits and Pieces

This is one of the roads that I usually take when I go for jogging. Note that on the left side of the photo there's this long stretch of wall. (Probably you can't see that long stretch, but it's there.) The other side of the wall is actually the LDP. See, I'm jogging along the highway! =P

Went to Books Kinokuniya again today. Bought my SAT Prep books. RM170 gone. And that was just two books. And I'm not done buying yet. (I am in a very passive position here, because I have to, need to buy those books. Guilt free? Oh Yeah!) I was going to take my reusable bag out when I paid for my books, then the girl took this nice paper bag out. I'm sorry, but I'll definitely reuse it!

This is a scene from 'Whisper of the Heart' by Miyazaki Hayao. Watched this a while back. Love it. The boy and the girl were initially strangers, then they noticed each other's name on the same library cards of the books that they both had borrowed. Isn't it just so sweet? But this kind of thing will never happen again, because technology ruins romance. (I'm actually quoting this from a series of videos on Youtube by Wong Fu Productions on how technology, ruins romance. Check them out. Very nice.)