dad! i know better..

there comes in time in almost every kid's life where they will find their parents annoying. for some, it started when they insist on sending you to school even after your 14th birthday, for some, it's their constant nagging at your mess of a room, for some, it is the constant doubts they have over things you say, the list goes on. for some of us, that period came and gone quickly, for some, it wasn't that fast. for some, it hasn't end, and it just might not end.

how often do we wish they would leave us alone, that we know better what is right and what's good for us. some of us wish it silently with a smile on our face, some choose to ignore totally, many other choose to react with a lot of angst, to prove to the older people that indeed we are not mature enough to communicate properly. i remember the days when i myself snap back at anything i perceive as a nag.

not that i am a really filial and nice son, but i do believe i came a long way. i look back and wonder, why do we get annoyed in the first place? why dont parents trust us to live our own lives? our proven limited knowledge always tells us that we are right at that point in time. more often than not, we prove that we are indeed too sure of ourselves.  parents nag only because you have shown that you are capable of doing something without their reminders, they don't trust you because you have not done anything to show that you earn the trust. human nature causes us to look for blame everywhere else except looking at ourselves.

recently, a friend of mine, called me really out of the blue, just to chat and to share his concerns about his kid. it was really weird he called me, someone who is unmarried and far from having a kid, must less a kid in the angsty period of their life. as much as he likes to give freedom to his kid, his kid doesnt seem to be able to handle the freedom. whenever he talks about his concerns, the kid gets angsty pretty much because he thinks that he knows it well enough to decide for himself. i couldnt really offer much of an advice, but that got me thinking about how i was once like this too...

death of conversation?

so i was at one of the restaurant, waiting for an opportunity to carry out the surveys i need to do. observing the different tables, it's just a pity that people eat together and yet, they dont talk to each other anymore.

a middle age couple with their teenage son, barely a word shared between the two parents, not a word from the son. kinda reminds me of someone else at that age group.

an elderly couple, enjoying the food, maybe so much that not a word was shared during the meal.

another couple was engaging in conversation, their teenage daughter fished out her phone and spent the entire meal staring at it.

it seems like we are entering an era whereby people don't bother talking to one another anymore. i certainly had my fair share of experience. eating with people that dont bother contributing to a conversation, with people that prefers spending time with the phone or some other activity.

why do they bother meeting up at all? isnt meeting up about spending time with the person you are with?

saying this, it was nice to see groups still enjoying the company they are with. a dad and toddler chatting happily, two male colleagues sharing a lot of laughters.

well, i do suppose it isnt all hopeless just yet..

the power of promises

somewhere people still make and keep promises. they choose not to quit when the going gets rough because they promised once to see it through. they stick to lost causes. they hold on to a love grown cold. they stay with people who have become pains in the neck. they still dare to make promises and care enough to keep the promises they make. i want to say to you that if you have a ship you will not desert, if you have people you will not forsake, if you have causes you will not abandon, then you are like God. With one simple word of promise, a person creates an island of certainty in a sea of uncertainty.

lewis smedes

things i learned while travelling alone

its been a week and a half since i got back, and i finally sat down and calculated the cost of my recent 14 day escapade. i may have missed out on certain things, but seems like my expenditure isn't that huge after all, some way below my budgeted amount.

so with such a big expense, what did i learn from it?

i take care of myself much better when im travelling alone that back in singapore:
I actually take special care to watch my diet such as eating vegetables and fruits during meals and drinking enough water. i even came close to buying fruits from the supermarket but in the end, i thought it was easier to just drink fruit juices and smoothies.

i can keep myself entertained
very much like how easily a child can keep himself entertained with little things. all it takes is some imagination, a silly brain, and many interactive displays with levers and buttons. i barely had to take out my book to read, not that i dont like reading.

i do not torture my stomach
i dont eat expensive stuff, but i wont save money by skipping meals.

i enjoyed the freedom
the freedom to decide what time to wake up, what time and what to eat, when to take a break, what to see. no need for endless discussion, or people not being able to make up their minds.

i dont like not knowing
i like knowing that i have a roof over my head every night, i dont like not knowing whether i get  a seat on the train or not, i like knowing that im walking in the right direction (and not being a stereotypical guy and instead ask for directions as soon as i sense that i might not be walking in the right direction)

Roomies

So today marked the end of my hostel stays, had roommates from all over the world..

British..
My first night at Edinburgh, I ended up sharing a 4 bed room with a British girl. It is so weird sharing a room with just one person of the opposite gender. Didn't get much chance to talk to her, being still jet lagged and going to bed pretty early. It turned out that she talks in her sleep!

Brazilian..
The next few nights on Skye was spent with David, carol and a Brazilian named evandro. He flew all the way from brazil to learn English at a school in Edinburgh. Thought he was rather weird at first but turned out he's pretty alright.

Romanians..
Only met them late in the evening when I returned to Edinburgh. By the time I got back from the queen's concert screening, they were asleep and woke up at 2am to catch a flight

Swiss..
This two fellows were so funny. They bought a stack of postcards (like 60) and spent the whole evening writing back to their family and friends about their experience in Scotland. In this age, it is rare to see people still writing post cards, and enjoyed so much at doing so.

Pakistani..
Turned out my newcastle roommate was doing his phd in Cardiff and dropped by Newcastle university for research. Found out he has a 14 month old baby back in Pakistan. Must be very hard to be away from the family, and he still has 2 more years in uk..

All in all. It was a good experience, meeting people from all walks of life, but for now, it's time to enjoy having a bathroom for myself :)

Inside the common room

Sitting at the common room, with a cup of half priced Starbucks frap (they are having a half price promotion! We need this in Singapore too!), surrounded by fellow tourists lazing around playing pool, using the free wifi, reading a book, I finally found myself doing what I thought backpackers do on their travels. Scotland has been amazing! The 3 days spent in the highlands, surrounding myself with food mountains, glens (valleys) and lochs, the scenery is just amazing. Makes one wonder, only God has the ability to create something so wonderful. Although we spent a little too much time in the bus than I like, I get to see the little things, like the thousands of sheep we drove past, with their little ewes in tow and the little rivers that meanders towards the lochs. Edinburgh itself is pretty too, though somehow I don't find it as picturesque as I thought it would be. The castle (I always had a soft spot for castles) is pretty cool too, completed with cannons, prison cells and towers. And I am quite thankful that I chose to come during this weekend, during the queen's diamond jubilee. Even though most of the excitement is in London, edinburgh, being the capital of Scotland had some events that went in too. There was this live viewing of the concert at a palace, whereby they were giving out free flags, crowns and face painting to make the atmosphere even better. It's really a good experience being part of it. My 4 and a half days stint in Scotland is almost up. England here I come!

Day 1,2

So here marks my first flight.. And technically the first time I flew on SIA.. The 45 mins from kl when I was p4 doesn't count of course.. Anyway, the a380 was nice and spacious, and I'm quite thankful for it cause the lady beside me totally has no boundaries, kept spilling over to my side.. Like way over.. And she wasn't big size or anything.. But seeing how she seems unwell throughout the flight, I kept quiet about it. The flight itself was uneventful, nice food, can't sleep as usual. 4 movies, 5 episodes of the new girl and the next thing I know, I arrived at London! The journey to Carol's place from the airport took a while, but it was pretty straight forward. Turned out she stays at a nice looking apartment near her workplace.. Today marks my first full solo day.. Waking up at an unearthly hour of 7am, I couldn't go back to sleep! Stupid jet lag.. And my first stressful part during the train ride to Edinburgh.. Holding a railways, I wasn't assigned a seat like most others, and I forgot to ask the information where I was allowed to sit.. So when I board the train, I realised the seats I saw are all reserved.. I started to panick a little, grab all my stuff and went off the train to find a carriage that has empty seats... I finally got one, and then I realised I couldn't find my train ticket!!! Well, after digging for a few minutes and wondering if I left it at a previous carriage, I finally found it in another part of my bag.. Phew! So after today, I realised I can travel alone. It is quite nice not needing discussions over where to go and what to do.. But it is quite scary having to make decisions yourself, like whether you are getting on the right train, going the right place... Think I still prefer travelling with ppl... But there's still time for that preference to change right?