I suppose the collage will speak a thousand words, and more for me. Please click to view as its too big to fit into the text box. A very Happy New Year to everybody! Hopefully you've had a great 2008 and here's for more good times to come in 2009. Cheers =) ~Zhongy~
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Tuesday, 16 December 2008
There's so much to say and I wonder where start. Term I in Warwick ended as quickly as it had begun and I'm now on holiday in Edinburgh after spending a week in London. You could say that this is a kind of retreat for me to recharge until the new year. Am grateful to Aunty Mary now for having me here. Edinburgh isn't as cold as I imagined, and I came prepared anyway. It really is a nice change of scenery from Warwick and London. The stone houses and brick roads are reminiscent of quaint architecture from a time long forgotten. Despite being a city, it has a town-ish feel around it, complete with a German Market and all now since it's near Christmas, and being here really reminds me of parts and bits of Tolkien's fantasy Middle Earth. Amazingly, the Scottish accent sounds like dwarvish in the movies, which may or may not be a good thing for the Scots...
London, London. Where do I start? At first look (and as Lee Feng kindly reminded me), I haven't done a lot despite spending a week there. It's true if you think about it in terms of sight-seeing, but I did spend a lot of time with friends whom I haven't seen for ages, which was very fruitful indeed. It's time like this when you really appreciate their presence in your life, and sometimes I do wish that I was studying in London so that I was closer to them. Having said that London isn't really a place I'd want to live in for long term. It's just too busy and hectic, and the streets aren't exactly safe at night. Still, as a holiday destination it has much to offer. The clubs, the lights, the museums and galleries, playhouses and theatres; it is really a boiling pot of culture both past and present. What can I mention here that has not already been documented in books, travel pamphlets and TV? London promises something for everyone, and delivers it in much excess that even the pickiest of people will find their needs fulfilled.
I didn't pass up on a chance to catch a play when I was down South and came away with a sense of money well spent. With student concession it was £27.50 for stall tickets to 'Les Misérables', the longest running play in the world, and it blew me away. Sure we staged plays and sketches in KTJ, but seeing it done professionally really illustrated how words can be brought to life. Victor Hugo's tale, set during the French Revolution, kept the audience mesmerised from the start to the end, earning it a standing ovation once the curtains fell. And while fashion falls in and out of vogue, classics will endure; and 'Les Misérables' is a towering example of that. While the props and sets might not have differed much from 22 years ago when it premiered, its epic and tear-jerking story, along with memorable performances and witty dialog, will continue to draw the crowd. Even on a weekday showing the playhouse was packed with excited people, both young and old, eager to witness this masterpiece of a play.
I visited the National Portrait Gallery as well, which I'm ashamed to say I didn't finish viewing simply because of the sheer size of the collection housed there. The pieces I DID see though, were amazing stuff and was a showcase of the sheer variety of art styles throughout the generations. Ranging from the Victorian and Elizabethan years, sculptures, busts to abstract art, photography and even caricatures, the gallery displayed them all and had my head spinning by the time I hit the third floor. I was mentally exhausted and just needed to take a break from the influx of colours, ideas and motifs in each and every creation of masters both ancient and recent. Still, it was a fantastic experience and I look forward to finishing my journey there when I go to London again.
I went on board the London Eye too, which is pretty similar to the one I took in Kagoshima, Japan a few years back. It was raining heavily on the day so me and Lee Feng couldn't really see very far even from the top, but we did have a good time together after having not seen each other for almost one and a half years since she left KTJ for Imperial. Feel relieved that she hasn't changed one bit since KTJ as we haven't really spoken to each other until I came to the UK. It was nice to catch up on things and hopefully our correspondence will last much longer this time round since we're both in the UK now.
Amidst all the hustle and bustle, one would wonder where I find time to do some thinking and soul-searching during my travails in London. Truth is, I've been thinking a great deal since the end of term and it all came to head during the train journey here to Edinburgh. Amidst all the busy-ness and frenetic life that I lead in Warwick, there will always be time for friends who, despite the distance apart and all our different schedules, still find time to care and give a damn about each other. Sure, it's easier now when there are e-mails, Skype and MSN, but all of those can't compensate for being physically in the presence of each other sometimes. Even now people talk about missing the life back in KTJ where everybody was living so close to each other and we could just go into each others' rooms or chat over stuff in the tuckshop. Now people are scattered around and are finding new friends too. Everybody is working hard to fit in and adapt to the challenges of university life, and we can't afford to meet up that often any more. But then, this is what makes me cherish trips like this down to London even more, where I can spend just some time with my close friends again. The next time I go down would probably be in February, which is in three months time, but I'm already anticipating a good time, if only over a weekend with people I love and care about. For me, that is what London means; A place to get together for old times, for good times and for bad times, to partake in everybody's lives once again, and maybe to remind people that you're not all dead and buried under piles of work and responsibilities. I'm lucky to have a place (Wei Rhong's flat!) to just take a step back and relax when I need a break from all the commitments. They say uni time is the time for partying and enjoying yourself; I disagree. It's when you learn the meaning of time management and knowing your limits while expanding your horizons at the same time. Everybody is out there living their own dream, and people find their own way around things which need to be done and stuff that they want to do. I'm content to pick and choose what and which that interests me the most, because I believe only such pursuits are worth my while. It might not be the most obvious choices, but then, we'll see how long it manages to hold my attention.
I'm trying my very best to post up photos on Facebook, which is being fickle with me at the moment but rest assured, it'll be done soon. Am typing this in Burger King since there's no Internet (yet!) in Aunty Mary's flat. Oh well... who's to question the idiosyncrasies of life?~Zhongy~
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