My final semester has officially started. The subject i'm taking seems to be a fairly challenging one, which is always welcome as far as i'm concerned.
I'm glad to be on the final stretch at last.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Nightmare 1
What a crazy dream! There I was, minding my own business being asleep and all when suddenly I was plopped back home in Malaysia. I don't recall what I was doing exactly, but I think I was waiting in the front lawn for a relative (an aunt I don't recognize) to bring my sister's baby Iman back home. All was fine and dandy for a while when suddenly my family members all turned into zombies! Not the six feet under, stinky rotting maggoty type zombies either. Nope, they were whole and looked normal. Except they were zombies. Don't ask me how I knew. I remained the only non zombified person on the compound and staged an escape.
By escape I mean that I ran like hounds of the Nine Hells were intent on gnawing on my entrails. All the while I could hear a voice in my head and as it turns out, the original zombie was my relative! She keeps on telling me to surrender and just drop in for a bite (I know, how polite!) and I just kept on running. I managed to escape and hide but over time I knew that they would eventually zombify the world. Wierd eh?
And then for some reason I went diving by a beach. I went in search of something I lost, but after a few dives I felt that the sea had reclaimed it. All the while zombies were multiplying of course.
In the back of my head I knew I was dreaming. I even woke up a few times, only to resume the dream when I fell back asleep.
So on a whim i'm currently checking a dream interpreter at http://dreammoods.com
I've looked up the keywords "chase", "zombie", "diving", "beach" and "lost".
Here's what I got:
Chase.
Chase dreams may represent your way of coping with fears, stress or various situations in your waking life. Instead of confronting the situation, you are running away and avoiding it. The pursuer or attacker who is chasing you in your dream may also represent a part of yourself. Your own feelings of anger, jealousy, fear, and possibly love, can assume the appearance of threatening figure. You may be projecting these feelings onto the unknown chaser.
Zombie.
To dream that you are a zombie, denotes that you are physically and/or emotionally detached from people and situations that are currently surrounding you. You are out of touch. Alternatively, it may indicate that you are feeling dead inside and are simply going through the motions of daily living.
Diving.
To dream that you are diving into clear water, signifies an end to an embarrassing situation. Although you may experience some temporary setbacks, things will surely look up. Additionally, this dream may mean that you are trying to get to the bottom of a current situation and the root of your problems or feelings. It may also refer exploration of your unconscious.
To dream that you are diving into muddy water, signifies that you will suffer anxiety from the path of your affairs.
Beach.
To see the beach in your dream, symbolizes the meeting between your two states of mind. The sand is symbolic of the rational and mental processes while the water signifies the irrational, unsteady, and emotional aspects of yourself. It is a place of transition between the physical/material and the spiritual.
To dream that you are on the beach and looking out toward the ocean, indicates unknown and major changes that are occurring in your life. Consider the state of the ocean, whether it is calm, pleasant, forbidding, etc.
Lost/Lose.
To dream that you lose something may mean that you really have misplaced something that you had not realized yet. It may also be a signal for you to clean out and reorganize your life. You have become overwhelmed and distracted with the hustle and bustle of day-to-day life.
On a symbolic note, losing things in your dream may signify lost opportunities, past relationships or forgotten aspects of yourself. Your personal associations to the thing you lose will clue you into the emotional meaning and interpretation of your dream.
So lets take it from the top. According to this, i'm trying to escape everyday life. It also looks like i'm trying to figure myself out in the midst of major changes in my life. I should also clean out the skeletons on my closet and reorganize myself.
Well, put it that way, it doesn't sound so bad. Bear in mind that I didn't pick out the positive statements in each of the interpretations. Instead, I looked at all of them and saw a common theme. When I get home i'm going to take a gooooooooood look at myself hehe.
Either way, things should get interesting. Today will be my first day of class for this semester and tomorrow my younger sister is coming to stay with me.
Major change in my life indeed.
By escape I mean that I ran like hounds of the Nine Hells were intent on gnawing on my entrails. All the while I could hear a voice in my head and as it turns out, the original zombie was my relative! She keeps on telling me to surrender and just drop in for a bite (I know, how polite!) and I just kept on running. I managed to escape and hide but over time I knew that they would eventually zombify the world. Wierd eh?
And then for some reason I went diving by a beach. I went in search of something I lost, but after a few dives I felt that the sea had reclaimed it. All the while zombies were multiplying of course.
In the back of my head I knew I was dreaming. I even woke up a few times, only to resume the dream when I fell back asleep.
So on a whim i'm currently checking a dream interpreter at http://dreammoods.com
I've looked up the keywords "chase", "zombie", "diving", "beach" and "lost".
Here's what I got:
Chase.
Chase dreams may represent your way of coping with fears, stress or various situations in your waking life. Instead of confronting the situation, you are running away and avoiding it. The pursuer or attacker who is chasing you in your dream may also represent a part of yourself. Your own feelings of anger, jealousy, fear, and possibly love, can assume the appearance of threatening figure. You may be projecting these feelings onto the unknown chaser.
Zombie.
To dream that you are a zombie, denotes that you are physically and/or emotionally detached from people and situations that are currently surrounding you. You are out of touch. Alternatively, it may indicate that you are feeling dead inside and are simply going through the motions of daily living.
Diving.
To dream that you are diving into clear water, signifies an end to an embarrassing situation. Although you may experience some temporary setbacks, things will surely look up. Additionally, this dream may mean that you are trying to get to the bottom of a current situation and the root of your problems or feelings. It may also refer exploration of your unconscious.
To dream that you are diving into muddy water, signifies that you will suffer anxiety from the path of your affairs.
Beach.
To see the beach in your dream, symbolizes the meeting between your two states of mind. The sand is symbolic of the rational and mental processes while the water signifies the irrational, unsteady, and emotional aspects of yourself. It is a place of transition between the physical/material and the spiritual.
To dream that you are on the beach and looking out toward the ocean, indicates unknown and major changes that are occurring in your life. Consider the state of the ocean, whether it is calm, pleasant, forbidding, etc.
Lost/Lose.
To dream that you lose something may mean that you really have misplaced something that you had not realized yet. It may also be a signal for you to clean out and reorganize your life. You have become overwhelmed and distracted with the hustle and bustle of day-to-day life.
On a symbolic note, losing things in your dream may signify lost opportunities, past relationships or forgotten aspects of yourself. Your personal associations to the thing you lose will clue you into the emotional meaning and interpretation of your dream.
So lets take it from the top. According to this, i'm trying to escape everyday life. It also looks like i'm trying to figure myself out in the midst of major changes in my life. I should also clean out the skeletons on my closet and reorganize myself.
Well, put it that way, it doesn't sound so bad. Bear in mind that I didn't pick out the positive statements in each of the interpretations. Instead, I looked at all of them and saw a common theme. When I get home i'm going to take a gooooooooood look at myself hehe.
Either way, things should get interesting. Today will be my first day of class for this semester and tomorrow my younger sister is coming to stay with me.
Major change in my life indeed.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
A suit and a pipe
In a fit of temporary insanity (well not really, it was premeditated) today I decided to do something i've been curious to do for a long time. I went down to the local tobacco store and bought myself a pipe. So much for not smoking.
For what its worth, my new birch pipe is a thing of beauty. I'll put a picture of it up when I get internet back at my place.
I've also gotten a very dashing suit for an upcoming wedding this Saturday. I'm generally not one to blow my own trumpet but I must say that putting on a fitted suit is quite an experience, and quite a transformation. It (almost) makes me wish for bygone days where people walked around in crisp suits and consequently got gunned down by 1920's era mobsters. It would be a shame to bleed on something so classy though. The hired suit is due back on Monday, but between now and then i'm going to be wearing it as much as I can. It just feels good.
Strange how a relatively simple outfit can change the way you look at yourself.
Incidentally, i'm currently on the lookout for a good detective name generator. If any of you folks know where I can find one, feel free to link it to me.
For what its worth, my new birch pipe is a thing of beauty. I'll put a picture of it up when I get internet back at my place.
I've also gotten a very dashing suit for an upcoming wedding this Saturday. I'm generally not one to blow my own trumpet but I must say that putting on a fitted suit is quite an experience, and quite a transformation. It (almost) makes me wish for bygone days where people walked around in crisp suits and consequently got gunned down by 1920's era mobsters. It would be a shame to bleed on something so classy though. The hired suit is due back on Monday, but between now and then i'm going to be wearing it as much as I can. It just feels good.
Strange how a relatively simple outfit can change the way you look at yourself.
Incidentally, i'm currently on the lookout for a good detective name generator. If any of you folks know where I can find one, feel free to link it to me.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
....there's water!?
As it turns out, my shisha fueled movie binge escapade extravaganza didn't quite pan out the way I hoped it would. Firstly, I had trouble just putting the thing together. After filling the bottom chamber with the right amount of water, I proceeded to engage in a titanic battle to fit the chamber to the rest of the assembly. That took a while. Next up was getting hot coals. A small bag of charcoal was graciously included in the kit but as it turns out, there's a reason as to why it was free. 30 minutes later I had crudely prepared the hot coals by burning a few pieces over the stove. Hey, when you're in an apartment you do what you can. Nevermind the acrylic carpets and the inherent fire hazard.
By now, the whole endeavor was already taking longer than I had hoped. Finally, everything was assembled and ready for smoking indulgence....except the fact that there was no smoke. Which meant that in my noobish enthusiasm, I probably did something wrong. I was about to fret over my not-quite flawless assembling skills when by chance I caught a glimpse of something shiny against the opposite wall. Now it had been raining heavily over the course of the evening and I expected some portions of the floor to be damp (as I had previously opened the windows in order to let the nonexistant smoke escape). What I didn't expect was to see parts of my wall trickle water down from the CEILING. Needless to say, I looked up. Horror of horrors, there it was. A small section of the ceiling paint was laden with water. You know the look. Bloated. Kind of like a boil. Water dripping. Dark Water horror kind of stuff.
I thought to myself, great. Absolutely 15 shades of dog turd awesome. Not only do I not get to die a horrible death in a tragic fire by burning coals over my stove, I might have to live with the threat of impending mould. Screw the water, that's bush league evil as far as home living is concerned. Mould is like the Antichrist. Like a bad rash in your nethers that just won't go away. Now I exaggerate. A little water isn't too big a deal that's true, but with autumn on the horizon and a lot more rainfall to be expected Sydney side, it'll be an uphill battle to ensure that things won't go nasty. I have to get this problem under control soon, or come winter the living area is going to look like a B-Grade slasher movie set piece.
So, considering the lateness of the hour at that point, I did what any man would do. I took a few towels, soaked up the water and put on the DVD i've been meaning to watch through the smoke.
SUPERBAD.
At least there's a silver lining in all this. The apartment building Defects Manager is bound by law to fix any problems I point out with the place as long as I do it within 3 months of moving in. Time to make him earn his pay.
By now, the whole endeavor was already taking longer than I had hoped. Finally, everything was assembled and ready for smoking indulgence....except the fact that there was no smoke. Which meant that in my noobish enthusiasm, I probably did something wrong. I was about to fret over my not-quite flawless assembling skills when by chance I caught a glimpse of something shiny against the opposite wall. Now it had been raining heavily over the course of the evening and I expected some portions of the floor to be damp (as I had previously opened the windows in order to let the nonexistant smoke escape). What I didn't expect was to see parts of my wall trickle water down from the CEILING. Needless to say, I looked up. Horror of horrors, there it was. A small section of the ceiling paint was laden with water. You know the look. Bloated. Kind of like a boil. Water dripping. Dark Water horror kind of stuff.
I thought to myself, great. Absolutely 15 shades of dog turd awesome. Not only do I not get to die a horrible death in a tragic fire by burning coals over my stove, I might have to live with the threat of impending mould. Screw the water, that's bush league evil as far as home living is concerned. Mould is like the Antichrist. Like a bad rash in your nethers that just won't go away. Now I exaggerate. A little water isn't too big a deal that's true, but with autumn on the horizon and a lot more rainfall to be expected Sydney side, it'll be an uphill battle to ensure that things won't go nasty. I have to get this problem under control soon, or come winter the living area is going to look like a B-Grade slasher movie set piece.
So, considering the lateness of the hour at that point, I did what any man would do. I took a few towels, soaked up the water and put on the DVD i've been meaning to watch through the smoke.
SUPERBAD.
At least there's a silver lining in all this. The apartment building Defects Manager is bound by law to fix any problems I point out with the place as long as I do it within 3 months of moving in. Time to make him earn his pay.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Where there's smoke.....
So, i've finally gotten my place organized enough that it looks habitable. All I need to do now is to take care of some dishes, stock the fridge, vacuum get rid of some boxes. Seeing as to how I have a few days grace I might take things easy today and see how that goes. Pilates and yoga are on this evening so i'm sure to be in a world of hurt tomorrow but I think I can handle it.
In other news, the promised pool and gym at the apartment is still not ready, which is getting to be annoying. Fortunately, I have it on good authority that the pool should be usable tomorrow. We'll have to see if thats actually the case. I had no idea that living in an apartment in Sydney involves so much red tape. It would make even the most hardcore bondage enthusiast excited.
Seeing as to how i've got some free space now, I think i'll set up my shisha this evening and unwind with a movie or two while attempting to blow smoke rings. Should be fun. Apparently there's a fine art in regards to heat management and a good shisha drag. Looks like its a 2 for 1 special. Some fruity flavors AND learn physics. Is there anything that smoking carcinogenic substances can't do?
In other news, the promised pool and gym at the apartment is still not ready, which is getting to be annoying. Fortunately, I have it on good authority that the pool should be usable tomorrow. We'll have to see if thats actually the case. I had no idea that living in an apartment in Sydney involves so much red tape. It would make even the most hardcore bondage enthusiast excited.
Seeing as to how i've got some free space now, I think i'll set up my shisha this evening and unwind with a movie or two while attempting to blow smoke rings. Should be fun. Apparently there's a fine art in regards to heat management and a good shisha drag. Looks like its a 2 for 1 special. Some fruity flavors AND learn physics. Is there anything that smoking carcinogenic substances can't do?
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Of fitness and a game of 20 questions
Yesterday I thought i'd finally get off my ass about fitness since coming back to Sydney and joined up for a trial Pilates lesson down the road. After the obligatory introduction in which I got acquainted to a contraption called the 'Reformer' (which incidentally sounds very much like something you would find in prison) I attended the class.
There were about 6 of us at the time, and we went through what I was later told was an 'easy' class. I'd hate to see what the hard ones are like. It wasn't all THAT hard, but my body was relatively unused to the positions required to perform certain exercises so most of my workout went into maintaining proper posture and core position. The Reformer itself was an interesting and deceptively simple machine. A set of springs and be loaded or unloaded onto an adjustable board which essentially controls not only the resistance for certain exercises, but also help to stabilize a sliding portion of the machine to help the user maintain proper positioning.
After the 45 minute class I quickly showered and headed into the city for Trivia Night with Kara and co. Man, what a beating. It was harder than the Pilates class! Questions included extremely obscure ones such as "What is the most visited paid monument in the world?", and "In what century was the first aerated, carbonated drink produced". Stumped? So were we. Incidentally we got both of those answers correct simply by guessing. The Eiffel Tower, and the 19th century (I think). Needless to say, at first the team wasn't having much fun. We did manage to pull out some last minute stops to climb the charts and rest comfortably in fourth place. Believe me, we thought we would be dead last for the longest time. By the end of it, the comments had changed from "I'll never do this here again", to "Let's take on the top team next time". Since the trivia nights are held fortnightly at this particular venue, we're pretty confident that a spot of reading will help us climb the ladder further.
Either way, it looks like the Tiki Team (do NOT ask me about that) will be returning.
There were about 6 of us at the time, and we went through what I was later told was an 'easy' class. I'd hate to see what the hard ones are like. It wasn't all THAT hard, but my body was relatively unused to the positions required to perform certain exercises so most of my workout went into maintaining proper posture and core position. The Reformer itself was an interesting and deceptively simple machine. A set of springs and be loaded or unloaded onto an adjustable board which essentially controls not only the resistance for certain exercises, but also help to stabilize a sliding portion of the machine to help the user maintain proper positioning.
After the 45 minute class I quickly showered and headed into the city for Trivia Night with Kara and co. Man, what a beating. It was harder than the Pilates class! Questions included extremely obscure ones such as "What is the most visited paid monument in the world?", and "In what century was the first aerated, carbonated drink produced". Stumped? So were we. Incidentally we got both of those answers correct simply by guessing. The Eiffel Tower, and the 19th century (I think). Needless to say, at first the team wasn't having much fun. We did manage to pull out some last minute stops to climb the charts and rest comfortably in fourth place. Believe me, we thought we would be dead last for the longest time. By the end of it, the comments had changed from "I'll never do this here again", to "Let's take on the top team next time". Since the trivia nights are held fortnightly at this particular venue, we're pretty confident that a spot of reading will help us climb the ladder further.
Either way, it looks like the Tiki Team (do NOT ask me about that) will be returning.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
The local hobby store, a place of card games, board games, and...ironing!?
As i'm writing this i'm basking in the simple glory of a well lit cybercafe room. Its an amazing feeling, let me tell you. After spending 3 nights without power, i'm happy to report that as of 2 hours ago, the electricity was finally reconnected back at the apartment. Once my phone and internet services are up the place is finally fit to be inhabited by a modern man such as myself.
I've survived these past few nights by staying out and prowling the city until its time for me to drag my butt home for some sleep. I could probably do that indefinitely but my phone and laptop need to get juiced up to work so during the day I solve that problem by heading 3 doors down to Good Games. Good Games is a nice hobby gaming store run by a bunch of likeable characters of which i've made friends with since about day 1 its been opened. I even do some work for them from time to time and i'm more that happy to help out if they need anything. This time around, they've been giving me a hand by way of after hours access so I can iron my clothes, charge up my stuff and generally hang out to kill time. All I can say is that i'm grateful for their help.
I can live without power, I can even live without my phone. But living in Sydney with crumpled clothing is unforgivable.
I've survived these past few nights by staying out and prowling the city until its time for me to drag my butt home for some sleep. I could probably do that indefinitely but my phone and laptop need to get juiced up to work so during the day I solve that problem by heading 3 doors down to Good Games. Good Games is a nice hobby gaming store run by a bunch of likeable characters of which i've made friends with since about day 1 its been opened. I even do some work for them from time to time and i'm more that happy to help out if they need anything. This time around, they've been giving me a hand by way of after hours access so I can iron my clothes, charge up my stuff and generally hang out to kill time. All I can say is that i'm grateful for their help.
I can live without power, I can even live without my phone. But living in Sydney with crumpled clothing is unforgivable.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
The "M" word makes the world go round...
So. It would seem that i've survived my (not really) harrowing flight through a typhoon (yes really) to arrive safe and sound in Sydney. The Nile be praised! I breezed through customs, caught a cab and arrived home to see the place almost exactly as I left it. That is, it looked like a terrorist training cell had used the place to test out their next-gen luggage bombs. I wasn't surprised, but I was a little disappointed at the state of the place. I'm lucky i'm back a full 2 weeks early to sort this place out. The devastation extends as far as the eye can see, and then into nooks and crannies. Hooray!
As my Jedi-like powers have foreseen there is also still no power at my lovely new domicile. Luckily, the main feature windows of the place are facing George Street, Sydney's main strip. The back room always has a campy glow thanks to either late night Indonesian pot smoking binges or all day neon underwear hanging festivals my neighbors seem to put on a daily basis. I need to get me some blinds. Or go blind. Now when we go upstairs however is when things might get a little hairy. There are no windows in the toilet so I better hope I find my trusty LED wind up flashlight before dark. If I don't write over the next few days, its probably because I cracked my skull open and bled to death because I slipped while showering in the pseudodark. Yay! I made up a new word! The upstairs bedroom has a small window which is illuminated nicely by the ambient street glow. Combine that with floor to ceiling wardrobe mirrors means that I can stumble around in there without too much of a hitch.
But I digress. The REAL reason i'm writing today isn't about to talk about typhoons or new word-makings-ups. I'm here to tell you a story about a boy, a girl, some overweight luggage, and a bribe.
Once upon a time, in an 8 hour flight place away, there lived a boy. This boy had luggage. Heavy luggage. Kiiiiiids, can you spell heavy?
H-E-A-V-Y
Good! You get a gold nugget...picture.
Now this boy had to fly far away to a place where dingos eat babies to finish studying in ordertomakemoneyandhaveagoodlifewithanicewifeandsomekidsthatdingosdon'teat. On the day of his departure, this boy was sent to the airport courtesy of a very lovely girl he's wanted to go out with in years. When the pair reach the airport, they make their way to the check-in line making light conversation. Once they get to the counter, the man behind it checks the luggage and declares in a whiny voice "This luggage is too heavy. We shan't (Ed: I used shan't to maintain the olde english fairy tale illusion. Are you bamboozled yet?) let it on because the plane can't fly unless you pay for the overweight luggage.". "Oh no!", thought the boy. "How much would it cost?", he asked. The man made some quick calculations and arrived at a number. A 4 digit number. The boy looked at the girl and said "No problem!" (and instantly regretted it). Now, bless the girl because she started to bargain with the man. After a few minutes, he leaned forward and asked in a hushed tone "Well, there is another way....but I can't give you a reciept".
Several minutes later, i'm handing some cash over to some stooge in the toilet. Now. I did a bad thing. By bribing the corrupt snotball and his crony, I encouraged unethical behaviour. Shame on me, but i'll get over that. What's really sad is that both the man and his friend were Malays. Not just Malaysians, but FREAKING MALAYS. Is this what we've come to? Me coughing blood and them eagerly feasting on human effluence? I feel dirty. Like a cockroach in a sodirtyithasaradioactiveglow sock. Or maybe I just need a shower after a long flight ;p.
After that debacle I sat down and had some ice cream with the girl and had one of those awkward Hollywood 'i'm leaving on a jet plane so imma put my cards on the table, and if you're interested great but if you're not i'm going to be a wreck for approximately 3.7 days and there will be a cheesy montage' moments. Man. Compound sentences for the win! Anyway. The time came for when I had to go so we hugged and I went off into the sunset. Or passport control. My luggage arrived safe and sound in Sydney and although I bribed someone, I ended up saving a fair bit of money. Before I stode out of the airport I made a quick check of my belongings. It turns out that I did leave something behind.
I leave it to you to figure out what it was, and still is.
As my Jedi-like powers have foreseen there is also still no power at my lovely new domicile. Luckily, the main feature windows of the place are facing George Street, Sydney's main strip. The back room always has a campy glow thanks to either late night Indonesian pot smoking binges or all day neon underwear hanging festivals my neighbors seem to put on a daily basis. I need to get me some blinds. Or go blind. Now when we go upstairs however is when things might get a little hairy. There are no windows in the toilet so I better hope I find my trusty LED wind up flashlight before dark. If I don't write over the next few days, its probably because I cracked my skull open and bled to death because I slipped while showering in the pseudodark. Yay! I made up a new word! The upstairs bedroom has a small window which is illuminated nicely by the ambient street glow. Combine that with floor to ceiling wardrobe mirrors means that I can stumble around in there without too much of a hitch.
But I digress. The REAL reason i'm writing today isn't about to talk about typhoons or new word-makings-ups. I'm here to tell you a story about a boy, a girl, some overweight luggage, and a bribe.
Once upon a time, in an 8 hour flight place away, there lived a boy. This boy had luggage. Heavy luggage. Kiiiiiids, can you spell heavy?
H-E-A-V-Y
Good! You get a gold nugget...picture.
Now this boy had to fly far away to a place where dingos eat babies to finish studying in ordertomakemoneyandhaveagoodlifewithanicewifeandsomekidsthatdingosdon'teat. On the day of his departure, this boy was sent to the airport courtesy of a very lovely girl he's wanted to go out with in years. When the pair reach the airport, they make their way to the check-in line making light conversation. Once they get to the counter, the man behind it checks the luggage and declares in a whiny voice "This luggage is too heavy. We shan't (Ed: I used shan't to maintain the olde english fairy tale illusion. Are you bamboozled yet?) let it on because the plane can't fly unless you pay for the overweight luggage.". "Oh no!", thought the boy. "How much would it cost?", he asked. The man made some quick calculations and arrived at a number. A 4 digit number. The boy looked at the girl and said "No problem!" (and instantly regretted it). Now, bless the girl because she started to bargain with the man. After a few minutes, he leaned forward and asked in a hushed tone "Well, there is another way....but I can't give you a reciept".
Several minutes later, i'm handing some cash over to some stooge in the toilet. Now. I did a bad thing. By bribing the corrupt snotball and his crony, I encouraged unethical behaviour. Shame on me, but i'll get over that. What's really sad is that both the man and his friend were Malays. Not just Malaysians, but FREAKING MALAYS. Is this what we've come to? Me coughing blood and them eagerly feasting on human effluence? I feel dirty. Like a cockroach in a sodirtyithasaradioactiveglow sock. Or maybe I just need a shower after a long flight ;p.
After that debacle I sat down and had some ice cream with the girl and had one of those awkward Hollywood 'i'm leaving on a jet plane so imma put my cards on the table, and if you're interested great but if you're not i'm going to be a wreck for approximately 3.7 days and there will be a cheesy montage' moments. Man. Compound sentences for the win! Anyway. The time came for when I had to go so we hugged and I went off into the sunset. Or passport control. My luggage arrived safe and sound in Sydney and although I bribed someone, I ended up saving a fair bit of money. Before I stode out of the airport I made a quick check of my belongings. It turns out that I did leave something behind.
I leave it to you to figure out what it was, and still is.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Destination: Egypt and the UAE
What a trip!
I'm too tired and braindead to wax philosophical at the moment so i'll just get straight to it.
Egypt has been an interesting learning experience for me. I can't exactly call the trip particularly exciting but it wasn't a relaxing one either. The first destination of the family holiday was the town/city of Luxor. The vast majority of the temples and tombs we visited were located in the area as Luxor was the site of Thebes, one of the biggest cities of ancient Egypt. The sites we visited included the Temple of Horus, the Colossi of Memnon and King Tut's tomb. From Luxor we took a leisurely cruise down the Nile heading south towards Aswan, making daily stops to visit places of interest.
At Aswan we took a plane to Cairo, where my luggage promptly went missing and arrived on the next flight. This was quite odd seeing as to how the flight had a grand total of about 12 passengers. How my bag never made it onto the plane I will never know.
Cairo is a madhouse. The streets are dirty, the people are crass, tourists are everywhere and I can't take a piss without some local (who apparently makes a living by plundering the toilet paper and 'selling' them for a tip) asking me for money. It was also the place where you went if you wanted to visit one of the most recognizable landmarks known to man - The Pyramids of Giza and The Sphinx. As I stood before them I could not help but imagine the glory and hubris of a civilization that built these towering monuments that still stand today in defiance to the ravages of time. 3 thousand years is a long time yet here they remain as a reminder of what we can achieve when we were united under a single cause.
After a few days we left the (dis)organized chaos of Egypt and travelled to Dubai. Dubai strikes me as almost a polar opposite of Egypt. The streets are clean, the city organized and there's so much ultra-modern construction going on you can almost smell the money being spent in the air. As you might have already guessed, taking a piss was a lot less of a hassle. Joy of joys! Needless to say, the sights were a tad bit different and so were the prices of the stuff we bought.
All in all it was quite an adventure. Here's a list of all the other super great stuff we did that I can't be bothered elaborating. The trip included, but is not limited to:
- A desert safari
- Shisha smoking
- Mummies
- Massive Headaches
- A hot air balloon that was kept aloft by more than hot air (Go figure)
- Some lesbian action on said hot air balloon
- Mummified tour guides
- A fake beard
- Baby puke
- Baby tears
- Baby smiles
The photos will be up on Facebook soon. Feel free to browse.
I'm too tired and braindead to wax philosophical at the moment so i'll just get straight to it.
Egypt has been an interesting learning experience for me. I can't exactly call the trip particularly exciting but it wasn't a relaxing one either. The first destination of the family holiday was the town/city of Luxor. The vast majority of the temples and tombs we visited were located in the area as Luxor was the site of Thebes, one of the biggest cities of ancient Egypt. The sites we visited included the Temple of Horus, the Colossi of Memnon and King Tut's tomb. From Luxor we took a leisurely cruise down the Nile heading south towards Aswan, making daily stops to visit places of interest.
At Aswan we took a plane to Cairo, where my luggage promptly went missing and arrived on the next flight. This was quite odd seeing as to how the flight had a grand total of about 12 passengers. How my bag never made it onto the plane I will never know.
Cairo is a madhouse. The streets are dirty, the people are crass, tourists are everywhere and I can't take a piss without some local (who apparently makes a living by plundering the toilet paper and 'selling' them for a tip) asking me for money. It was also the place where you went if you wanted to visit one of the most recognizable landmarks known to man - The Pyramids of Giza and The Sphinx. As I stood before them I could not help but imagine the glory and hubris of a civilization that built these towering monuments that still stand today in defiance to the ravages of time. 3 thousand years is a long time yet here they remain as a reminder of what we can achieve when we were united under a single cause.
After a few days we left the (dis)organized chaos of Egypt and travelled to Dubai. Dubai strikes me as almost a polar opposite of Egypt. The streets are clean, the city organized and there's so much ultra-modern construction going on you can almost smell the money being spent in the air. As you might have already guessed, taking a piss was a lot less of a hassle. Joy of joys! Needless to say, the sights were a tad bit different and so were the prices of the stuff we bought.
All in all it was quite an adventure. Here's a list of all the other super great stuff we did that I can't be bothered elaborating. The trip included, but is not limited to:
- A desert safari
- Shisha smoking
- Mummies
- Massive Headaches
- A hot air balloon that was kept aloft by more than hot air (Go figure)
- Some lesbian action on said hot air balloon
- Mummified tour guides
- A fake beard
- Baby puke
- Baby tears
- Baby smiles
The photos will be up on Facebook soon. Feel free to browse.
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