Signs In The Sky

Approach to Milson's Point Rail Station, North Shore Sydney City, 2am, 1 Jan 2009

New Year's Eve in Burwood, a Sydney suburb,, and I was fortunate to partake in white turkey, baby abalone and flat flounder. All done in Vietnamese- Chiuchao style. 2009 beckoned in just a few hours after dinner!

My car had casually passed by Wicks Road in North Ryde and we were curious about the crowds that had gathered in front of an oval. Then we spotted the top part of the Harbour Bridge beckoning in the distance, blocked by the tops of trees, and realised that they were all waiting for the 9pm fireworks. I got to chat with a friendly
Brit couple who had migrated to Oz not too long ago but appreciated being here.

At Artarmon train station, in Sydney's lower North Shore, many blue eyed youth were lining up for the train tickets. It was all very civil but what we did not realise then, and only found out in the wee hours of the New Year's, was that Sydney City Rail was offering free rides that evening. There was no sign or notice anyway of that at Artarmon. Most of us were just looking forward to see the Harbour Bridge fireworks.

My group alighted at Milson Point's station and settled in at Kirribilli. As you can imagine for Sydney, the crowd was as cosmopolitan and varied as can be - many
Spanish eyes; teenagers weeing against the wall; slinking low undies as fashionable gear; a cohort of Indian families; romantic couples, young and old;and so forth. All eyes were glued to the remarkable harbour side view on the east side of the coat hanger Bridge. A Chinese teenage guy came up to me to have a friendly chat; he was with his school mates and felt liberated and easy on this night of nights. The evening was still humid and warm and many used paper fans, waving away frenetically.

When the midnight firework display got going, what impressed me were the round pollen ball fireworks, horizontal sprays and sprouting fountain displays along the length of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Something very different offered - amazing when this was a tradition that has been carried out some twenty years, if not more.
What was even more fascinating were the artificially created lightning and thunder sequences created by the firework providers as a prelude to the main show.

The train ride back to my car in Artarmon proved to be both an eye opener and unwanted experience for my group. We waited an hour for the tsunami of passing people making their way from the bay up the slopes to the rail station and then thought it was safe to join them.

Once we were headed to Milson's Point Station itself, we took another 45 minutes before we actually got on to a train. What happened to the orderly system utilised at the Sydney Olympic Games? I felt like in an uncontrolled public scenario - I felt pressing back packs, sweaty patience and physical endurance as all of us endured the crush and push into the rail station. A Lebanese teenager used my shoulders to rest his arms when it got unbearable - this was unsolicited as I did not even know him, but there was no need to complain, and the only option was to share the experience, I guess.

Truly, Madly, Deeply

Right: Developing Pomegranate from my Garden
You are obviously in love.

Every detailed thing that Darling does for you, you note and analyse like
a school lab frog - but I don't blame you, only to wish you receive
the love you deserve and that both of you are protected if things don't go the
way both Darling and you want.

I am sure you are in love because you lap up the good advice that Darling
gives you - like a little puppy, I must say. That is a sure sign of
the goodness of a positive relationship, in that it motivates you
further to do things that you know you want and you should, but just
require a little gentle push to actually do it!

You must be in love as well because you get all truly glad inside your
heart just to know that Darling is happy. Love, as I understand it, is
self-less, makes the lover forget his existence and willingly submerge
into the consciousness of the loved one. How well is the loved one
willing to infuse the dimension of this existence with you?

What is age and its niceties in deliberations of love? It's all
perception, hype and what both of you make of it. There are other more
significant things in a relationship, like the ability to blend
together in interests, personality, humour and sincerity. Others may
have their opinions, but like anything else, are they part of the
marriage? The bottom line is that only the two of you are going to
share and experience the joys, trials and camaraderie of a
partnership.

A gift is a symbolic token of the bigger perspectives of appreciation
and feeling. The precious gift of love must be used to build upon a
deeper and more thorough structuring of a meaningful relationship, one
that takes both of you through sunshine, high water, uncertainty and
resolve, one that combines with the other essential ingredients of a
true friendship, one that spices up the start of a solid bonding.

Sunday Outings

Alex Higgins has grown up. He tells me that he is now in Year 10 at school. Alex lives in an enclave of southern Sydney that overlooks the sea, perched up on a cliff top. I catch up with his Dad as well. Little William has brought back a tiny strawberry after a walk with his uncle and aunt, who got hitched recently, first in a Phuket Buddhist Temple, then in the registry in Parramatta and soon to beholding their reception at Chateau Carlingford.

The afternoon was getting oppresively hot and humid. We were in a green house portion of an Austrian-German restaurant in far north Sydney. The food was excellent, including my fav duck, pork knuckle, potato au gratin and the lightly batterred fish. After lunch, my group of four riding in the same car secretly diverted to the nearby Ba'hai Temple, strikingly white and laced with lattice windows with a beauty topped by its harbour lighthouse top. This is the first time in many years that I have seen the building of prayer in sunny daylight.

The afternoon had been lazy and it continued in the St Ives home of the birthday girl. It was a conversational Sunday, perked up by the coffee made in the style distinctive of Jennifer and Janie. Sunset was to be after 8 in the evening, and so it was good to somewhat lose track of time. Like Late June in the northern hemisphere, December in the south-east corner of Australia is meant to be unfettered - but we had separate appointments to go for Sunday night, and it was not a roast dinner.

I headed for Chatswood, only a short drive south along the Eastern Arterial and Willoughby roads. Charmaine and Chris had organised a home gathering, which featured creations from various cooks who poured their special touches of creativity to, amongst the several dishes served, Bangkok tom yum soup (Cindy); ice kacang (Joyce); and duck curry (Charmaine). The street light sparkled up obviously through the front door when night fell, late; Wai Fatt from Kuala Lumpur chatted about the pending arrival of the rest of his family coming to Sydney soon.

Highlights of the Year

Maybe I over think of what can be improved, or what needs to be done going ahead, that I unfairly forget about the existing good things in my life, especially for the past year.

The annual medical test taken bravely after a weekend of feasting for Christmas had a good outcome. Interest rates had come down in recent months at almost the same pace as banks had raised it earlier without care for their customers. I have a vibrant team synergy at work. I enjoy responding to the challenges thrown at me in surprising contexts from a few smiling hyena types who snarl only behind my back.

The car had not given problems, except for some unexplained sounds, and I thought I was winning the war against garden weeds. More rain had fallen in an apparent break of the drought where I reside. The views of the neighbouring hills, either with a clear blue sky or topped by cloud and fog, continue to provide inspiring vistas when I come out of my front door, and I can feel the ocean breeze from where the sun rises. I can zip up to a capital city for diversions and maintain friendships, whilst coming home under moonlight on the same day.

I had grown in more than just acquaintance in knowing especially two new persons better, individuals with whom I found an inner calm and stability in interacting with and who joined me on the journey of an unfolding understanding. At the same time, I found delightful refuge in reinforcing relationships with friends and relatives who were always there for me from the beginning, whether residing locally or overseas. I feel privileged to be able to communicate - whether through simple emails or periodic phone conversations - with people important to me, far and near. I continued to feel the intensity and joy in cooking therapy. I rediscovered quality yogurt, found I could rely on certain people and was able to let go of garbage finally.

I paced up my personal travel, besides being caught up in round circuit trips between Sydney and the South Coast. I relished my return to New Zealand, fully taking in the special air and light that so I am attuned with. It was just so reassuring to see how my eldest niece had settled so well there with her network of friends. Then there were visits to my turf by people I have not seen for a long time, or catch up with on less occasions than I prefer, or by new friends. Such reunions gave unexpected joy and exchange of experiences to me.

I took significant oaths and relished my routines. I found less pleasure in just running around for the sake of it and treasured personal moments at home. I sensed the coming of change in America and Australia. Various people came into my life and showed me new windows.

On a One-Horse Open Sleigh

Love works in strange ways.

Like finding the right house or the dreamed of car, it can be a logical result or just a sincere surprise when we least expect it. Logic can defy the choice, feelings arouse the instinctive and the bonding defies whatever convention that may apply to it.

Rouselavata had been trying. He had retained sufficient hope to not unnecessarily close any window of opportunity. At the same time, he had developed a workable sense of realism in whom he preferred and what could translate further into a meaningful relationship. All these may seem hypothetical and good in theory, and unless he could apply all these in one real example, it remained good only in planning and on paper.

One week it all came together. Someone turned up. Someone who could click so well with him in his interests of music, style of mingling and getting to know each other. Someone who added to stability and a heightened sense of living. Someone who made Rouselavata glow inside and made him share his new found joy with close relatives and good friends. Someone who made him walk tall and let the whole world know. Someone he would love to ride with, literally on a one-horse open sleigh.

Rouselavata at times had passing moments of doubt as to how long this would last. He however knew how to enjoy it, no matter what. As he lay in bed in blissful oblivion, he played again and again a short sweet rendition of a theme so popular at this time of the year. "Jingle bells, jingle bells...."