Back in Melbourne

My most sincere apologies for the long absence. I was too pre-occupied with meeting up with my family and old friends and spending quality time with my little princess that blogging was thrown to the sidelines.

Now that I'm back in cold and gloomy Melbourne, I guess the urge to blog and to jot down my thoughts has resurfaced once again.

The trip back home was well-timed and much needed. After dealing with the challenges of adapting to a foreign land and tuning my mind back to the intellectual mode, I was looking forward to returning to my little island of comforts. Where, as the national day songs go, my friends, family and love one (you-know-who) wait for me...

It is only when you are alone overseas that you learn to appreciate your closest friends, family and of course the one I love. Having them by your side just make you take them for granted. Which is definitely not the right way to go. Cherish the ones closest to you... They won't be there forever so make the best of the times you spend with them.

I am really glad that I have a close group of friends that have known me since my Marist days, and some since my TJ days. Weide, Alvin, WeiWei, Rayner, EeYang and the rest of the Marist gang; Edwin, Siu, Bingde from (chao!) AHS... These people have become an indispensable part of my life. We share a common frequency, a common love for football, and other special qualities that somehow make the bonds we have special in more ways than one. I can open up to these people without fear of being judged or ridiculed or having to put up a polite or diplomatic front. We have been through many years and did numerous things together... Stuff that we would sometimes bring up and laugh heartily about... That type of unrestrained, hearty laughter is hard to get elsewhere.

I don't know whether things will change once all of us go to university. New friends we will definitely make, new habits we will definitely take, new ambitions we will certainly chase. But will our bonds remain? I really do hope so... I do not know if the rest of the guys have similar thoughts but I cannot imagine life without these people. We are friends and have been friends through thick and thin. We help one another not just because we expect a favour in return or we're trying to impress people or raise any agendas. We do so because we share a common bond. And brothers should help one another without question or motive. Am I the only one who thinks like this? I hope not.

Am I being over-dramatic here? Maybe... But these words are from the bottom of my heart. I have met friends who changed their environment so frequently that they don't have a core group of friends that they can confide in. I pity them. And I count my own blessings at the same time.

Together with my little princess and my family, these guys form the core of my life. A rock; a foundation that keeps me going in difficult times.

Thank you guys. Thank you for all the memories and may there be many more to come.