childhood comfort...

Waterview Walk
Docklands, VIC, Australia
50° F (10° C)

After being WINED and dined by PwC, I had one of the most horrible nights of my life. I have never thought I would have such a violent reaction to wine... I should have known better; I am no longer as healthy as I used to since the purgatory project in Singapore. I passed out sometime after purging perfectly good wine...

Feeling queasy and exhausted, I yearned for comfort. Then I remembered I had bought a bag of barley tea from a Korean market on my way back from the office. I had to do with what I had on hand; coffee press wasn't exactly meant for brewing barley tea, but it did the job. Barley tea lacks the acidity of usual teas and is smooth yet comforting taste... that I desperately needed after acidic torment juice had been running up and down my esophagus. Sipping the barley tea took me back to the simple yet worry-free days of childhood...

Function vs. Form

Waterview Walk
Docklands, VIC, Australia
62.6° F (16° C)

It's beautiful outside. With entire side of triangular apartment being glass in a highrise facing the downtown Melbourne, the view can be spectacular. If I were to given the option to choose an apartment for myself, I would have NEVER chosen this place.

When it comes to choosing even an insignificant item, I always attempt to strike a perfect balacne between function and form. Home, for example, is function first, form second. A home must provide shelter from outside world, where one can rejuvenate so that one can take on the world once more. This apartment, however, fails to provide that basic need... The howling wind... the trams screeching around the corner... and occasional Harley D's roaring 'mid-life-crisis'... Being a light sleeper, I have been waking up at least a few times a night. Life and death struggle to reach the office on time is fast becoming a morning ritual.

Why couldn't they use double layered sound proof glass...?

With the evening nearing its end, I prepare myself for another rough night. Ear plugs... makeshift humidifier... alarm...

Good night... my friends. I wish you a restful night...

Humidifier? What for?

Waterview Walk,
Docklands, Victoria, Australia
51.8° F (11° C)

The whole time I was in Singapore, I lovingly complained about how predictably hot and humid the weather can be. Now that I will be spending wonderfully freezing summer months in Melbourne (it's winter down here), I am beginning to reminisce the pleasantly muggy days of Singapore.

Dry weather can be nice at times, but dry and cold can bring on a not so perfect condition when central heater is thrown into the mix; it can get bone dry. I woke up a few times last night with death thirst and about-to-bleed dry nostrils. After gulping down few cups of water, I turned on my half-dazed McGyver impersonation and... created a makeshift humidifier using the following items:

1. large pot
2. kitchen towel
3. empty wine bottle

I filled the pot about 1/3 with water. Then on my way back to bed, I remembered that I needed to increase surface area to enhance evaporation. 'Towel'... but I couldn't just hang it over the side... 'empty bottle... oh... must fill it with water so that it won't float in pot and tip over...' In the end, the makeshift humidifier ended up looking like some hideous erection rising from the pot, but it did the job... well at least I think it did. But I needed a less obscene and better performing solution.... soon.

Just after lunch, while I was waiting for some data to become available, I scowered the Central Business District (lovingly known as the "CBD" which immediately conjured a thought in my head that it might be some sort of STD) for a humidifier. When I asked a coworker for the best place to pick one up, he said "humidifier? What for?" I should have known then. It seems Australians are too rugged to believe in artificially controlling humidity. But for my pampered nose and throat, I needed one desperately... in the end, I returned to the corporate apartment... defeated... without the remedy for awakening dehydration... I shall have to rely on my obscene creation for one more night.

Same spot... 16 months later

2007.05.10 at 17:06
Starbucks
across from the American Embassy
GwangHwaMoon, Seoul, South Korea

For one reason or another, I tend to gravitate toward the familiar especially when it has not been a part of my life in the recent days. I sit here, at this very spot, where I pondered the possibility of returning to the states. It has been 16 months since I left Seoul. Sixteen months... It is incredible how fast life can move and alter its course. I have never imagined that I would assume a life of a modern day nomad... traveling from continent to continent... without a permanent place to call my own.

Aside from the noticeable, yet temporary, mustache and beard (appearance is not one of my priorities at the moment), I have grown considerably older... older and worn. The months of endless deadlines and urgent tasks have taken a toll on my health and most likely have shaven off couple of years off my lifespan...

I sit here... drinking the same coffee, eating the same cake... wondering if fleeting moments of past sixteen months were ever real.

Lucky to be alive...

Seoul, South Korea
61° F (16° C)

I feel lucky to be alive.

The last several months of my life (especially the last few) have been nothing short of seemingly endless walk through a desert. If it weren't for someone who helped me through this, I would surely have met the same fate as MJ (read her friend's blog for the whole story). Aside from crippling backaches and other frequent illnesses, I have been experiencing shortness of breath... which felt as if a huge weight was pressing down on my chest.

The project is over... and I am finally on my well-earned break... which may become more stressful than the project itself...