"being a student is better than working"
I ONLY HAVE 5 DAYS HOLIDAYS!! But I guess I should be grateful, I initially had only four days off. I do wish it was longer though.
I am celebrating Christmas here in Perth as a working adult for the first time. I felt abit lost at first, normally back in my hometown, I would follow my family and go with the flow. Suddenly I realised I have so much freedom, too much in fact that it bores me to the core of my bones. To combat the 'core-of-my-bones' syndrome I made sure that I would have at least one thing to look forward too for each holiday.
Christmas Eve
I cleared up my whole client files!! I am a good boy!! Filed them up and made sure that everything is in order for the next year and archived clients files that I will no longer be seeing. I even did some readings for the morning. But the highlight for the day was the Christmas eve service at St. George's Cathedral. This is my first Christmas experience in an Anglican church.
The front of the church during service
The service was called A Festival of Lessons and Carols. The service took the form of 9 lessons (basically 9 bible readings) about the birth of Christ. In between each of the 9 lessons, the choir would sing. This is not your average choir. They were fully dressed in traditional gown, their voices were like a slice of heaven. The old church and the high ceilings helped the acoustics too. Sweet, mellow, and humbling. It was simply breath taking. I never heard such a powerful yet calming tune.The back of the church during the service
The service was very formal. They had the choir sang while marching in with the arch-bishop and all his clergies dressed in full splendor. Really amazing sight to behold. But as my friend puts it, try not to stare at the choir, especially the boys too long, they may think you are a sexual pedophile in the church!
Sacred ground
Poking my camera up with a wide angle lens
The pathetic part about that night was... Christmas eve dinner was at McDonalds!!!! This is how single bachelors do it!! Woots!Christmas Day
I attended my church service. I had to be there early, 7am, to practice for the service. All that calmness from last night was still floating in my brain. One thing about South Perth Church of Christ is that we do not really follow the norms on Christmas day, especially in the songs we sing. The whole worship was funked and jazzed up. My floating brain was in shock mode that morning. Imagine funking up Gregorian style choir?
The highlight for the day was the lunch at my Pastor's place. He hosted a UN Christmas lunch. We had people from so many different countries: SE Asia, Africa, Spain, Latin America, etc, nearly 13 countries.
Our little UN gathering
One thing I like about Australia is that everything is informal. No one is above any other, we are all equal. Pastors are equals with their members and members are equals to their pastors. I remembered the first time when I first came I found it so hard to not call him Pastor David but David.It was a good time of fellowshiping and getting to know the extended church family. I think it is very important to grow contacts especially if I would want to settle down in Perth and work as a psychologist here. You may never know that the next person you talk to may actually be the one fixing your car for a reduced price, or even fixing your broken leg in some accident.
The little mini UN was a great way to get us together for a fun mixer. I enjoyed myself making new friends and getting to know the church a little more. The food was fantastic, everyone brought their own little dish.
Tell me... how does one not to get fat from all these food ?
Unfortunately, by the time we got the the famous one, the owners had already turned off the lights and music. Argh! Missed it by a few minutes. The lights were still going on until we parked our car.
I should be more grateful, the rest were still quite beautiful, nothing amazing, but it is something that you do not normally see.
Boxing Day... is another phenomena that you would never see in Asia. In Malaysia, we have 24 hour sales throughout 365 days a year. Malaysians always find something to have a sale for. But in Australia, good bargains and sales are far between and hard to come by. Boxing day is the best time to hunt for good bargains. My friend last time bought a pair of shoes for 30 dollars that was worth $350 a day before that!
However, instead of jostling with the crowds, we went up North to Ikea. It was never mind intention to buy anything. But the boxing day sales bug bit me. But more than that I think I needed this, this item would separate me from my student mentality. Though I have been working for nearly a year, I still find myself having a very student mentality. As Toon said,
"... as a working adult, you need to learn how to spent. You are no longer a student... Sometimes you need to spent on things to help give you some sanity, especially in your line of job.... This is a good investment and it would help differentiate you from a student and an adult.... It also gives you something to look forward to from a tiring day at work, a haven."
I am a young single working adult! I need to act like one! I swiped my bank card and bought my first young working adult luxury item... (minus the D-90 and iphone =P)
A NICE LAZY CHAIR WITH A FOOTSTOOL!!
A little change of lighting and a little movement of furniture later... I transformed my student lifestyle from this....
Student Life at Lawson Street....
To this!!!
Now I can read my books on the lazy chair and not act like a poor student and read it on my bed. Even Toon was envious of it, he claims for a fresh graduate, I am doing not too bad with a steady client and comfy life. Now I can get back to my reading hobby and enjoy it. Long term investment that provides some sanity to me. I believe my mom who likes to read books would definitely love this chair. I actually fell asleep on it on the first day itself.The original price for everything was neraly $A150, I got it for $A100. I love boxing day!!! Now I need to get some greens to make the room fresher.
On the second day of Christmas...
After church service, we went down South to Sullivan's rock for a hike. It was one of those trips that was a cocktail for disaster.
Firstly, Sullivan's Rock was not your average tourist spot, so it was not listed in any maps or GPS. We took two cars and drove at different speed and distance. Our first car, over-shot the place and we had to make a U-turn to return back. The place was quite secluded so we thought we do wait at the sides of the road and flag them down. We waited for nearly 30-40 minutes. We were worried!! We thought they might have over-taken us while we did the U turn, or something might have happen to them. What more our mobiles were dead, there were no phone signals. After that long wait, we finally saw them, they took a wrong turn. Mistake Number One, always drive in convoy if you are not sure of your destination.
Secondly, while tracking, we took a wrong track and the whole group got diverted off to another track. We were bracing ourselves for a steep hike but this hike was as easy as pie. We were not complaining though, we were too flabby from the Christmas food, and were glad that it was easy, but Mistake Number Two, always read your map carefully before you start on a journey.
Thirdly, two groups got lost while tracking halfway. As for myself, so happen, me and another friend decided not to continue walking and started a "base camp" for ourselves. The one group that continued on for the walk came back with half the tribe missing. We waited for them knowing that the sun would set anytime soon. We send out a search team and soon found them walking back to camp. Mistake Number Three, Always watch each others back and not split up.
I so loved this shot! That is me by the way =)
This trip was really a cocktail for disaster. Anything could have happen!! Thank goodness no one was hurt or lost. Sullivan's rock is quite treacherous. There was one part where it was down hill and the track was filled with gravel. A couple of us had near stumbles. I was more worried about my camera gear than myself. It was then that I decided I would not hike anymore, it was also here that we set up our "base camp".
None the less this was an adventure. Abit scary though. My New Year's resolution is to get fit and to really conqure Sulivan's rock next year. It has a stage 5 difficulty, the highest stage available in Western Australia. Any takers next year?
On the Thrid day of Christmas...
I sat back on my new chouch and read my books.... ahhhh... my lovely books and my new lazy chair! I went to Kurrong later to get some more books. It was a lovely day for a good rest before I restart my working life again. I even had time to go over to Vandana's place for dinner and a Indian movie, Lagaan, which is a must must must watch!!
The day ended with me sitting down on my lazy chair, yet again, reading my client notes. Ahhh~ The bliss of being a young bachelor!!
My 5 cents:
I love my chair!
Firstly, Sullivan's Rock was not your average tourist spot, so it was not listed in any maps or GPS. We took two cars and drove at different speed and distance. Our first car, over-shot the place and we had to make a U-turn to return back. The place was quite secluded so we thought we do wait at the sides of the road and flag them down. We waited for nearly 30-40 minutes. We were worried!! We thought they might have over-taken us while we did the U turn, or something might have happen to them. What more our mobiles were dead, there were no phone signals. After that long wait, we finally saw them, they took a wrong turn. Mistake Number One, always drive in convoy if you are not sure of your destination.
Secondly, while tracking, we took a wrong track and the whole group got diverted off to another track. We were bracing ourselves for a steep hike but this hike was as easy as pie. We were not complaining though, we were too flabby from the Christmas food, and were glad that it was easy, but Mistake Number Two, always read your map carefully before you start on a journey.
Thirdly, two groups got lost while tracking halfway. As for myself, so happen, me and another friend decided not to continue walking and started a "base camp" for ourselves. The one group that continued on for the walk came back with half the tribe missing. We waited for them knowing that the sun would set anytime soon. We send out a search team and soon found them walking back to camp. Mistake Number Three, Always watch each others back and not split up.
I so loved this shot! That is me by the way =)
This trip was really a cocktail for disaster. Anything could have happen!! Thank goodness no one was hurt or lost. Sullivan's rock is quite treacherous. There was one part where it was down hill and the track was filled with gravel. A couple of us had near stumbles. I was more worried about my camera gear than myself. It was then that I decided I would not hike anymore, it was also here that we set up our "base camp".
None the less this was an adventure. Abit scary though. My New Year's resolution is to get fit and to really conqure Sulivan's rock next year. It has a stage 5 difficulty, the highest stage available in Western Australia. Any takers next year? 
On the Thrid day of Christmas...I sat back on my new chouch and read my books.... ahhhh... my lovely books and my new lazy chair! I went to Kurrong later to get some more books. It was a lovely day for a good rest before I restart my working life again. I even had time to go over to Vandana's place for dinner and a Indian movie, Lagaan, which is a must must must watch!!
The day ended with me sitting down on my lazy chair, yet again, reading my client notes. Ahhh~ The bliss of being a young bachelor!!
My 5 cents:
I love my chair!
