笑

你有没有体验过一种感觉。。。输了。。却很开心？那是一种很妙的感觉。当我筋疲力尽的时候，还将力气输在了笑，然后躺在床上开心地睡去。我知道我是微笑着进入梦想。那感觉很妙。

你有没有从繁密琐碎的生活细缝中看见过一种轻飘游间的感动？那是一种很优美的举动，微细的感动。今天电车上看见一位模特一般的女生。繁杂人群中，她静静地坐着，却像鹤立鸡群。很模特的身材。很模特的服装。很模特的脸孔。很模特的眼神。还有一种很有性格有点冰冷的感觉。到了另一站，更多乘客拥挤在电车上。人与人间留下断续的视缝。断续的片段还是看到模特女生。继续看着。除了她美。更因为是本身对表演舞台的人出现在日常中有着极罕见的视觉震撼。但多数人不像我，许多人在物色着某某或或腾空的位子。相对地，模特女生内旁还有一个位，放着她不大的包包。。一位带着小孩的妇女意示模特女生让出包包的位。她迟疑了一下。后拿起她的包包。显然易见的，那位子是脏的。可是她自己移坐到那个脏位上。让出原来坐的座位给妇女。妇女不好意思地让孩子坐了。模特女生微微地笑一笑。很快地进入她自身静默的状态。像是准备下一场表演要来了。像是偶尔轻敲的琴键，毫不扰动他的电话交谈，或她的阅报，或他们的扯闹，或他们的谈情说爱，或他们的神游四方，还有我不时的观察。琴声却悠悠地飘扬在缝隙间。那种感觉很温柔细致。

你有没有被小小的手掌握过你小小的尾指？那是一种很亲切纯洁无邪的触觉。相信很多人都喜欢那种感觉。电车上，一位坐在我身边的爸爸，抱着他的小孩。那孩子如果是男的，那也长得太美了。如果是女孩，那也长得很英气。反正就是可爱的小孩。蔚蓝清澈的眼神看着我。从爸爸的怀抱里，伸出小小右掌。好像要击掌为誓。那先生说小孩要跟我 Hi 5！我笑着轻轻地拍在他的手掌。小孩笑得很开心。接二连三跟我闹着 Hi 5。结果我们好象 Hi 25 了。小孩后来顽皮地挣脱了爸爸的怀抱，爬到我的身上。我轻轻将他抱起。问他叫什么名。好象听到他爸爸说是 Veno 还是 Wilo 尔尔的。不象是澳洲本地人。小孩笑呵呵地用小小的手掌握着我的尾指。我喜欢小孩这样握我的手指。他爸爸说他似乎很喜欢我。

我笑了。

(Pic Source: http://casacamisas.wordpress.com/2008/03/05/now-with-double-wrist-action/)

New Life

I have just moved to this new place. A holiday-house alike kind of home. Visually, this is a very lovely house. And so, i post the lovely pictures up here. Living conditions actually could be meaning more than meeting the eyes. However, this post will be much about the coolness of my place. Telling the goodness will hypnotize oneself to feel good.

I personally like to complain, with or without awareness. However, i can get over it quite quickly. Because i will soon have new other things to complain about. HAHA.. I have learned not to be convicted in negative perception, or i have actually picked up to be complaining transiently, just for the sake of relieving negativity or just making common topics. Well, i have got some nicknames. In office, directors called me Curious Boy. Among some friends, they call me Complain King. I think the best nicknames should be Sweetheart or Darling kind of callings though. ^_^'' . But they should be highly limited to someone deserves to call. Hmm... now i know i am going too far from my topic today... OK, i have got a new living place. New Life began.

The house is located in North Melbourne. The so-far farthest place from the CBD for me since i landed on this big down under island. I plan to get a bike next year. Sitting far, this place has more green, and less dust i hope. But certainly with some fur. I have 2 housemates, Elmo and Oscar. They barked when they saw me, but now no more. And Elmo was committed to crime for kissing me without me saying YES. Well, they are pretty good housemates and i am yet to have further chatting with them. Under the same roof, the landlords are respected as highly conscious and practical environmentalists. They use grey water. They reuse water. They smartly use water. You can see we are actually living in an era that water is precious. Australia should be grateful to have people like them.

Hmm... This is a house with 2 blocks and a garden courtyard in between. My little (actually spacious leh! wahaha~) dwelling room is on upstairs of the rear house. The best physicality about this room is having the built-in robe (at the left side of the pic above. beyond this photos montage. so exaggeratedly reminding you not be able to see it. BIGNESS is the celebration) that is extremely big and i have hidden all my fugly things inside. I call this-- the Art of Ninja. I have to say that i sleep very well for the whole week since the first day here. I am not sure though, if it is because of the comfortably big double bed (as compared to the futon as my previous bed in old house) complimented by the green environment here, or simply i have been too tired of moving house such a BIG project.

I have been spending about 1 week to slowly unpack my millions of stuffs since arrival. 30% was done upon arrival day. Another 30% was done by today. Another 25% will be books and magazines which are yet to be unpacked and put nicely on the black color shelf that you could see from the picture. I will do it tomorrow! And make it looks so much like i am a good and keen reader. No smoking. No pubs. No smoke. Less calories. Less stress. More happiness... But hor.. speaking of reading, shelving the books is all about look. How pathetic! Argh... i actually love picture, love scene, love painting... but not too much of words. Some when from kids to high school time, i loved reading. Now i have many other distraction, good and bad. Well, i will and should try to re-nurture the elegance of reading spirit though! AHAHA~ And i need good books. You all are welcome to suggest nice books! A thankful kiss from the handsome. Muaks~ kaka..

I will yet need to idle around this current place to get its sense and context and SPIRIT! Bless me for living well here. ^_^ .

New Life, here we go!

Melbourne is no longer livable?

Frankly, the first time i really got to know about the name of the place - Melbourne, was some when in high school, because of my idol singer Stephanie Sun Yan zi. She mentioned this was her most favorite place.

Melbourne, was a lovely place, to live and travel. Melbourne, is now still lovely, to travel but maybe not quite for living in.


Nowadays, what i feel about Melbourne, is not something too negative, but something potentially bad. All is about my personal feels. But i think they are pretty right. I dont know if the locals have been feeling the similar.

Three years ago, i was great to tell that i was in a very livable city. I still could recall some early moments when i came to this city. Some people did smile to me when passing by even if we were just strangers to one another. The city was pretty ambient with some activities and crowds. The pace of people on the street was relaxing.

Now, i feel like Melbourne is a container. It is trying to contain a lot of things but it is nearly bursting. It has been too many people on the streets in the city. It has been harder to walk through the crowds in lunch time. It has been longer queue to get my food. It has been many many more people competing to rent apartments or houses. It has been extra harder to get your application approved. It has been much more higher with the rents. It has been slower and slower for immigration office to process the permanent residency applications. It has been more crowded in trams and trains. It has been getting wilder with the climates.

Melbourne is just not catching up the demand with its supply. Overwhelming immigration and population has been causing too much pressure on the housing supply and public transportation. Things are going slightly off balance. Melbourne is no longer livable as it was unless the issues and problems are otherwise be addressed and solved asap. At least, that is how i feel. Nevertheless, it is still a very good place compared to many corners in the world.

I just prefer old things maybe. Weird huh..

春天

冬天。过去了。

在 Melbourne。四季里。我最爱春天和秋天。因为气温并不太极端。
可 Melbourne 的天气。像是女生的脾气。善变的淘气。有时一天里会有四季的天气。

我不爱冬天。因为夜长日短。常乌云挂天。

我爱春天万物更新的感觉。爱春天开始呈蓝的天空。爱青青嫩芽迫不及待地端在树枝上。爱花卉丛中含苞待放的兴奋。春天。是见证生命力的时候。是最难让人郁闷的时候。是横冲直撞了一年里头康复的时间。爱春天。也因为爱看女生穿得很漂亮。穿得少。却不太少。有飘纱的感觉。夏天。热情的背后。其实有更多的慵懒。

却没有想到。今年的春天。我大部分的时间。放在工作上。找房子更让我耗神耗力。这春天。让我很累。在这他人的土地上。找房子。让我偶尔想起那很烂又很好的马来西亚。想念我的好友。当然有好多到新加坡了。虽然那里没有春天。却记忆了我最多笑容的日子。有很好朋友的朋友。有时不太喜欢这里。因为没有归属感。每年搬家。我厌倦了找房子。厌倦了搬家。厌倦了凑人数。厌倦了跟不是很朋友的朋友有的无的说天气。我忘了。最后谈心的是哪一天。似乎。在这南方大岛上。我没有什么谈心的时候。没有什么笑到落泪的时候。这岛上。有许多很好很好的东西。可我并没笑得更多。或许。只是我突然现在很蓝。BLUE。

今年的春天。还爆发了经济萧条金融风暴。这里许多建筑公司裁员。扑开的画纸。像砧板。纸上绚丽的线条。像砧板上被宰的鱼流下的血痕。最后还是要被洗掉。再BLUE。又蓝又红。成紫。毒的颜色。晕。春天不能是紫色。不伦不类。坏。

嗯。反正明天要早到公司。我应该现在马上去睡。睡个漂亮的明天出来。明天。春天。

Age and Aging

How old am i? 24?

To my parents, i am always young. Without the need of doing anything, I am always their son that calls for their concerns, draws their attention, and asks for love. I am never old enough for them not to worry about me.

In my field of expertise- Architecture, i am also young. I am far too young to be able to master the arts of communication and coordination in between consultants and clients; and not mature enough to handle any advanced construction, structural integrity, innovative detailing, as well as appropriate architectural language in complex urbanity and society background. But, in this field, i am young enough to have wild imagination and the willingness of going-beyond. I hope such benefits of mine can stay tuned and be sharpen into a sword for me in this generally sense-petrifying field. I don't want to get numb and robotic-'mechanical' in everyday life under the pathetic norm of capitalism.


Among my friends, i could be quite young too. Some of my friends are even married and having their kids. I think they are truly great, especially parenting their kids. I wish them sincerely for their bright future. Some of my friends have very mature kind of thinking that always takes two steps ahead and just simply foresees third step into accounts. But not simple, for me. Meanwhile, i also have friends who don't think or analyze things too much in their life. A few of them could be even simply annoyed or couldn't be bothered when i just tried analyzing something. To my surprise, actually now no more surprise, quite a lot of them are females. Some girls do prefer sweet words to speech. Well, i don't object about that. Guess that girls are gifted to be entitled fully to enjoy that. Nevertheless, some people who don't analyze their life do live their lives happily than anyone else. Somewhat am i to be envious of. Because, i hardly think nothing for something. In fact, there are times i think something for nothing. It could be a sin.

In love, i am quite naive. I could be not single otherwise. Of course, this doesn't apply to everyone who is single. Right, i am single. I should RSVP for love maybe. lol..
Surviving, i am far too young to be, if by my own. Financially and mentally, i am not mature enough to just survive the tough society by myself. Recently, i have been busy looking for houses because i have to move out soon from my current place. It is a real pain for a foreigner like me here to seek for accommodation. In 4 years time, i have moved 4 times into different places. And now, i am looking for the Fifth.



The rent in Melbourne** is incredibly high compared to Kuala Lumpur due to the incredibly high demand from overwhelming immigration and insufficient supply of housing to accommodate the new population. Lower than 1% vacancy in Melbourne renting properties proves the rent on the rise. If i am going to move out and rent a place by myself, i could end up paying the rent that could actually be the salary of a graduate architect in Malaysia. Such pain graved with the inconvenience of me having to move house every year eventually forced me to come across with the idea of purchasing a house here, Melbourne. Right, ridiculous, but could be reasonably advantageous in long term pay back. I don't have strong and promising financial income as "architects are cheap labors" is not a wrong phrase. Having said that, i started to think and study about property market here lately. (That's why i have been quite busy lately and didn't blog often). This diverting thinking from renting into buying consideration suddenly put me into a state of mind that i have not been stepping in. I suddenly feel aging.

Aging, and i see different things. Maybe it is not so good. Now, advertisements about property sales, news about Australian properties market, even empty land or construction sites, flooded into my sight. Speaking of which, only recently i got to know some basic stuffs about Stamp Duty Cost, Body Corporate Fee, Repayment, Rent Guarantee, Capital Gain, etc this kind of terms. I used to only see beauty, fashion, brand, etc. I think my eyes now are more tired, because i see more. And i see aging. Sudden accelerating aging. This actually made me feel a bit worrisome that i suddenly turn into a old capitalist. Nevertheless, i still love all fun lifestyles things, beauties, fashions, shirts, pants, ties, dress, singlet, skirt, bra, lingerie, fragrance, food, comics, anime, toys and everything. Just that i am a bit tired. Guess i do need more rest.

Sleep now, and so i will be energetic and see things more clearly. Because i need to see things in the possible storm of economic slump. Well, i don't freaking know what is going to happen about that, from that, of that. But there is a good phrase in Chinese. Risk and Opportunity come in juxtaposing bundle. Seek and develop opportunity from within or otherwise take the risk to fall into. 危机。危与机，掌握与错失在于一线间。我看到了什么。

Aging- Picture source:
Pic 1 (modified by me after) . Pic 2.

** Melbourne is one of the most livable cities in the world. I think it is too good for that to have then driven such crazy immigration from both overseas and inter-states in Australia. Many side-effects caused by such phenomenon also contributes to imbalance of gentrification and inflation of many things, including increasing rent! Overwhelming population is now posing a possible threat to the affordability, public transportation, etc to the extent of very livability...

Fast Food Culture Vs Abbreviation

We have come across to a notion that being fast ensures your preference, achievements and possession. Be it inevitably true, fully or partly, a sense of sadness is nevertheless unavoidable.

At times, i cant help but feeling a bit sad when we have to make things faster and faster. Slowly yet quickly, our awareness to the surrounding has been eroding. No more could you be holding yourself back just to see the dad playing with his kids, neither do you bother to slow down your pace smiling back to a little girl that smiled at you. And try to suddenly stop on the path you normally take to your work or school, just stop and be looking around, you will start feeling to blend in and see the things that are just too normal for you to 'abnormally' notice in everyday life. Or, taking away all the vehicles from the road and we walk on it. We will simply be amazed by comparing our fast and slow paced life differences. (Check New York streets shuts from William's blog.)

Fast food culture has been prevailing for near decades. Undeniably, the conveniences provided by it help in our screwed life to some extents. Its certain contribution as in introducing more enrichment into individual inherence, should be accredited. But kids nowadays are taking it much more often than we used to do. Fast food culture, one of the very forms of globalization is actually killing the 'authenticity' of food, tradition and culture of many fantastic races. I bet many from young generations have no real clue about 'authenticity'. It is a bit amusing when someone introduces me some non-authentic food as authentic. Overwhelming promotions on fast food culture eventually make everything generic, colorless, tasteless, boring, and unhealthy.


Living in Melbourne where great diversity is highly embraced and immigration is encouraged (skilled migration, livability etc), lots of different food and cultures have actually increased my awareness of keeping and improving every unique self-values amidst introduction of globalization.

Abbreviation, though shares some similar characteristics of fast food culture, actually acquires more respects for it. To me, abbreviation, is something very accurate, and varied greatly to many different departments/fields, such as medicine-health care, architecture, technology, etc. Derived from professions and cultural phenomenology, abbreviation greatly emphasizes the proper uses with precision and accuracy of message delivery.

However, i have also noticed abbreviation seems to be abused in commercialization in order to advertise it more easily for people to grasp the selling points, or sometimes just falling to become short forms of typing/addressing something.

Therefore, there seems to be a great gray zone where both fast food culture and abbreviation share their inter-fluxing. Identity, Branding, Globalization...

Abundant use in inappropriate situations may lead confusions.
"Doing SM Down Under here is FCUK-ing a pain?"
(SM-Skill Migration, FCUK-French Connection, Down Under- Australia, as positioning on the globe.)
"FYI, the venue is yet TBC but do RSVP ASAP in order to get your seat."
(FYI- For Your Information, TBC- To Be Confirmed, RSVP- "Répondez s'il vous plaît"/ Response if you please, ASAP- as soon as possible.)

A question hereby was dropped by myself...
Does architecture realm have such similar kind of phenomenon? As in what forms? And how?

Richard Green

Richard Green, could be an unfamiliar name to many. You may possibly get the different guy Richard Greene (with an 'e' behind) who was a screen star in "The Adventure of Robin Hood" if you try 'google' it.

I went to Canberra to renew my passport 2 weeks ago and saved the chance for wandering around. There, i bumped into National Library of Australia. In a small exhibition space provided there, i got to know the name-- Richard Green.

Richard Green. A landscape photographer. Unlike many of the art pieces in exhibition, his photographs are simply straightforward, bold, and simple. Not abstract. Not vague. Simply breathtaking.

(His photographs stand the most only when you are in the exhibition looking at the real size pieces.)

His photographs are mainly of wild places of this big "down-under" island-- Australia. Some of his photographs take up to some lengths beyond 2 metres. They were taken with high resolution of camera, high ambient spectrum of richest colors, and the very spirit of the places. He insists to take the photos with the best positions regardless of the piling attempts of visits to a place at different times, difficult standing points at the cliff of mountains or the edge of waterfall rocks or in the wet swamp, just to capture the best timing, weather and the sense of place with his lens. His extraordinarily huge photographs give strong impact from far-away sight and also delicately depict every single details of the landscape, the life on it, the coverage of the shadow, and even his own shadow among the trees that takes up only maybe about 0.2% of the overall photo size.

What i am impressed about his works and his passionate insistence is somewhat behind his lens-- his philosophy and intention of his artworks. From his photography, life on the earth seems to be extremely small, inter-relying and precious. "You only live once", is what came into your mind looking on the artworks. Nature, is the art itself. And most of his photographs were taken in dawn or sunset time of which the best timing for the richest colors from the atmosphere is hence ultimately transient. Naturally, people tend to think and feel the most at the times of dawn and sunsets because of the awareness and sense of time.

From his photographs, Richard Green illustrate how life is transient, beautiful, strong and yet fragile on the seemingly tough but emotional earth. It comes also with the urge to seriously look into the very inch of our environment, what we have been doing and should be doing.


When you look into his photographs, you look at the places, you hear the chirping sound, you feel the cooling breeze, you smell the wet earth. You are simply overwhelmed.


p/s 1:
Richard Green: Wild Places 27 August – 27 September 2008
Byron McMahon Gallery, 88 George Street Redfern, Sydney
Open Wednesday – Saturday 11- 5pm, www.byronmcmahongallery.com.au
(Click here for PDF Source)
(and here for The Sydney Morning Herald news page)

p/s 2: He uses Canon EOS 1Ds digital camera equipment. I insist to use Canon cameras too though i am not as professional. I love the colors from Canon lenses. Sony is too supernatural, Panasonic is too digital, Nikon is too conservative. BUT, of course, it is more about the users, not the tools. Strong heart leads the light.

Malaysian Passport 1

"A passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder."
--Wikipedia

I have got my Malaysian Passport renewed. But it was rather a pain for Malaysians to renew their passports in Australia. Simply because we have to go to the High Commission of Malaysia in Canberra to do it. Right, no other way! How outrageous is that you have to take a flight to Canberra, if you are a Malaysian in Melbourne or Sydney, or poorly those even further? No one is going to refund your travel expenses including flight, taxi and public transport.

(It is hilarious that the High Commision building is simply another Malaysia official-like building with the 'bumbung' of rumah kampung, being put in the context of Australia. Just as stubborn as how they put the Arabic-like domes all around on the buildings in Putrajaya. Apparently, architects, are useless for them since some of them don't mind to have non-context-responsive concept. Just like attitude, they are lack of having promptly effective response in different context while keeping their usual attitude as in Malaysia.)

In regards to that, i was trying to get a consular to talk about it. But i ended up very disappointed because there is no consular in Melbourne! No consular in Victoria State of Australia. It is simply pathetic that the Malaysian government always claims they are catching up the developed country but they don't even allocate a consular here giving attempt to help those oversea Malaysians.

How ridiculous is that for a place like Victoria (Australia) which is bigger than the Malaysia Peninsular not to have just a consular? And so i kept stalking them. I made phone calls. The official explained that the Malaysian government needs to save money. Well, i know they spent a lot in other aspects where the Malaysians taxation went to... Besides, i also know building-a-castle-as-a-house is costly, buying military aircraft is expensive , and of course sodomy charge and its movie-making is hardly affordable too. All these cost a lot of money yeah..

In order to test how helpful and how interactive are oversea Malaysian officials in Australia, i then tried emailing to every (i might have missed out one of two) consular in other states of Australia such as New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, etc. But, as expected, none of them replied me. I even received notification saying that a few of my emails to them were 'delayed' until no time. Most possibly, some email addresses are not even updated with current consular on position. Again, the government always claims to have advanced facilities but the service and attitude are never up to the front line. Just like computer, the outcome will be just crap, no matter how good is the hardware if the inferior software is not helping it.

Besides, i would like to say that such new policy having the must to renew passport in Canberra tells the very consequences of Malaysian government always causes: enlarging the environmental footprint! Such policy is just not economically and environmentally sustainable. So many Malaysians have to take flight to Canberra, plus the taxi travel forth and back, thus significantly increase the CO2 emission caused per person. I feel so bad for it! IF, we really have to continue doing that in Canberra, at least a good suggestion here: please provide a van or mini-bus to bring the poor Malaysian crowds back and forth from the Canberra Airport. I would even rather pay for this and appreciate it.

(I took the cheapest domestic flight, but it still cost me some amount of money which is equivalent enough to have bought about 100 days of Nasi Lemak for breakfast in Malaysia. But still, who cares?)

Last but not least, Passport, is the most important thing for oversea Malaysians to prove their identity. I am not very into politics and maybe i am not one of the most patriotic, but i am not ashamed to tell people that "i am from Malaysia". Because the 'formation' of myself is largely contributed from the origin. I love many people and places in Malaysia. Not forgetting the Malaysian food! But i would really appreciate and support the government if they are really doing the right things, helping to ease the burdens on the nation but not causing more troubles.

True Politic, should not be a stake for performance and speculation of power of the politicians. True Politic, should be the understanding and promises between the nation and the ruler.

p/s:

A bunch of my friends who have had their passport renewed in Canberra some time ago also commented with consensus that the whole procedure and attitude of the passport renewal done by the official did look like: they are not so pleased to process all those for us. Or, we are not welcomed? The mood went even worse when Ahmad Ismail's claim of "Chinese squatters" burst. So, the Chinese in Malaysia are not Malaysian? So, who am i?

Responsibility and Apologia simply don't exist for those governors anymore. And why should the nation entrust them? I have a few nice Malay friends and they are all good and more rational in thinking. Is it because they are new generation? Have been exposed to more in oversea? I am not bias to anyone or any party. But i won't buy the idea to keep immature racist in government. Hey, it is so out-of-fashion! Come on, racism is no longer working.

Reference:
http://www.malaysiamysecondhome.org/malaysia-newspaper/
http://blog.limkitsiang.com/
http://www.kennysia.com/
http://mustafakanuar.wordpress.com/2008/09/01/why-more-heat-is-on-ahmad-ismail/
http://timnam.blogspot.com/2008/09/politic.html