Perhaps I'll just begin by throwing a handful of confetti and wish you guys a HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY.
Another year, another moment, another lovey-dopey day. But not for me.
I still vividly remember the Valentine Celebration that I had last year with my besties, us having a HUGE feast of sweet stuff including eclairs and chocolates and green tea and cakes and what-have-you, dressed in pink-and-light-blue outfits and all geared up with monster-sized collective appetites. *laughs* It was good.
Seriously. Just look at the mess we've made below and you'll understand what I mean with the term HUGE. And, if I remember correctly, this was only part of round one.
Oh well. That was some three hundred and sixty five days plus a couple of hours and minutes and seconds ago.
This year? No love. No chocolates. No red. No pink. No light blue. No presents. No feast. No soft drinks. No cakes. No heart-shaped whatevers everywhere in sight, or in possession.
Nothing.
In fact, today I tried to avoid all the hubbub, and the countless lovebirds all around, and the awfully commercial festivity of the day. It was just me, and my lonely self desperate for some private attention. So, I decided to give myself a break from all the sociability and indulge in a rare moment of personal quality time alone.
And not just that. I dared go so far as to take myself all the way to Southland.
*gives myself a cheerful round of applause*
For those who don't know, Southland Shopping Center is a shopping mall located in Cheltenham, an outer suburb of Melbourne. It was my first time ever going to the area, and it took me approximately 40 minutes, by bus of course, to travel from the infamous Monash Clayton bus loop to the shopping mall itself.
Unexpectedly, I happened to pass by a couple of horse farms, green fields, and lots of sheep along the way. It somehow felt like I was driving along the far countryside areas of Australia all of a sudden, and I wasn't even halfway through the journey. I thought I was only going to another neighboring suburb or something, through main streets or primary roads with houses and shops, before I saw the horses, and at first I thought I was seeing things, but then more horses came to sight, followed by herds of sheep and a LOT of green everywhere; then I realized I WAS in fact passing through a glimpse of the countryside area of Victoria. *laughs*
Anyways. Yeah, so I went to Southland, walked around for quite a while and, soon found myself perched atop one of the most comfortable corner sofas inside the unexpectedly-supercozy Starbucks outlet there.
Overall, it was good fun. I spent three-and-a-half hours there sitting by myself, writing stuff, reading a book, taking pictures, thinking, calling people, talking to random people, and most of all observing my surroundings. It was strange to realize that I was the only Asian inside the confines of the coffee shop. Everybody else was Australian, with no exceptions, and I mean what I just said. I got plenty of odd stares from some of the Aussies, maybe upon hearing me speak Indonesian to some of my fellas on the phone.
And even when I got out of Starbucks in search of some fresh air, I noticed that Asian faces were quite scarce throughout the mall itself. I saw couples *sighs*, adults, kids, even schoolboys and schoolgirls with uniforms, but there were painfully few Asians within every category. Not that I'm ethnocentric or anything; somehow I just felt awfully out-of-place. Being among Aussies is nice, yet sometimes it just seems surreal, in a way. Add some of the odd stares and you'll find me dripping cold sweat all over myself. I felt somehow intimidated by the whole scene, as if I was trapped inside a different world where I stood out from the crowd and didn't belong.
Perhaps I'm too used to having same-race company all the time?
But despite all that, I really ENJOYED my quality time today, with caps. Especially realizing that ever since moving to Melbourne, I haven't got too much time to dispose in my hands, so quality-time moments have been rare. I promise myself that will change, though. I will try to take better care of myself, personally.
It takes some personal, uninterrupted moments like what I got the luxury to have today to realize just how much I have changed, how much stuff I have subconsciously missed in my life during my long-and-early process of growing up. Little things that I take for granted, small insignificant details that are often invisible and forgotten, but which make up who I am.
For instance, I hadn't realized before that I screw my eyebrows together when reading. That I curl my lips everytime I take a sip of my coffee. That I pick my nose shamelessly and doesn't care less about it. That I smile excessively to random people that some random Aussie can somehow approach me and compliment my smile *blushes*. Amongst other things I don't even have the guts to mention here as to protect my self-image. *grins*
In the end, I'm grateful that my Valentine's Day this year could be spent by doing something that's actually fruitful for me. Personally.
*throws confetti once again*
OH YEAH!
Summer Trimester Results are out, and guess what? I PASSED ALL FOUR SUBJECTS!!
Another good news to share with you guys.
I promise myself that I'm going to work even harder in days, weeks, months, years to come.
Bye-bye college, welcome uni life!!
*hops around*
Have a blessed weekend full of love! *winks*
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