Warm hearts and a touched soul

It had been a bizarre week. A few days ago, my car is still in Wellington awaiting its rim which hadn’t been delivered from Auckland. I felt like tearing the face of that sales representative from Beaurepaires apart – but on hindsight, he’s just a pawn in the blasphemy of errors inherent in a country that suffers from a lack of effective operations management.

I’m currently sitting on a Singapore Airlines flight back home. Most of the passengers appear restless. I’ve just created a playlist and am listening to a list of songs from a compilation of 205 CDs. However, I felt warm and uneasy. Perhaps it’s the thermals I’m still wearing, or is it simply the withdrawal symptoms from the cool Antarctic gales that I’ve grown accustomed to, albeit with strikingly similar moans of complaints.

As I sat, I pondered upon the last days of my life in New Zealand as an international student. Though I acted macho at Palmerston North’s airport – I’m actually befuddled and in a state of confused hysteria. I was thinking about catching the plane, the people around me, the emotional attachments they radiate, whether my passport and ticket are in place and whether there is anything amiss. But the loudest voice in my head is one of protest and refutation. I keep telling myself – this is not the end. We shall meet again. The friendship that has blossomed so healthily in such a short period of time will not end here. I refuse to accept that. This is not goodbye. The end of an era denotes the beginning of another. Despite the clutter of thoughts and emotions, I was reminded of Kakok’s words. She said, “in this distant land, friends are the only ones I’ve got – they’re my family here”. And I found some solace through that thought – family ties do not break easy.

Prior to departing, whilst on the plane – my mind can’t help but playing flashbacks of the deeds that epitomizes the value of friendship. It’s heart-warming, truly. Unlike a heart-wrenching saga a few months ago, this time the tears that welled up are ones of bliss, gratefulness and resolve. Bliss for having granted the milk of human kindness and emotions. Grateful for having met and got acquainted with such amazing friends. Resolved, in making this friendship a lasting one.


Last day in Palmerston North

I cannot fully express these radical feelings that’s churning within me in words. Still, I wish to express my sincerest thanks and gratitude to my friends who has made my life a pleasant and meaningful journey in New Zealand. I still cannot get over the shock. It really touched me – having 14 of you guys coming all the way from Wellington, renting some cars and driving for 2 solid hours after class just to see me off. I’m touched, I truly am. It means a lot to me and I’m sure that while it lasted but a fleeting moment in time – it shall be preserved in my heart forever.

This is also true for my beloved friends in Palmerston North and Dunedin – there were quite a few who called and sent messages – whether through the cellphone, email or ‘friendster’. Thank you for all the little thoughtful deeds that defined the true meaning of friendship. We have gone through much together, and did heaps of stuffs – from simple things like watching a sunset together, to spurring one another to jump off together (from that bungy platform), driving around New Zealand, learning to cook, playing those silly games, skiing, waking one another up to go to the flea market, cooking then selling food at the square and school to raise funds, sharing our life’s secrets, confiding on one another when the going gets tough and of course – encouraging one another to focus on our studies.


At the airport 

Going through these builds character in our lives, whether we have noticed it or not. Education encompasses a sphere of boundary larger than just academic excellence – one has to develop many aspects of social skills through experiential learning. This is manifested in our everyday actions and thoughtful deeds to everyone; including professional acquaintances, our friends and loved ones. I wish to thank each and every one of you who had been kind enough to open up their hearts and saw a friend in me. I also wish to take this opportunity to apologize for any wrongdoings that I may have inflicted upon any of you whether knowingly or unknowingly. I hope you guys will forgive me on whatever shortcomings that I may have propagated since the day we met. You guys shall always have a special place in my heart.


Last day in Palmerston North 

This is definitely not goodbye. We will meet again, if God wills it. Nothing on Earth is eternal, but our deeds shall live forever in the hearts of those we touched.

PS: I have refrained from naming the individuals, to be fair to all and keep within the allowed word limit.

When worst and best permeates fabrics of the week

this posting was meant for the week starting 4th july... it had been a hectic week before that - i've been to wanganui to attend my friends' convocation and bade them farewell before they return to malaysia. met abg zaid before going there to clean up his computer of viruses and do some maintenance for it too. before i proceeded to wellington - there were lotsa loose ends still not tied. rene was going back, and i had to ask him to sell off some stuffs before he returned home. just in case things like last yr happens again. its kinda irresponsible of him, but it is to be expected. met up with abg zapi to pass him some installers as well.

upon reaching welly, i went straight up to boulcott. yusuf was there as well. they're doing this cover pages for the bersatu's info. booklet. i took over when i came since they had lotsa stuffs to do at the rec centre. probs start when the ink cartridges ran out of ink. the colors are no longer true, and i had less than 45mins to finish it. the inkjet takes abt 1.5 mins per page, due to the picture size. i went to hassanal for help. i was thinking that it'll be cheaper and faster to print it in school if it's in grayscale. consequently, we rushed to his workplace where we printed abt 100 pages in less than 3 mins. thus the job of the day was done. i stayed over at the rec centre to watch the commencement ceremony. i stood in awe as dozens of contingents pour into the rec centre. the malaysian students in nz were quite a united lot. through a strong sense of camaraderie and patriotism, things were done in an orderly and fun sense. there's this family kind of feeling to it. it's more like a get together function than a sports competition.

i met quite a no. of familiar faces then. people whom i have pledged my friendship with. friends whom i respect. i stood whilst the negaraku was being sung - half controlling my laughter, watching zahrin and sita (fellow singaporeans) who had been tricked into being part of the wellington's team contingent - and sitting on the floor with the rest of them. i can see irma running around, taking photographs. and she got her sis to take photographs of her as well. the various high commission ppl took turns to the podium to say a word or two. most of them spoke extempore, albeit with some jittery moments. shawn led the contingents to taking the athletes' pledge. he took it with earnestness and a tad of his shawn smirk. i spoke to jackie a lot - cause the others were busy doing their things. kakok looked amazingly childlike in her new pair of glasses. anas sported a long flowing hair, olivia is still as quiet as ever, jan, naz, is, yus, ike and others were all busy at their posts, doing their stuffs. it reminded me of the days in adventure club. i missed my frens in sg. seriously. the memories we had are still vividly fresh, and i'd do anything to relive those nostalgic moments. perhaps, this scenario serve to remind me of the beautiful things a good team can achieve together. it shall inspire me to do greater stuffs in the future. there'll be a time when i have to face my tests. and i shall not fear that day when it comes...