Odysseys of George

Left to Alor Setar at 10.30am. My sister, Sherly and her kids were in the car with me. It was a going to be a Christmas reunion with some members of the family missing namely my eldest sister, Susan and her family, Raja, Suraj and Sara and just another person, Ruban.

I am not good at long distance drive and have difficulty keeping my eyes wide open having to stop many times before reaching destination. Thank goodness my sister drove part of the drive back home.

We met some Harley bikers and later some antic bikers.

Then we hit the lush green padi fields - my home state, Kedah, which is the rice bowl for the country. The calmness of the padi fields is what I miss the most of my hometown. As I drive down to the capital city, Alor Setar, the air gently whispers into my ear, “Welcome home, my son!” I raise a smile, and memories of those golden days came back. I still love my hometown.

As Christmas was heading along, there was an invite to see the famous Juwita Suwito perform at Bangkok Jazz, KL. The invite was from Wagner, if I got his name correct, Marlene’s cousin, a drummer for Juwita. But before I continue, who is Juwita Suwito? What! You really don’t know!

Well, Juwita Suwito is a Melaka-born, Indonesian-Singaporean descend jazz singer who is also the vocal coach in Malaysian Idol. She recorded a demo which ended up being Akademi Fantasia’s theme song, “Menuju Puncak”. Juwita Suwito has also just been announced as the country winner for the 2007 International Music Awards in the Best Female Solo Artist category. Her recent release “Juwita Suwito for Real!” is set to be a hit!

So how was it? Well, I enjoyed it. She sang well. I have always loved to go for such things. And at that, I was thinking about my eldest sister, Susan, who loves this form of entertainment too!
I would miss her for Christmas reunion.

Here are some pictures and hopefully a video!

That is Juwita

Wagner, the drummer.

Part of the band

Wagner, Marlene’s cousin. Thanks for the invite, Wagner.

And a video clip I took. Did not do justice to the real thing!

And this is from her webpage

Ah! I love the weeks prior to Christmas. Everything so jolly and the decorations oh! so wonderful. The spirit of Christmas can be felt in the air and the Christmas songs continuously rings in my mind.

The churches and other Christian groups begin their preparations for Christmas and as such is the Christmas Cantata organized by the Trinity Methodist Church, Petaling Jaya. It was held on the 15th and 16th of December and was presented by their choir called The Sanctuary Choir. I was invited to this by a patient of mine and since I had a special someone to follow me, I attended the Cantata. We, both, enjoyed the Cantata very much.

This years shopping deco perhaps for me goes to Mid Valley, Megamall.

This year due to the events occurring in my life, I spent very little time with my niece and nephew. However, I was glad that I was able to bring them here to show them the decorations and thus putting them into the Christmas spirit too.

Before getting infused with the Christmas spirit

After getting infused with the Christmas spirit, so fast? - that is my secret!

I hope you feel it as much as I do!

The weekend saw me packing my bags for what is probably the last dive trip for the year. The group was mostly the same as the group that went to Redang recently. It was just after a week, after the ferry accident that occurred. That made us worry but like one of my articles I wrote before, was any of our public transportation safe before. We Malaysians, tend to take life for granted and as long as something never happens, it is assumed that it would never happen. Then when it actually occurs, all hell breaks loose and suddenly we become all excited and angry just to find that all goes back to how it was within 2 weeks after the last body was found. We, Malaysian are that naive that even when a fortune teller tells us to throw a watermelon into the sea, if it floats then the victim is probably alive - that also can believe and practice. Forgive me for my ignorance but as far as I know all watermelons float like coconuts. So can we, then, really blame others for this mishap when we ourselves agree to board a boat when it overloaded and further not insist on being given a life jacket or if given reluctantly wear it or if possible do not.

Anyway, I digress. The trip went well and we all enjoyed ourselves. We did a total of 5 dives and I must say, the second day was far better in terms of visibility and the marine life.

These are some of the pictures.

Part of the dive group.

As I sit to log my dives, I realise I have to make another 9 more dives to reach 100. To make it a memorable 100th dive, maybe I should dive at Sipadan or another overseas point, The Red Sea, maybe! Wow!

The silence cracks into bursting laughters,
The face is carved with a smiling lip,
Contended and happy,
But yet deep within,
I feel……,
Something amiss!

The vast ocean and its marine life,
Fills the heart aglow,
The silence in depths,
Where just the breath and heart beat,
Comes in unison - just breathtaking,
The freedom felt,
The joy that fills the air,
But as I ascend,
My heart skips a beat in anticipation,
Then within a second, I shudder feeling
Something deep within myself
Amiss……

As I dwell deep within myself,
I fail to remove the remnants of my previous episode,
I have embedded her within the depth of my recesses,
Far too safe for anyone to reach
Even from myself
Despite all that, that has occurred,
The events have left a significant part of me empty.

As I sit and ponder at my future,
I cannot help but wonder,
“Love conquers all”, is this true?
Is love the only important thing,
In a relationship!
Deep within, my mind screams a loud NO,
As my heart soaks with sadness at reality.

Picking up my shattered pieces,
I ask myself should I plunge myself into this again?
Can I trust another again totally?
For every gesture I see in another,
Would only reflect those of hers!

Talking to a friend I realise,
That as much as I hate her now,
For the words uttered,
For the gestures and actions done,
I still am very much in love with her,
In love with the unchanged her that I initially fell in love with!

Amiss,
Were my feelings for the last few weeks,
I countered them by watching movies,
Almost all were seen,
But yet almost immediately thereafter,
The emptiness creeps in,
Faster than lightning!

Can I be able to love again?
Maybe but the truth is,
Can I be able to trust another again?
Difficult but I suppose,
With time, with time!

Hi bloggers!

10 days have past since my last entry. It felt like a roller coster ride but it ain’t over yet only to look like it is getting faster and goodness am I beat and dead tired. However, I must say I am enjoying life to the max!

Before I continue, I was awarded

by Eastcoastlife
Well, ECL I will get to this later!

Goodness, I have so much to say and barely know where to start. Over the previous weekend from the 12th to the 15th of July, I attended an Annual Underwater Photography Competition
and guess what?! — I got the first prize for Best Macro Shot. Surprised, I gladly accepted the award! This is what I got as the first prize.

This was the shot that got me the first prize.

These are some of my other shots. Will update with the other shots later.

Then on the clinical front, I have lots of pictures and stories to share with you bloggers but I suppose it would wise to do it on another day. But for a start a radiological quiz for those interested!

Any takers?