"And you ask me what I want this year
And I try to make this kind and clear
Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
Cuz I don't need boxes wrapped in strings
And desire and love and empty things
Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days

So take these words
And sing out loud
Cuz everyone is forgiven now
Cuz tonight's the night the world begins again

And it's someplace simple where we could live
And something only you can give
And that's faith and trust and peace while we're alive
And the one poor child that saved this world
And there's 10 million more who probably could
If we all just stopped and said a prayer for them

So take these words
And sing out loud
Cuz everyone is forgiven now
Cuz tonight's the night the world begins again

I wish everyone was loved tonight
And somehow stop this endless fight
Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days

So take these words
And sing out loud
Cuz everyone is forgiven now
Cuz tonight's the night the world begins again
Cuz tonight's the night the world begins again."
- Better Days Goo Goo Dolls

See the YouTube video here. Caught this song on Live From Abbey Road on TV the other night.

Music and Reading feed my soul.. what would I do without them?

SOoo... got my visa, paid for my flight, changed a heap of dollars into RMB (ouch!), more or less got all the main stuff done. Looks like I'm all set. And a glance at my nifty, little countdown counter tells me I'm 17 days away from the biggest adventure of my sorely lacklustre life. So why does it all feel so unreal?

I think I'm in denial. All in the name of preventing me from freaking out, of course. What AM I doing?

Because I'm not doing what I'm supposed to be doing...

S: Easy to fall in love with
H: You are funny and adorable
U: You're a person who likes to chill, not fussed about being the centre of attention 24/7 (hmm...)
Y: Best gf/bf anyone could ever ask (i'd like to think I'm more humble than that ;)
I: You have one fine ass (errr.. what??!!)
N: You are beautiful inside and out
G: Stubborn - cannot be told (what to do, I presume. How right..)

source taken from : BLOG

Added a new link on the right to PostSecret. It's alternately illuminating, depressing, amusing and sobering. Check it out.

And who knows, perhaps one day when I accumulate enough secrets I'll send one in.

What is hard SF? space opera?
And interestingly, I thought I preferred the fantasy genre.

There are some journeys you have to take alone. This is one of them. To see what I really am capable of, to test what I am made of, I have to do this.

But as the days pass and I meet up with friends I care for, friends I want to say goodbye to (but it's only for a while) there's a little heaviness to the soul, a little mellowness, a little melancholia (it's not forever!)... And yet there is also affirmation of love, cementing of bonds and reminders exactly why I adore my friends, how much they mean to me and the opportunity to bask in the immense joy they have brought to my life.

The me now has been shaped by the past, the me in the future will be shaped by experiences yet to come. I do this to learn, to grow, to enrich, and to live a life without regret or holding back. Certainly I will leave behind some regret and a whole lot of missing (family, friends, places, food, security...) , but there is also adventure and new experiences to look forward to.

After all, everyone is welcome to visit, anytime.

Beijing here I come! Now for all the logistics--visa application, hostel accommodation, air tickets, insurance, repairing my camera, getting a working laptop, resume documents, research books to get, meeting everybody before I leave, AND preliminary homework, which would be graded if I might add. I am so grateful so many of my friends are English majors or English teachers.

Decision: to stay on after my course to look for a job? or return home first?
Answer: stay on, but the thought of not coming back is scary!

Looking at things however, I might have to forego the panda plan. Perhaps I'll do it another time, or unless depending on how things pan out over there, I might still be able to make it.

For once in my life, I am actually planning for my future. I am glad my family and friends are all being so very supportive and encouraging of this. It gives me strength.

I am excited.

So I finally did it. I paid the deposit for the TEFL program in Beijing last night and am currently pending a confirmation of my reservation! If all goes well, the program starts May 7th.

Also in progress, I'm trying (hopefully) to coordinate a small group of friends to volunteer at the Woolong Reserve for pandas in Chengdu sometime in June for about two weeks. I'm currently in the process of asking for a customised program quote without accommodations as I know we can find extremely cheap hostel accommodations in Chengdu.

To anyone who happens to read this and are interested (and I mean anyone). Do contact me, ya?

My first campaign as a newly minted Passport participant was on giving the bluefin tuna a fighting chance.

Species extinction really is a staggering and sobering thought. If there is something, however simple or small I can do to help, I believe I owe it to my responsibility as an aware and responsible global citizen to do it. What would you tell your children or grandchildren in the future when the polar ice caps have melted and species like the cheetah, the giant panda or the polar bear are extinct, and you actually could have done something about it?

Realistically, not all the campaigns in progress on the Passport site will succeed. But there have been successes, and whatever success however small is a step foward in the right direction. If you feel so inclined and inspired, I welcome and urge you to join me as a Passport participant towards "Work[ing] for a living planet".

An exerpt from the edited email template provided by Passport that I sent to the governments of France, Italy and Spain for the above mentioned campaign,

"I believe that your leadership and support on behalf of your government in this endeavour is essential to avoiding the collapse of the bluefin tuna as a species. The bluefin tuna has a fighting chance at survival, but the species can only do it with your help. Help them survive."