photographic memories

for those interested, you can view some of my aussie pics at picasaweb.google.com/lionsuit

i saw the fireworks on saturday, over at the esplanade. it was excellent and the whole place was filled with people. i mean, the place was just overfilled with so many people, some waiting from 3 hours before the fireworks actually started. i waited for 1 1/2 hour sitting there waiting. but i must say that the wait was worth it. it was a spectacular performance and it was much longer than those from last year.
there were lots of photographers there too. i bet they must have been there many many hours before in order to 'chop' the best place to take their photo.

photos of the fireworks just seemed so empty, because you don't feel the intensity and hear the loud bangs that come along with them. photos show the colours thats all. its very different from being there. same for the photos of my overseas trip. they bring back great memories when i look at them but the feel is just not there. when i look at my photos taken of the great ocean road, they look pretty nice but it just cannot beat the feeling of actully being there, hearing the waves beating against the cliffs, feeling the wind blowing, so cold and seeing the magnificent sight in front of you. indeed, something to behold.

sometimes, we just have to experience it first-hand. photos serve to remind us of things that we have experience but they can never substitute those experiences.

do i make sense?

time after time

i am guessing that you can never understand or know someone well enough, no matter how much time you both have been friends. and you will never know how a person is getting along until you actually call or meet up with the person.

i was at borders on saturday, just doing some browsing and i bumped into an old friend whom i had not seen since my uni days, some 6 years ago. i told her that i was hesitant to call out to her at the beginning because i recognized the face but not the body. no no no, don't be mistaken. why i said that was because she was obviously pregnant, 5 1/2 months to be exact. so now you know what i meant by that statement of mine. she was still a happy person and it was good to speak to her again.

yesterday, i got off early, cos i was on course. needless to say, the course ended early and so i went to look up my friend of 16 years. we had not really been in contact for some time until recently, when football got started on sundays. there were brief conversations on the phone but those were never enough, were they?
it must have been a hard couple of years for him because the moment we sat down with our teas, he started pouring out all the issues that were bugging him. it seemed that his family was not getting on well. the surprise was that this problem had been simmering for many many years now. here was someone whom i had know for 16 years and been through lots with him but sometimes you never really know a person well enough. he was not the sort who would just pour out his sorrows. he was more of the sort who would keep everything in.
we spent a good 3 hours that evening just talking about things. things that we would never imagine we would talk about. at times, i felt so bad because here was a friend of 16 years and yet i felt like i do not know him at all. i'm glad i met up with him...

have you called someone you cared for but have not spoken to her/him for a long time now? maybe you might want to consider calling and meeting up with them?