Friday, June 29, 2007

ever watched "crash"? sometimes i feel so afraid i'll turn into sandra bullock's character. angry, paranoid and unhappy for the longest time. we look at her and think, nar, we'll never be that anal. but you know what? it doesn't seem so impossible, at least for myself.

i didn't sleep much last night. i keep thinking and thinking. but this isn't really something new. everytime i'm about to leave the country, i get like this. i start thinking about goodbyes, all sorts of goodbyes. death, especially. i start thinking about all the relationships i have in life. i start thinking about things i should and want to do. have i flown a kite yet? have i eaten ba chor mee at 85 yet? have i had the conversations i've really wanted to have with certain people? did i make my peace with everyone? did i let them all know just how much i love them?

but late last night as i lay in bed, i felt disappointed and scared. i felt that my last days here would be bitter and rushed. i felt that i hadn't made my peace with some people. i felt that i had forgotten to love some people. i felt that i still hadn't been loved the way i want to be. i felt that i had failed to "get" some people and failed to be "gotten" by others. and i just cried helplessly into my pillow as though i were grieving for something.

time's running out for me here. i know it's not like i'm dying. but we can never be too sure about that. and being away from almost everyone you've ever known and loved, you just can't take chances here. that's why the moment between life and death is so intense. everything becomes brighter and bigger and i guess a sense of isolation also kicks in because the people around you can't understand that.

don't get me wrong. i love travelling. it made up most of my dreams when i was younger and still does. but there's a tricky part to travelling. two, actually. the goodbyes. and then, the hellos. (how do you start over? just.like.that.)

romance, friendships, break-ups, births, deaths, going away, coming home, life before death, life after death. you gotta admit, there's some travelling involved there. some hellos, some goodbyes. and the heart will undergo some extremities. intense pain, the aches seem almost unbearable. intense joy, as though you would just burst any second.

i just needed to say this, to who i don't know. we're all bursting with things we're dying to say, we all just want to be gotten. but there's lots to be thankful for too. and god forbid i ever forget to be grateful! i'm sad, but i'm also really alot of other things. so stay tuned for the next post...

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

hey shireen!
Just tot i pop by to say hi.
i think ur 1 of the more intellectual blogs ever. haha reading ur blog is like tearing a page out of my diary. haha :)
i totally agree w u man..ahhhh doesnt live just past us by? u should compile all entries and publish them into a book man :)

grace y

Reenie said...

hello gracie!! nice to see you here! haha, it's funny. i was just thinking about that this morning in the toilet! how all these posts might just be forgotten one day and if only i could compile it into a book, where many years later, someone from a few generations later might find it and blow the dust off it and suddenly, my world and i exist again...just a fun thought... =)

take care gracie...catchya at the next gathering hopefully!!! ding tai fung ar?? haha.

Jason said...

Boogie boogie boogie!

Leaving is a very difficult thing to do. For me.. it was the not knowing when I'm coming back that really freaked me out.. also knowing that my vocation.. or career opportunity meant that i might not be able to come back.. ever.

You're going to miss alot of things at home.. can tell u that. and its going to be difficult.. really difficult. no point telling u its not going to be difficult. Starting over, meeting knew people, and establishing the intimacies that you have with your friends, MSC and your family in sillypore, will seem almost virtually IMPOSSIBLE. You're going to feel insecure because you are different and you realise how different you are, and you will be frightened many a times.

These are just a spectre of the feelings that come as I left the country... on the contrary, i experienced; a new cultural identity, colourful experiences, things i swear i would never have seen if i haven't left the country, interaction with people i never thought existed, exchanging so much, ideas, knowledge, seeing so much, playing so much, finding a new me, a new identity, and a new strength to further my interests.

How to survive it?

Different people have different methods, some don't even need to sweat over it.. maybe you're that some, maybe not..

but i quote Martin Luther King; "Not the deed which you choose, but that which befalls you against your will, your mind, and your desire, that is the path you must tread, thither do I call you, there be you His disciple, that is your time, that is the path, your Master trod"

Your destiny doesn't come in an addressed envelope wrapped pretty in pink, it comes in the most unpromising and unattractive of presentations. Thither do I call you, there be you His disciple, THAT, is your time.

Love,

Jason

Reenie said...

heya jason,

i guess 5 months is nothing compared to your n months! haha. thanks for your wise words. yeap, destiny doesn't usually come in such a pretty package and i guess that's exactly what makes it so thrilling and exciting to unravel as scary as it is!

so much awaits me and i can't be more thankful for everything up till this moment and i'm joyful though parting is such sweet sorrow. =P

and i know when my heart sings, i'll know i'm exactly where i'm supposed to be and i'll smile. =)

the zee said...

hey shir, glad to see you writing again. i agree about the sadness of hellos and goodbyes, and the intensity of it all.

i hope you are safely in NZ, having the best time ever now... and even though whatever tough times you have there seem so horrendous, remember that things will eventually work out, and you'll be stronger for it. (i wish i'd known that for sure while i was on exchange, and times were tough)

in the end, even the bad memories make up part of your good ones. ;)

Big hug, stay safe there!! And keep blogging ;)

Reenie said...

hi zee!! thanks for the shoutout and encouragements! yeap, safely in nz and having some of the best times ever. =)

know it won't all be smooth-sailing and raisin-free(i hate raisins), and i will remember your words during those times.

enjoy the rest of break now that your internship's over and done with. really, just treat yourself! you deserve it! ;)