Encounters

What a lovely weekend...maybe up to dinnertime?

I felt like I had done so many things in a day and met so many people. Both desirable and undesirable characters. And I feel compelled to voice my two-cents' worth here regarding my encounters.

i) It was FANTASTIC meeting up with my good friend at Sydney. We have not caught up for ages since he was transferred to the god-forsaken towny precinct for the last 2 terms. And it did not help when he crashed his beloved Indian-mobile during one of those tiring journeys over the weekend.

We had so much to confide...our work, the new people we met, our new perspectives of life, my new romance...

Though 4 years more junior than me, he exuded wisdom and maturity which were indeed rarities for his age. His initial idealism and under-exposure to diversed cultures gradually faded with our fated associations and influences.

I am truly thankful for having a valuable friend like him in this new Ozzie land.

ii) I was introduced to a new friend during this trip. SP was a mild-mannered, warm and extremely homely-looking lass from Malaysia who had been Ozzified. We were pretty much similar in age and she was extremely comfortable to hang out with. We had not brought our shortlived alliance to a more personal level, but I certainly hope it will progress to a deeper friendship.

iii) I met up with a distant colleague whom I had worked with briefly in my first few months. I was glad she came and let her hair down like the rest of us. She was slightly older and definitely more reserved, probably due to her upbringing and culture. I have deep-felt admiration for her tenacity and courage for what she had been through and given up. I hope she had truly enjoyed our company as much as we did with her presence.

iv) Perhaps there was one less desirable character whom I wish I had not been more closely acquainted with. The first impression had not been unpleasant but certainly not appealing as well. But I tried to open up and not judge the book by its cover. It was a pretty amiable friendship, albeit our extremely different personalities and outlooks. I guess her obviously nassicistic trait and critical comments about her own "nation" were still tolerable, but I will put my feet down if she had not, for the slightest effort, shown any sincerity to defend or support me when needed. It belied her innate sense of insecurity and inferiority complex, and her constant and fixated attempts to "re-classify" herself and pigeonhole others through her tinted glasses were laughable and unrealistic. I do not demand a lot from my friends but I would have certain expectations and positive selectivities at this stage of my life. I would not want to meet her again.

v) And I guess birds of the same kind do flock together. My brief but seemingly-long encounter with her equally young punky pal-in-identity-crisis definitely marred the rest of my day and unveiled some new revelations. I would not dismiss any inherent bias against any nation or culture for I do admit my own guilt in that, but I believe that a touch of maturity and sensitivity is crucial in a setting with the presence of international and multicultural origins. I would be fair and attribute his abhorable attitude to his own parental upbringing rather than his so-called ABC privilege, for I have fortunately been acquainted with much nicer and more matured individuals with similar backgrounds. Grow up, my poor little soul.

vi) At the end of the day, I could not have been more thankful to my wonderful friend here who had made the day possible. Her effervescent vibrance and immensed love for life were indeed positive influences for me and did, to a certain extent, made me a better person. Her recent shot of romance with her new beau may be slightly unsettling and worrisome but I trust that she would be sensible and cautious. She has my utmost support regardless of how it will turn out. Many hugs for you, Baby!