just minishorts.

I was at A' Famosa Resort, Malacca on December 26. While the catastrophic events on Boxing Day whirled around us, I was oblivious to the disaster until hours later when Eric messaged me with news. Over 70 of us were celebrating cultural diversity at the Lions Club Malaysia District 301-B1 Malaysia Youth Exchange Programme Winter Camp. Some of you would have remembered my participation in the Summer Camp earlier in 2004.

This was taken on the bus, early on Day 1.

We taught the Japanese kids how to make little bookmarks by doing the anyaman.

Aya got the hang of weaving pretty quickly, as you can see.

Among the other things we shared with our Japanese friends was Henna Art. This was EXTREMELY popular.

Elaine and I primming up for the Cultural Night.

We had to be ready by 7.30 every morning, regardless of the late nights. This is the Organizing Committee standing outside the shuttle.

The must-have drag queen fashion show was a blast, as usual.

Here are the organizing committee members.

And the group photo… to officiate the end of the event.

I suppose my 2004 Christmas/2005 New Year's Day celebrations were definitely set apart from the previous years. I met new friends, had good great fun (meaningful fun!) in Malacca, spent time with loved ones when I got back and returned with albums full of great photos as testimony.

The food. Endless. There're still left over fishballs in the fridge waiting to be cooked.

Group one.

Group two.

Carmen cutting the cake, Pooi See helping out.

The varsity mates.

At my desk in the office, I've put up a row of the famed McDonald's postcards that forms the above slogan… now that I'm looking at it, the catchy tune bumps around in my head and I can't seem to push it off my mind. Yes I am enjoying myself tremendously, the new year has been good despite the irrationality of occasional stumbles that render the ride rough and bumpy.

In the hectic rush of the end-of-year festive season, I've managed to find peace of mind, I guess, and perhaps that has greatly influenced the way I start to view things. What did I say my resolution was? Embrace life.

Ever since you-know-what happened, I've been trying my utmost best to look at things in the brightest light possible, trying to seek that silver lining in every gloomy cloud that blocks my sight. I've come to sort of realise that while sometimes things can go so sour that you can't find a single glimmer of hope, that process of attempt is in itself a beautiful thing, and the treasures that you unconsciously amass via those attempts are of immeasurable value. No, life is not always beautiful, but sometimes, even the pains that accompany the happiness can be exquisitely important to define the gratification you will acquire.

How has life been in the past month?

A roller coaster ride, I suppose. It's as if the forces of nature decided to collide on me in an immense hurricane, and in the aftermath of things, the calm after the storm is really a welcome state of peace. Several questions have been lingering in my mind for such a long time, and up to a few weeks ago, I've grown to resign to the factual solidity and coldness of 'harsh reality'. Once a upon a time, I thought abstract concepts that were impossible to define with a dictionary were like that because they were… well, abstract, and non-existent.

Once upon a time, indeed.

I don't know what to believe now, you know? Maybe I've decided to throw my caution to the wind again, and embrace the multitude of possibilities that lie ahead of me. And for once in my life, it actually feels good to be careless.

On New Year's eve I had a closed party for my AIESEC friends. It's become a tradition to have reunions of this sort annually, and somehow, along the way, my house has become the place for such events… which is quite cool really.

The resident chef Carmen was in her element on Thursday night, shopping for fish cakes and crab sticks, and on Friday afternoon, it was my turn to do the additional grocery hunting, while Eric decided to sponsor the carrot cake for the 'ushering-in the new year' ceremony.

As usual, we had an avalanche serving of food, and the sausages just seemed never ending. The prawns disappeared in the first fifteen minutes, of course, and the bottles of wine just went and went, while Chee Fai busied himself to the honourable job of (un)screwing the wine bottles.

Looking at the photos and the videos of the night has led me to realise that we've all grown up, the bunch of us who used to rush from faculty to faculty seeking lecturers for forgiveness… or skipping classes due to an over-exciting night at the Bukit Serdang mamak after a long three-hour AIESEC meeting. Everyone's working now, and many of us have found an other half… my mum mentioned that it was like a 'come, see who I'm with now' party as well?it was quite fun seeing how Mr Boyfriend treated my girl pal, how Ms Girlfriend treated my boy pal, or how so-and-so have hitted it off with so-and-so…

At 2.30 a.m., Raja and Whitsney were going gah-gah at the sight of Kate Beckinsale in Serendipity when Eric decided to come back for a visit. Then, as we sat watching the two lovebirds argue about God-sent signs of 'The One', we giggled like little kids while remembering how perfect things seemed and how akin to Serendipity our lives really were at the moment…

Later at around 3, when all had left, and Carmen and JC retired to my bedroom (amidst one-minute intervals of sms beeps emitting from JC's handphone), Eric and I sat in the dimmed lights of my living corner, watching a rerun of the movie which I had put on to play, and we talked about our lives past and the people who have left footprints in our hearts. The night was calm, the air was cool…most importantly, the company was warm and the feeling was exquisite…

So New Year's Day was perfect?while the rest of the world whirled around us in the wake of the recent catastrophic events, somewhere in KL, rest assured it was ushered in in goodwill and trust, and a great many toasts to friendship and love.

One month doesn't seem that long after all, especially since so many things have happened in that single month. 2004 ended with a tremendous rush, the events that cascaded upon us have left scars that are meant to be remembered, probably because someone up there thinks we're far too forgetful.

Yes, we are forgetful aren't we? We inflict catastrophes upon ourselves, and after that we scramble in frenzied efforts to salvage damages, but we don't seem remember the radioactive effects of mistakes we've made… then when acts of God fall upon us like what happened on Boxing Day, we are rudely shocked at the apparent massacre and hurtle towards each other in unified promises to work as one.

But how long is this to last? Haven't we ever given thought to how much we have actually destroyed ourselves? Yes, natural waves have engulfed our shores and swallowed up thousands of lives, but how many millions have been lost to our own actions done by our own hands? And as if committing massive suicide isn't enough, we have to condone our very own habitats to irreversible abuse…

If I choose not to talk about this anymore, it isn't because I want to forget, its just that I think too much has been spoken of it… but it is, as always, time to move on, armed with memories of the past that will aid us in the betterment of the future (corny, but true)…

What have I resolved to do?

Adore family. Appreciate love. Value friends. Embrace life.

Happy new year, folks.