Post Paper Party

The result of too much studying or maybe too much vodka.
Headed out to party after finishing the long Human Rights paper on personal liberties which ironically deprived me of my liberties. First stop was a party at one of the kollegiums and then it was chill out and chit chat at a small bar downtown. It has been a while since I've gone out late and I suppose the weather is marginally better for doing so now. Having said that, the skies are grey today and the temperature is in the sub 10 region. Conducive weather for sleeping off the after effects of last night. More photos here.

Alone

Alone is not loneliness
Took this photo on my afternoon walk through the walking trails today.
I needed to get out of my room. The bloody Human Rights paper was making an attempt on my sanity. Partly out of boredom and out of the desire to maximise my flickr mileage, now that I am a "pro"~ in other words a person stupid enough to pay for a free service, I've uploaded some Holga shots to use up my monthly quota. Enjoy.

Threshold

I love the window motif that Hopper employs; windows to suggest infinite possibilities. I really do not give him enough credit when it comes to inspiration. But in a way I guess that is good. It is not right to associate myself with the works of a master. Yet his perspectives have always been subtly present.

Dinner last night with the remainder of the Aarhus gang was good. Curry, wine and laughs.

Lulled by yesterday's good weather and undeterred by today's dark skies and drizzle, I headed to the beach after class.
I needed space, I needed air.
It was chilly but refreshing.
Cold crisp sea breeze always clears the head.

Light

If I was weak forgive me, but I was terrified.
You brushed my eyes with angels wings, full of love;
The kind that makes devils cry.

Spring

Cherry orchard in Chasselay, France. It was beautiful walking through the orchard, the warm sunshine filtering through the cherry blossoms, gently caressing my face. The flirty sweet fragrance of the flowers fills the air. This is Spring.

Never Again

Arbeit Macht Frei, Work makes you Free. Dachau Concentration camp.
Back from my road trip. I think the photos that I took this time round are really crappy. I would like to blame everything from the weather to the camera but as always the fault lies with me. I think I was just tired from the long drives. Nevertheless, it was a really good trip, not touristic but definately fun.
Of all the places that I visited on this trip, Dachau has left the deepest impression on me. I once read somewhere that rationalisation is the devil's greatest weapon in the fight against good. In a way Dachau, Auschwitz and all the other concentration camps seem to substantiate this point. If we can rationalise something, we can justify it and we can overcome our conscience. If we can rationalise that Jews and Soviets are sub humans, we can justify their extermination. Do not underestimate the power of rationalisation; the power it posseses to shift the moral standard. Concentration camp guards, SS officers, Gestapo officers, were loving fathers, were sons, had lovers, had normal relationships with fellow humans. Yet they were able to systematically exterminate other "sub humans". Because they were able or had been indoctrined to rationalise the moral standard to exclude such persons. Rationalisation has many faces. The Nazis used science, laws, propoganada to rationalise the Master Race theory.
Are we at risk of shifting the moral standard today? Is it really a slippery slope? Is there sanctity of life? Which is the bigger problem? Nationalist parties, parties who campaign on bigotry and hatred or euthanasia and abortion? What are the proper safeguards? Are these safeguards a hindrance to modern life? So many questions but no definite answer. There is no definite answer for me because I see so many points of view but don't know which to choose.
But I do know one thing for sure. Never Again.

Running

Another bench to add to my collection, this time from Skogafoss, Iceland.
Sick and tired of working on my paper.
It is a gross violation of my Human Rights.
Tomorrow I leave for my road trip. I really feel that I deserve this holiday even though I probably don't. It is a flight to Lyon and then a 2 week drive back to Denmark through Germany. I would love to provide you more details but I don't have any. There is no schedule, just a start, some places to see and a final destination. Whats the fun in a road trip if everything's all planned out.

Maybe I will find another bench maybe not. I keep running to places to look for things that aren't there. Well, at least the places are beautiful.

Good luck to my law school brethren all over the world especially those back home, who are or will be having exams!
If it is any consolation, this time next year we'll all be suffering together.

Reflections...

Reaching out to the other side,
In the hopes of making a connection.
Trying to stay in touch.

Finally booked my flight back to Singapore. This weekend has been a hectic rush, trying to finish another 30 page paper; this time on the UN Human Rights System, doing some research for the road trip on Tuesday, doing even more research for the trip with my brother in May and above it all trying to stay alive.
Amidst all this chaos, I managed to find the time to think...

1. I wonder if there is anything absolute in life? We all like to say its either this or that, A or B, do and don't regret. Isn't life just varying shades of grey? I find it hard to forget about option B even after I've chosen option A. To me, its more like moving up the scale, closer towards A, further from B. Its not really a matter of regret, it is a matter of remembering. Remembering through emotions and feelings. Maybe I'm just one of those "lucky" ones who has never had a painful experience to forget. Maybe I like to remember things that force me to choose, the things that compelled me to make decisions in life.
2. That I can almost imagine the familiar warm embrace of humidity that will greet me when I step out of Changi Airport.
3. That I really like flying home at night, as the plane crosses pitch black seas and land masses towards a brightly lit island.
4. That I like the row of windmills in the sea on the flight approach to Copenhagen airport. I always imagine that they are waving goodbye to me, or welcoming me back.
5. That I think this exchange stint has been so instrumental in teaching me the lessons of life, the lessons that you don't find in the classroom. The lessons that everyone should learn.
6. That you can try to run away from everything but it will eventually hunt you down. How can you run away from that which is within you?
7. That it is a really surreal to get caught in a snow and hail storm while playing soccer; standing in a white field in t-shirt and shorts.
8. That in church today I heard the line "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" and was reminded that even Jesus questions.

Atmospheric

Like I've said before, it is nice to smile from the heart once in a while.
Its even better when we smile together.

Tired

Not everything is bright when the sun shines.
Too much colour distracts and contorts; varying shades of grey offer a basal standard.
Perfect for making observations.

I want a soft place, where I can rest; somewhere between the hard place and the rock.
I am tired of running.

STOP

I've always been a childish sort of a man. Back home I used to put on my driving shoes, hop into my car and head for my favourite roads around the reservoir; imagining that the selespeed gear shift on my steering wheel actually made me an F1 driver and that the bendy roads were a WRC circuit.
Childish fantasies.
Of course most of us know that there is no such thing as an F1 WRC circuit.
Of course all of us know that I am no racing driver.
Indulging in such fantasies, immersing in dreams and idle thought has always been a forte of mine. I even dare say that I am a natural talent or an expert in this field. Apparently, growing up has not evolved away such tendencies but merely masked them; masking them behind stubs of facial hair, wrinkles from a worn frown and dark eyebags. Yet I've always been silently proud of myself for thinking that I have mastered the art of indulging in fantasy with one foot firmly planted on the ground. Pragmatism. When it comes down to the crunch, I always seem to know that I need to snap out of my dream world and face the harsh reality of life. However of late my mastery of this magical ability seems to be lacking. On pain of sounding like a self apologist the only defence I can offer is that this dream has been going on for so long. I have been living in a dream world where home is still a few months away. Always a few months away.
But now I am running out of months and reality has started to bite. Nibbling at first but now with a vengence as its teeth sink beyond the numbed upper layers of my consciousness. So many things to do yet so much inertia. This is not about love or relationships. This is about doing the things that I need to do. This is the urgent call for pragmatism. The same pragmatism that has landed me in Law School over an "arts" degree. The same pragmatism that tells me that golf and photography are hobbies and not career options. The same pragmatism that tells me to dream and not make dreams my master.
It is time to press the STOP button and hop off the dream bus.
It is time to come home. Enough fun and games. Enough fantasy.

Spring Snow

Today was just one of those days where nothing seems to go right.
It got off to a horrible start and ended with a bang, think Hiroshima not NYE celebrations.
Some say that it is so pretty to see everything covered in snow.
Some say that it is horrible because it is wet and cold.
There will always be 2 sides to the coin.
Which side you choose to see says a lot about your believes and what you hold dear.

Reflections...

Just got back from a night of French, Food and Football with the the FCDK.
Had trouble sleeping last night again and in a way I guess that was a good thing.
I spent the night thinking...
1. that if I could see that the pain of saying goodbye to friends is a worthy price to pay for friendship, why couldn't I see that sacrificing things that I like is also a worthy price to pay for being loved.
2. that I can never travel the world in my life time.
3. that I am fortunate and blessed to have a girl waiting for me to come home. Isn't that more than enough to make one want to go home.
4. that the world is bigger than just me; my world comprises of those that I have chosen to let in and to these peoople I owe a responsibility.
5. that it is easy to preach to another about responsibility but so dififcult to put it into practice.
6. that although Aarhus may lack grandoise architecture or may appear industrial, it has a lived-in feel, like a pair of worn comfy slippers. Maybe I see it through rose tainted glasses but the glasses are there because of memories and experiences. A place with nice buildings to me is a tourist destination, not necessarily a home.
7. that I like how in Scandinavia you do not have gantries to check that you pay your train or bus fare. I like this system of trust. I also take heart in the fact that it functions.
8. that in a society based on trust and respect, cheating on buses and stealing bedsheets from youth hostels may give one the satisfaction of thinking that they have beaten the system. But to me, its almost like being invited to a friend's home and walking in with muddy shoes. Even if one plans to be an entrepreneur or a business person I think the right thing to do would be to note these gaps in the system, not to exploit it.
9. that in 2 months I will be home, with the warm sunshine on my face and warmth in my heart.
10. that it is nice to smile from the heart.

Solfar

Viking Sun Craft by Jon Gunnar Arnason, Iceland's most photographed sculpture.

Bought a box to send home some of my stuff today. Its amazing how much sentimental junk one can accumulate in just a couple of months. With the box filled up and weighing in at just under 20kg, the trip to the post office will be one of heartache and backache.
There goes my progress package, from the Singapore State to the Danish State.

More photos from Reykavik. The smallest capital city in the world.

Memoirs of a Geysir

Apologies for the tacky title, I just couldn't help it. The temptation was too much to handle.
As you all know, I can resist anything but temptation.
Iceland is green and Greenland is ice. Well, that is what everyone says but Iceland does have its fair share of ice too. Some places were still iced over despite it being spring.
Geysirs, waterfalls, glaciers and black sand beaches.
Simply beautiful.
Crossing from Europe to North America without needing a passport.
Very amusing.
More photos from the natural side of Iceland and I don't mean natural blondes.

Cool Blue

The blue lagoon, Iceland's most visited spot.
I'm finally done with my mammoth 30 page International Trademarks Paper. Mammoth is really the right word for it. It is big, clumsy and as intelligent as those furry creatures that couldn't stave off extinction.
Enough of Babydry, Doublemint and Kinetic watches. I swear I'll never eat at a Taco Cabana ever! The paper could have been done much sooner and in a less painful manner. All I need is a lousy pass but the goddamn Singaporean in me keeps wanting to do better than just a pass. The end result of this struggle between exchange jem and singaporean jem?
A mediocre paper.
Not shitty enough to fall under a barely pass and not good enough to be noticed. The paper probably has more holes than a swiss cheese but I don't really give a shit now.(Yes! Exchange jem is back at the wheel! Hurray there is hope for mankind now!) And NO, not referring to any particular brand of cheese here in spite of the geographical description.

More photos from the blue lagoon here. It is really hard to imagine anywhere else on earth like it. In fact, it really does feel like the set of a Sci Fi movie. Set in the middle of a lava field with steamy columns billowing. The ambient temperature maybe hovering around zero but the water is a lovely 38 degrees. Perfect for soaking away the stress of being a student.