The New Life Of Lokman

Hi all,

Finally, I'm writing again. After countless half-baked attempts and what-not. *Sighs* Life's no longer a breeze for me. The world just passes me by, and I feel stuck. The root cause of the problem? NS (National Service). Need I say more?

The old timers say your service years will pass you by swiftly, bringing with it found memories that can only be built up by constantly being in close contact with the other person. Well readers, that, in my opinion, is a half-truth at its best, and an outright lie at its worst. When, will my time end? I feel as thought as there are invisible shackles locking up my wrists, and a very heavy burden on my shoulders. The truth of the matter is, lately, I've been feeling very depressed. For reasons that I can't elaborate on due to the NS censorship, I've been feeling very down on my luck.

God.... I look at my old entries, and I really can't believe how happy and joyful I sound. I hope there's still a glimmer left of that old me when I come out of NS. Hey, I'm so down, I cheer myself up by looking at my old entries. How pathetic can I get? :P

Well, at least I know I still got a bit of that old joker in me. I believe writing things out really helps. It's no good keeping everything balled up inside of you. You'll eat your own heart out.

Since it's the beginning of a new year, let's start things out fresh and clean. So, I'll reintroduce myself to you, my faithful readers.

Hi, my name is Lokman Hakim and I'm currently serving my National Service. I lost a lot of weight, probably around 15 - 13 kilo grammes, so I definitely don't look like the old me. (I look better, I hope. :P) I love reading and learning, especially since my NS job is so...., so very boring. I've read a lot of books and went to some courses on Human Behavior, so I'm some sort of a Profiler now. Don't get me started on what I can tell you about yourself just by looking at your shoes. I'm going to NUS studying Computing Science after this NS stint with my best buddy from polytechnic, Phyo, whom I very much respect and adore. Can't really wait for my service to finish, so that I'll be able to F**K OFF. (Avid readers, excuse the explicit language, if you know me in real life you know that I'm a person who doesn't use swear languages at all. Well, a testament to what NS will do to you. Beware boys!) I sincerely love hanging out with my friends, especially the old onces, since I don't get to be with them a lot these days. I really believe in my heart, I'm the kind of guy who'll do almost anything for a true friend, no matter the consequences. I'd like to think that everyone would know me as a super happy and jovial person, even though lately I've pretty much been otherwise. I'd like to keep up the image though.

I want to know again. To feel again. To live again. Just like I was before. I guess the whole point of me rambling on and on from the top of this entry is needly summed up in those few sentences. But, whatever it is, whatever will come, I know that time and tide wait for no man, and surely, one day, I will be set free. I will be set free. I will LIVE again.

The Ramblings Of Your Friendly Neighborhood Blogger,

Lokman

Happy Birthday, Lokman. :P

Hi all,

My fellow readers, here I am again, unable to explain to you about my enormous relapse into laziness and not posting a new entry since... well, never. I hope you can forgive me, and continue to enjoy stories from my blog. I really need to cleanse this habit of procrastination from myself, for this point of time in my life I am at a crossroads, where every move I make may determine my future forever. A lot has happened since my last post, and as god is my witness, I shall try my best to write them all down in my later entries.

Today is a special day for me. I've just celebrated my Birthday. I should be happy. But I'm freaking sad now. Sad to the core. Sad to the depths of my soul. And tired. Because, on this day, of all days, I found out about an impending dateline for my all important Major Project. And the dateline is on NEXT MONDAY, 12/01/2009. I guess some of you don't understand what the big fuss is all about. Well, this project is about the last of my subjects that i need to take, and it represents a HUGE chunk of my scores and will affect my GPA tremendously.

Imaging 3 years of hard work, all gone down the drain because of one lazy ass mistake. Me. But hey, today's my birthday. So I'm going to really try to enjoy my Chocolate Fudge Cheese Cake. Must have cost a fortune. Thanks Mom. Happy Birthday Lokman. Hang on to the ride of your life. :P

Moi Birthday Cake. :P

The Story (Prologue)

In the beginning...

Well, to begin with, the story that I'm going to tell  isn't actually quite interesting. To be frank, it's quite boring. In fact, it's so boring, the proper word that should be used on this story would be mundane. But, as luck would have it, that in this story, as also in all other stories that you have read or heard or else there wouldn't be a story, something happens, and it changes everything forever. 

How shall we begin? Well, not long ago, somewhere in the peninsular of...  Wait, wait... this is too long winded. Well let's just begin with our character shall we? Some time ago, maybe a few months ago, there was a not quite so ordinary boy. He fancied himself to be a traveller of sorts, and not having seen or heard anything out of his home or country, longed to travelled. In his heart, he yearned to experience the world. So when opportunity came, he decided to set his sights on the land down-under, Australia, without his family. He had with him a single, clear, focused purpose: to touch a kangaroo.

Now, you might think that the boy was foolish to have thought such a thing. I mean, who in the world would have heard of such a thing? Clearly this boy is not thinking clearly, or perhaps, not deeply enough? Travelling to a far away destination just for the chance to pet an animal? The others thought. But in this boy's heart, it was a lifetime dream, and once he was set on something, he would try his best to uphold it.

So the boy went. He still had to appear normal to the others, so, still under the pretense, he went working while he was there. Luckily enough for the boy, he had a good friend to travel along with him, and also to guide him along while he was there. The friend of the boy was always helpful, and also tried his best to help the boy.

And so the boy worked. And waited, for the chance, the thought deep somewhere at the back of his mind, but always, always there. The boy made many a good friends in the land down under. Some became very close to him, others were just casual friends, some were just formal acquaintances, but all we still well respected. The boy laughed. Sometimes he cried, missing his home. He did his work faithfully, and ever so subtly, found himself slowly, but surely, growing up. He enjoyed everything he experienced, and was very thankful that he made the journey.

In our story, the not quite so ordinary boy did managed to touch a kangaroo, but in the process, unwittingly put himself through the greatest journey of all: the journey of life. How did this happen? You would ask. He grew from the experience - and the experience grew with him. When it was time for the boy to return home from his journey, he wept, remembering everything that he had done.

You might think that this story is good and meaningful, or you might find it incomplete, or simply lacking a good goal or a plot. But, that's just the way the story goes. Then again, I did tell you that it was sort of mundane. But I can draw for you one conclusion, and this is just my conclusion, everyone else is entitled to their own based on what they think the story means: the next time you decide to do something, wait, no, how shall I put it, really want to do something, why not? Well, you might just be surprised where life brings you based on your decisions.

The Great Adventures of Lokman: The Australian journey comes to an end.

Hi all,

For my faithful readers, I am truly sorry and apologize for my constant procrastination when updating my blog. :P It seems that my fingers turn to lead EVERY time the very thought of writing pops up, and my mind suddenly seems to wander over to "what's for dinner tonight?". All blame lies on me, and I will make it up to you guys by regaling my strange and exotic tales from abroad. Like a veteran sailor back from a long sail, I shall do my best to tell tales that shall both excite and satisfy your curiousity. I have made the best of friends on this trip, grown up (well, just a lil' bit I hope :P) and seem to find myself to be more matured (although i seriously doubt it, ha ha).To those of you who are planning an overseas internship for your studies, I suggest that you should really give it a go. You might really like what you find, just like what I've come to realise. The world is such a big place, so go out and get em' tiger. RRRrrr.

The Great Adventures of Lokman: Australia Day 36 - Wohoo! I'm loving it! Time for some self-reflection :P

Hi all,

I know, I know, It's been a damn long time since I've updated my blog and this has on many occasions left my fellow faithful readers feeling very disappointed. On behalf of myself I would like to apologize profusely for the delays and for my procrastination and humbly hope that my apologies are accepted. :P Now, back on track to my Australian adventures. Truly a lot has happened during my stay here. I've learned to cook, clean, be responsible for my own well-being, set ground rules for myself, learned quite a lot on how to rely mostly on moi, help others through the day as much as I can and generally grow to be a more matured and responsible adult. (ya right, a matured and responsible ADULT :P) I've met and made very good friends during this trip and I'm quite sure that I'll be remembering them forever. Life at the lodge (or if you prefer to call it 'hostel') has given me quite a unique experience and a sense of community bond as we all stay and go about our daily lives under one roof.

Given this opportunity, I would also raise my hand in the highest salute to those who have left their country in the pursuit of knowledge. I have experienced on a firsthand account basis the obstacles and difficulties faced by international students and how they would use the means that they have as much as possible to survive and also thrive in their new environments. (Trust me, studying in a foreign country can be more difficult than you think. :P) In spite of all the tremendous amount of difficulties, they still wish to plough ahead and persevere in what they do. From the bottom of my heart, I wish them great success, and they have gained my utmost respect.

On the lighter side, living in a foreign country can be extremely fun! :P Literally, you will have the whole of the country at your feet for exploration. My example for this case is when the lodge villagers (I refer people who live in the lodge by this name :P) made a weekend getaway to Rainbow Beach. It was a heck of a good time, and for the very first time in my life, I surfed the waves! :P To me, life can't get any better than this. Well, that's it for today, see you next time, bye!

Rainbow Beach

My friends playing soccer in the sand

Moi :P