Back in the village

Am spending the final days of 2007 at the village I was born...
The padi fields are still a little greenish and on the verge of turning to gold...
But I shall not have the privilege of seeing them harvested due to my short stay...

Spent five days at Mabul Island off Semporna in Sabah...
The resort we stayed at was just as pretty as in 2003 when we first went there...

The diving at Sipadan was very satisfying...
Baraccudas... jacks... hundreds of them tornado-ing around us...
Each of the baraccudas measured a meter or more...
Turtles... everywhere...

Diving the walls is actually an amazing feeling...
The sea floor purportedly drops to about 600 meters...

Meanwhile, saw the pygmy seahorse for the first time while diving at Mabul...
The pinkish creature was about one centimeter in length...
There is an orange colored one as well, the size even smaller...
But the currents... wooh, for the first time, my tank went almost empty...

Shall certainly be back for more...

When words become treasures...

One of my favorite songs till this day is that BeeGees number, 'Words'...

As Lita, a former student of mine, illustrated on 8th May 2007...

Dear Prof. Lrong Lim,
How are you, Sir?
It was my great pleasure to have met you again in Kagawa!
You looked a little bit tired but actually younger than 2yrs ago!
I believe your passion for your job is making you getting brighter as time goes by.
Hereby attaching one picture we took together~
You look nice on the shot.
Pls send yours in your free time!
Looking forward to seeing you again,
B.Wishes,
Lita

And, similarly, her words turned to treasure on 19th August 2007...

Dear Sir,
Well rcvd the photos with many thanks!
How are you these days? How was your job in Hawai??
It's too hot to go out recently! Crazy hot, hot, hot weather!!>_<
Take special care of yourself in this hard season~!
Looking forward to seeing you soon,
B.Rgds,
Lita

Had been weeping since I received the news yesterday afternoon...
Lita had passed away in early November...

She had apparently taken her own life...

Why Lita, I ask...
My door is always opened...
Why Lita, didn't you send me a note...
I would have caressed you with kind words... words that might heal your pains and troubles...
Why Lita... did you give up on life...

For all my young friends who happen to come across this post...
Please, do not give up on life...

Life is too precious...
For it is not only you who is living that life...
The folks around you, the friends around you... they live that 'life' along with you...

Please... don't ever give up...

Meanwhile... my eyes weep...
My heart pains...

My soul bleeds... for Lita...

Challenged... these days

These days, life is somewhat... exhausting...

This morning, when the alarm bells hit five, I could hardly reach out to touch the off-button...

I literally had to boot myself out of the warm futon, as there is work to do, even on a Saturday...

But still, life is wonderful...

I am saying this as I sit at my desk, listening to some amazing songs on the radio...

Ahhh... so agreeable to the senses...

But yes, life is indeed challenging...

Or, as Malaysians would know by now... very 'chabar-ing'...

‘Pantang’ or otherwise, as a faculty member in a university, I am perennially chabar-ed by my students...

At the outset, I can't be feeding them half-past six lectures, as it would eventually boomerang back to my face...

On an equally significant front, I am presently being chabar-ed by my superiors to do something that go against what I believe in...

But thank god, here at my office, I have the humble radio to offer me solace...

Life is indeed, my dear friends... very chabar-ing...