one day.

randoming musings.

one day is too far away
two becomes a painful state
and three is way too late.

---

AND. next stop for the wandering planet?

Ballarat. Looking forward to getting some gold mine action.


random musings.

"Ballarat (formerly spelt "Ballaarat") is a city in Victoria, Australia, and one of the country's largest inland cities. It is well-known for its history and heritage.

It is approximately 105 kilometres (65 mi) north-west of Melbourne, with an urban population of 88,437 people. The city lies at 441 metres (1,447 ft) AHD and consists of an area of approximately 740 square kilometres (286 sq mi), with the city occupying a built up area of approximately 75 square kilometres (29 sq mi).

Gold was discovered near Ballarat in 1851, and the influx of over 10,000 miners in less than a year transformed it from a pastoral town into Victoria's largest settlement. The Victorian gold rush occurred throughout the 1850s and 1860s whilst gold could be readily extracted from the surface. The city's growth slowed after the 1880s and Melbourne quickly overshadowed it in importance. However, Ballarat has endured as a major inland regional centre and tourist destination, having retained much of its Victorian era heritage, a unique culture, and is highly regarded for its grand heritage listed public and private buildings, monuments, statues and expansive gardens."

Source - photo and writeup from Wikipedia.

Wandering Cheers

A new year awaits.

troubled heart,
no need to look so far away
your peace is right there
no need to give it a name,
a shape,
a form,
nor cry out loud for a dream
it is right here, right now, and going nowhere.

A life of utter garbage

Worth checking out - one man's attempts at throwing 'nothing' away for a whole year!

A life of utter garbage
Thu, Dec 25, 2008
from Asia1 website

LOS ANGELES - DAVE Chameides has spent almost an entire year living a life full of utter garbage and hoping he can inspire other Americans to do the same.

The Los Angeles-based cameraman has lived in his comfortable Hollywood home without throwing away a single piece of trash, from wine bottles to chewing gum and pizza boxes.

Instead the 39-year-old Chameides - nicknamed 'Sustainable Dave' - recycles his garbage or else stores it in his basement. He says he wants to show that it is possible to dramatically reduce his family's consumption habits.

And he can show astounding results. Rather than the 1,600 pounds of trash the average American family produces each year, Chameides, his wife and two daughters have amassed only 32 pounds over the last 12 months...

Click here for the rest of article.

or go here for his blog.

Something to work towards for the new year!

Merry Xmas everyone

to one and all, a great time ahead. time to forget the worrying and leave it all to someOne else. :)

this Xmas season's got 3 bbqs lined up. time to load up on the wandering to keep reasonably healthy and looking like a former track athlete.

and now for some random photos whilst this world keeps on spinning.

---

found in a car at a shopping mall's parking lot in box hill - a jack russell.


not sure if the photo's clear enough, but the fella was pretty well stocked in there. food, drink, plenty of cushion and lots of air.

---

found in Singapore's Maxwell Market, Tanjong Pagar.

Houseboat Action

Source - http://www.murrayriver.com.au/

Just spent 4 days drifting up and down the Murray River, a main artery of Australia's internal waterways. Lovely great fun. The boat we had had 4 rooms, a sweet upper deck with deck chairs, a bbq pit and a living room with plasma tv. well, and fully functioning kitchen too. have to do it again. it was very very sweet sailing down a river playing music with my band-mates. 2 guitars and a djembe and the lovely surrounding sounds of nature. couldn't ask for a better way to embrace coming X'mas.

Houseboats rock. Check out the facilities on this one!

Having Parents around

being away in Australia means I don't get to see my folks much. We do the occasional skype call which is great, and free. IDD calls used to be so expensive I could hardly afford to in my undergraduate days. I remember chalking up $100s of phone bills calling an ex in Sydney. These days a $10 (students pay $8 if they purchase them on campus) phone card gives me 200odd minutes of talk time. folks were just over for a coupla' days and for graduation, it was the first time they ever saw me wear that silly gown thing. I skipped mine for the Bachelor's (2002) in a care-less show of silly defiance. Sometimes I blame it on the Singaporean Chinese kid in me saying,"Nevermind not worth going".- have we all not been guilty of this?.

wanted to share, when a dear friend asked what it was the best thing having parents around.

XXXuffles says: (12:39:31 AM)
what do you like best about having parents around
bob | and so it is. says: (12:39:50 AM)
i can be a small boy again
bob | and so it is. says: (12:40:00 AM)
takes away the weight of adulthood, ya know?

i didn't think much of it till she asked, and the answer came out as naturally as it could be without a doubt, a exactly pure unadulterated thought with no agenda, unlike what most of us may think of nowadays, in some ways. i really think i meant what i said.

'although sometimes i know we try to behave all the more adult when they come around these days, but i think we all fail, some more than most, but definitely rarely so.

Waiting in Vain.

Cover of Bob Marley's (yes, my glorious namesake) Waiting in Vain.



Location - Home. Wesley on Guitar and Vocals, Ronald on Guitar and Vocals, Bob on Djembe and keeping time, and some backup Vocals.

TOoooooo Cute

Just had to share.

Photo from the Age website.

Signaling on the Roads in Singapore

Signaling seems to be a very hard thing to do for drivers on Singapore's roads. Why is it so I wonder. I took special attention this time I'm back, after 1.5 years of a pretty gracious driving experience in Melbourne where people are quite happy to let you take your time, and usually wave at you in thanks when u give way. And we're not just talking about nice old lady drivers here, it's everyone from the sharp suited yuppie to the heavily tattooed biker.

In Singapore, I've noticed that few drivers signal on the roads. Be it to switch lanes or to indicate a turn or slipping into a filter road, most do so without flicking the signal switch (which I've found to vary between 100-120 bpm, depending on the car model and make). Whether it's a case of just being too lazy to flick the switch or sheer nonchalance, it's worrying. When you are polite enough to signal a lane change, or to make a turn, drivers behind you usually treat it as a sign of utter intimidation or brutal challenge. Thus they speed up to ensure you don't take over their side of the lane, even if you're a few car lengths away. I've read in the HardwareZone forum that if you wish to change lanes, it'll be better to do so without signaling so you get the job done. The moment the signal comes up, that's it, you're challenging the driver behind on the next lane. Scary isn't it? So this period back home has been interesting observing these habits on the road. Initially I thought people refrained from signaling in a futile attempt to save and prolong battery life.

So I took it a step further to ask a cabbie what all this is about. And he had the funniest theory.

He argued that on the roads, all Singapore drivers see, are their grandfathers. Their Ah Kongs. So deprived of time with their grandfathers, they hallucinate about them (yes of all places) on the roads. Therefore they can't see other road users. So we can't blame them. They're playing catch-up time - a sure allusion to the local term 'Grandfather's Road'. Haha!

Exploring the Island

What if we found out who we are, and what we wanted, a little bit too late?

Just had to go explore Singapore whilst back, amidst the madness of Singapore's rebuilding. Too many cranes, too much construction, too many hoardings. Leave the island alone!

---

So...it was an absolute pleasure taking a day off to revisit some pages of my home's significant pasts. Here's Haw Par Villa, now a pale shadow of its absolutely shining past. But it's all good really. I prefer it this way. Rustic, peaceful and not bustling with tourists. Last time I was there was probably 20 years ago. 20 years later, I'm back!

p.s. I should endeavour to remember it is a lot harder going for long walks back home here in Singapore. Unlike Melbourne during her kinder seasons, it's really a tad too hot to go on sojourns in the sun. But well, Bob. Don't think so much!


Tiger Balm anyone?




If this doesn't hark one back to the past, I don't know what else will.


International flavours for the Balm


dancin'


welcoming Gates.

Somewhere in the Middle

Anyone remember Dishwalla? :) They used to make my day in those growing up days. And they still do.

Would love to share this timeless track with everyone. It's especially special cause its starting chords are exactly the same as one of E.P.I.C's early tracks, written around the same time, circa 2001 - What I have to Say.

The chorus says it all.

tripping hard falling down onto the ground
cause I can't stand up
and I can't fall down
cause I'm somewhere in the middle of this



This thus prompts me to come up with my Top 5 list of favourite 90's bands, i.e. the growing up college soundtrack.

1. Toad the Wet Sprocket
2. Dishwalla
3. Gin Blossoms
4. The Verve
5. Radiohead