My first week back from vacation has passed without any major events.

Considering the apprehension I felt last weekend, and the whole “let’s do something” attitude, I ended up slipping back into my life without remorse. Don’t get me wrong, I still have all those delusions of grandeur swirling through my mind – travelling the world, doing volunteer work, going to the gym, etc… but somehow it’s just far too easy to put all of that on the back-burner.

Statement: Last night I drank a lot. It’s been a while since I drank so much – I mean, I can’t say it’s been a while since I drank, but it’s definitely been a good period of time since I really wanted to drink so much. I’m wondering what that shot I had was? I remember it being incredibly tasty with no bite.

Anyway, it was a “Charity” party, but from my point of view, it looked more like just a party at a bar as there seemed to be minimal charity appeal. I had these visions of expanding my social network, but as always, the reality of it is that that didn’t really happen! I mean, I met a lot of people but I doubt that it had any long-term affect on my network at all. Sucks slightly. Don’t get me wrong though, I had a fantastic time and it has definitely been a while since I’ve been invited to such a party – a charity function or not. Hopefully I’m not wasting away all these opportunities by being so reserved.

This past week, I’ve been on a mission to streamline stuff, specifically my computer; as I’ve mentioned previously, I’m backing up all my data as regularly as possible – with the thought of my computer dying hanging over me – plus, cutting out as much crap installed on my computer. Hmm, I don’t really have much else to say on this topic. I did look into how I could blog post without going through a browser and using a text editor instead… but that went nowhere.

I was asked yesterday who I missed the most during my vacation. I let the question slide by making a stupid comment but having thought about it – wading through memories of last week, I don’t really know to be honest. Well, to be honest, it was only a week and I had my phone on me so I wasn’t exactly out of touch.

Hmm, anyway, my stomach is grumbling so I think I’ll wrap this up for now.

I have returned from a fantastic vacation in the heart of SE Asia, away from the stresses of “modern life”. The time away from my “regular” routine has given me time to reflect on what’s important in life. The region I travelled through is well known for the widespread poverty. However, seeing and experiencing the locals living through each day with such energy and enjoyment made me realise that poverty does not mean a poor standard of living.

We in “the West” may have got used to computers, chocolate and convenience stores, but we tend to forget that those things are “luxuries”. The trip reminded me that one should really be grateful with the roof over our heads, the food on the table and the clothes on our backs… the only other ingredient in a fulfilling life would be “purpose”.

I was explaining to one of the locals the intricacies of my job; standing in the middle of a rice field in the heart of Cambodia, the whole conversation felt incredibly surreal.

Anyway, it made me wonder about my “purpose” in life – I’ve written entries about “ambition” and “dreams” before, and I think this follows a similar vein. We all have to set goals in life and strive to improve ourselves. I feel, purpose gives us the energy to wake up in the morning and provides the foundations of happiness. I guess “purpose” may not be the right word to describe it, but the combination of ambition, optimism and purpose is essential.

Having realised the shortfalls of our modern society – in my life, as well, as well as those people stuck in poverty – I started wondering what I could do. I mean, I’ve never believed that one man can change the world, but I do firmly believe that one man can make a difference. I think maybe on my next travels, I’d like to try out some volunteer work just to see if my mind is in line with my body. It is easier said than done. Actions speak louder than words. I can throw any idiom at this thought but the truth is, I have no idea what it’d be like until I give it a go. I also know that my conscience has been stirred and I know that I will have to make every effort to not let it slip back into “routine”.

Some people say that seeing the world can change you. I myself have even spoken those words on many an occasion. However, up until now, despite all my travels, I hadn’t truly felt I’d changed. Sometimes I’ve wondered what my place is in this world. Now I know that I can’t just wait for it to find me a place. The people I have crossed paths with over the past week or so, have given me great strength and determination to drive forward.

Despite the tough times we are all going through right now, I hope that each and every one of us can look back on these years with fond memories; I hope that I can look back on this period and say “yes, I stood up”. The world may be crumbling all around us, but it’s not how you fall that matters, it’s how you stand. ….hmm, not that I’ve been crumbling or anything.

I feel I have so much more to say, so much more to share. But, maybe it’s one of those things that you just have to experience yourself. I really do love travelling.

Yesterday I played tennis for the first time in nearly a decade; I honestly can’t remember the last time I played but I’m sure it’s over 6 years ago so that rounds up to a decade! Anyway, the theme of the day was travel as I had to wake up super-early, 6am, to get to my friend’s place.

The Long and Winding Road

So, it was probably my first time experiencing the winding expressways of Tokyo properly; I think the only other times were in the Limousine Bus or possibly asleep in the back of the car. We talked about how London really cannot compare with Tokyo roads – there’s really no cross-city highway or complex raised junctions of spaghetti roads… hmm, that English didn’t make sense!

Anyway, the experience gave me a reason to sort out my driving licence – not to get stuck in traffic, but just to drive around, see the city and the area around Tokyo on the weekends. Obviously, I won’t be buying a car anytime soon but renting should be pretty simple… but first, the long road to actually getting the licence!

Tennis

So, tennis. I suck at it now… well, I sucked at it before, but I really want to get back to a decent level again. I’m writing off my serve but backhand etc, def needs more work! My right shoulder slightly aches today – I do enjoy that feeling of having done exercise though.

Rails

Anyway, I went to see my grandparents in the evening, which meant another long trip, this time in to the countryside. I ended up staying the night and here we sit on Sunday evening…. I don’t know where the afternoon went.

Air

I’m off back to London next weekend so I need to get some plans sorted. First thing is to find out when people are free. Actually, the first thing is to find out if people want anything from Japan. I did go slightly overboard this morning with the omiyage shopping though. I have to pack my suitcase to see how much more stuff I can take. I’m taking a big suitcase there but only a little one back meaning omiyage will make a big part of my luggage!

p.s. the map shows my journey over the last two days back and forth across Tokyo. The line to the south should stretch to my grandparents place. The central line-break is roughly where my house is.

The Break

I’m back from Las Vegas. I guess you knew that as I’m sure you all use Facebook. The question to ask seems to be “how was it?” or “how much did you lose/win?”. At the start of the holiday I didn’t really know why I’d decided to tag along. I wasn’t really in the frame of mind to gamble any money, nor was I excited about being across the other side of the world. Las Vegas didn’t seem like the place to unwind and relax. I still don’t think it is.

I adjusted to the strange pace of life after a couple of days and I started to enjoy my time there. After a mini blip with the jet lag and air conditioning screwing up my body for a day, I played my first whirl of slots and the Mojito Magic started. I still had my moments, the hot weather, the ice cold mojitos and the pool-side tanning, washed away my stresses.

There aren’t really many highlights to talk about; I’m not saying the trip was rubbish, far from it. I’m saying, we did some walking, talking, swimming, drinking, eating and gambling. I guess the one thing worth mentioning is the Penn and Teller show at the Rio – thoroughly entertaining. Although some of the tricks were not that impressive, it still was a nice night out.

Although there were a few frustrating moments, some minor disagreements, some frayed tempers, those moments complement the many wonderful memories of my week in Las Vegas. I’m not sure when or if I’ll ever return to that strange city but I had a great time.

O, I only lost around 20 dollars

Having switched to the Calendar view in Thunderbird for the first time this week, I realised that the multi-week view now menacingly shows the final week of April. You all know what that means? There’s less than 3 weeks left – the first exam is looming.

I know I said I did not like to talk about this stuff at all but my life is, and will be for the next month, consumed by it so I don’t really have much else to talk about. Also, I have been known to be slightly hypercritical! Skip to after the break if you want to read about other stuff ^^

Student Life

So, I originally intended to only have two phases in my revision. The first phase being just a quick glance through everything to refresh my memory as to what I needed to learn, and the second phase being to actually learn it. Phase two has ended up becoming the “refresh”as the first phase contained a lot of stuff I hadn’t seen before!

I was thinking of doing a revision blog post a day on a random topic that I’d looked at during the day. I have no idea what I’d write about but maybe it’ll be a nice way to recap what I “learnt”. Actually, it probably won’t be helpful at all…

Anyway, so, despite the extensive hours I’ve put in so far I have actually yet to learn anything at all. Well, apart from what every student learns at this stage – there’s a Himalayan mountain range of stuff to learn and I’ve only worn a t-shirt.

I was thinking today that I should probably figure out exactly what I was going to do come the Summer. I know I’m already jetting off to Las Vegas for a week post-uni.