Nonetheless, things are coming together in an orderly manner. The switch in the job roles have shown a seemingly positive effect for me at work. Having said that, I still have to strike a balance between work and my life. No, I am not going to sell my soul to the company. Putting a home together can be tough, but things are working out as planned. There’s traveling. There’s a course of events planned for the next couple of months.

And of course, there’s the diversion of watching Russell Peters live in KL.

He was so so good. His performance was totally outstanding. There wasn’t a dull moment. None. There wasn’t a moment where I wasn’t laughing my ass off. Absolutely awesome. So awesome, I wish his show was longer. The 90mins felt wayyyy shorter. Time really flies when you’re having fun! If he ever comes again, I’ll definitely be there again, in a heartbeat!

May is coming to an end (which is super scary). I do wish it would stop for a while. Just for a little while for me to catch my breath.

A holiday would be nice.

Yesterday, as we were walking up the stairs to a bank, we met a lady that is paralyzed. One of her leg is gone. I couldn’t see if she is born that way or it has been amputated later in life. She was using her hands and butt to move herself, slowing inching over to the ATM. The man she was with did not help in anyway. He stood with his arms crossed, watching her from afar.

I wanted to use the ATM as well but I waited for her to pick the ATM she wanted to use and I’ll just use the other one. She asked me if this is the machine to withdraw money. I said yes. I saw as she slowly picked herself up, kneeling in front of the machine, trying to do what she had to do. I was done in a flash and was waiting for ndru to be done.

Suddenly, we heard a cry for help.

“Please, can someone help me. Please.”

There were 5 people in the bank at that time, me included. No one made a move.

“Can someone help me, please.”

I looked away. I was dying to help, but something in me made me stop. I looked outside the bank and found the man she was with went down the stairs, again with arms crossed, waiting for her.

She wasn’t in her best condition. Aside from being paralyzed, it is pretty obvious that she has not showered for days. Her clothing is not good either and there is a chance she may have been an abused victim.

We walked away after we were done. I genuinely feel bad for not helping her. But I was scared that she may just be an act and that I would be harmed for being good. It’s not an excuse, but I really couldn’t bring myself to helping her. Till now, I still feel bad.

I guess I’m not that good of a person after all. I’m still learning. Perhaps it was coz I was judgmental. The man with the crossed arms made me fear her.

I’ve been wondering, if given a chance to turn back time, would I have done differently? What about you? Would you have done different from what I did?

The past 2 weeks have been filled with nothing but great learning and information. Not just in the context of my career, but in the context of life as well. So many things to learn, so many things to note. But it is these life lessons that will make one more knowledgeable and wiser.

Life. It is what it is. In a good way.

p/s: 10 more hours and I’m HOME!

*sigh*

I would love to say that life’s a bitch. BUT, everything that has happened so far I believe is for a better tomorrow. Or maybe a better me for tomorrow. The load of crap that has been thrown right at my face thus far may not be the worst things yet. Having said that, I got really worn out today for some reason. Perhaps it is all the accumulated stress.

I just need to get some breathing space. Somewhere. Maybe tonight when I go  to bed.

All I can say is BRING IT ON, Life! I know whatever good and bad things that happened, happened for a reason. It is the experience that matters. And as last as long I stay true to myself, I’m good.

All good.

Good night.

p/s: Happy Birthday Mum. I love you. And no matter how grown up I am, I will always need a Mum. Always.

A lot of us have not been acquainted with Death. In fact, we fear Death. Sometimes we are angry with Death. To be honest, none of us will ever know how it feels like to die, until it actually happen. I’ve heard stories that it is scary, that you will have no control over your body as your soul leaves, that you will still have to make choices even after you die. I mean, I don’t even know how it’s going to feel like if there’s no me, inside me!!

Do I fear death? Hell yea I do. I mean, I wouldn’t want to die now.

Nonetheless, I have been constantly reminding myself that Death is part of Life. I will never know when Death decides to walk up my door, knock on it and say ‘Hey Chiao Ju, it’s time to go’. I’m sure I’ll cry. I’m sure I’ll be sad. I’m sure I’ll grieve for my death. I would definitely need time to do all those things. After I’m done grieving, I’m sure I’ll live my numbered days to its fullest.

Everything happens for a reason. However, I’m learning to accept the fact that sometimes, we will never ever know the reason. I use to ask a lot of why questions about life. I think sometimes I still do. But I’m learning to accept the fact that life is as such. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not bowing down to “this is my crappy life, live with it” concept. No. I believe that certain decisions I make can change the course of my life.  Having said that, I’m not going to dwell over searching for the answer to my why question. Sometimes, it’s not all that worth it.

The course I have to undertake today, has everything to do with my past. Past lives I mean. Karma is at play. What goes around, comes back around. Writing all this doesn’t make me a pessimist. It is me learning to accept what life is. How you live your life is all up to you. Yes, karma will interfere once in a while, but again, karma has nothing to do with anyone else but us. We plant those karma seeds. We can’t blame anyone for it.

Oh well. May we have a good week before the Chinese New Year break.

I’m not saying people in the past are not engrossed with power, fame and money. It’s a human thing. We have this greed growing inside of us and if we don’t stop it, it grows out of hand. What I’m saying is, it’s disgusting to see how humans these days being so immoral when it comes to treating other people. Why? It’s not like we are ask to donate 80% of what we earn to charity. All we are asked to do is to be nice. Genuinely. Not faking it, not being an ass, just being another human being. What’s so difficult about that?

The group of people that disgust me most, is the group that has participated in learning about the teachings of a religion. The political issues that you see happening at a buddhist temple or a church is more than the issues you see in our government and at work combined. It’s sick. I thought these people who has learned would know what it’s like to treat another human with great respect, no?

I don’t know. It’s sad. Yes, I understand that everyone is selfish. But I don’t believe in living a live without proper ethics. It’s actually more tiring to do bad things than to do good. So why not do good?

Well, this is just my own thoughts.

And then that’s when hope steps in. I think we all have to have faith and trust that everything will be okie in the end. It will be. I’m sure. We are here to learn and to write our life story. I’m all for the writing my own life story and that’s why I’m really cautious when I’m making certain decisions. But there is only so much I can do. At the end of the day, I would turn to hope.

It’s all good. 2012 is just around the corner, and I hope it would be better than 2011.

I did some research on the hostels available (coz hotel cost way too much) and found this awesome place on the hihostel website – Palace Hostel Schlossherberge. I told myself that this is the place I should stay the moment I saw the photos online. And I was right. Not only was the environment of the hostel awesome, the people who worked there had been most helpful in every way possible. The beautiful music of Mozart was even playing at the reception counter when I arrived.

Lovely.

Ahhh… Amazing don’t you think? An absolutely breathtaking view. Cost per night with breakfast = €23.20.

On the way to the hotel, I saw the amazing Schönbrunn Palace, a place to visit if one is ever in Vienna. It’s listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with its history dating back to the 16th century. That was the first place I went to after checking in.

First thought that came into my mind upon entering the palace gate – HUGE. Second thought once I got into the palace – Why on earth do these people need to have so many different kinds of room? Do they not get confuse? I bet I would. Third thought as I was going through each room – Empress Sisi sure is one tough lady. And she sure diets a lot! Fourth thought as I walked into the garden – My oh my, this garden is amazingly huge. And amazingly beautiful.

This palace is indeed impressive. So much drama has happened in the past. It was kind of surreal for me to be able to stand on those grounds. Glad that I was there. Oh, and I’m happy I successfully walked through a garden maze and saw how Apfelstrudel (Apple Strudel) was made. It taste absolutely delicious.

One of the biggest thing in Vienna has got to be Mozart. Mozart is practically everywhere. In a park, in a concert hall, in the grounds of Hofburg, at the Schönbrunn Palace once when he was at the age of 6, playing for Maria Theresia and her family. Mozart was even on a chocolate. Yes, a chocolate; the Mozartkugeln chocolate.

But I must say, this treble clef on the ground is pretty cool. I loike.

Anyway, the one thing I know I had to do if I ever go to Vienna is to go to a Mozart concert. I got to know that there’s this one concert where everyone in the orchestra is dressed up in classical clothing. With the white wig and tights. But there were so many of these concerts I really don’t know which to choose. The guy at the hostel helped us out, picking this group he thinks is deemed one of the best in Vienna and place a booking for us. And we were in luck, coz they will be playing at the Musikverein that very Saturday night. It’s like some really super fancy dancy place!

The music of Mozart has never sound more amazing. It was as though Mozart was there himself. Every note that flowed out of every instrument on that very night was breathtaking. There’s really no one word to describe it. You’ve just got to experience it yourself. It’s superb. It’s… Well, it’s just it. I love it. Every moment of it. Worth every penny of my €42.

Since Vienna is all about Mozart, I thought it would be great to go see the Mozarthaus. In search of that place, we got a little lost. I asked one of a passerby and the first thing he said to me was “I can tell you that the Mozarthaus is not here in Vienna”. I was a little confused, coz according to my Lonely Planet book, there is a Mozarthaus in Vienna! He then continued and say, “The real Mozarthaus is in Salzburg. I know coz I’m from Salzburg.”. That part is true. Mozart was born in Salzburg and came to Vienna after he grew up. “But Mozart IS everywhere”, he said as he helped me figure out where the place is.

Not only did I find the Mozarthaus, but I also found the location where the photo on the front page of my ‘Vienna Encounter (by Lonely Planet)’ book was taken.

It’s actually slightly above the door to the Mozarthaus!

Another amazing sight of Vienna has got to be the St. Stephen’s Cathedral. I think my jaw probably drop as I was staring at the architecture of the cathedral. It is so so beautiful. I was most awed by it. There’s some restoration work going on at the cathedral, but that does not stop it from looking majestically lovely. The inside of the cathedral was equally amazing. There was a praying session going on as it was a Sunday morning when I was there. Somehow, there was an overwhelming aura of peace and calmness floating around the inside of the cathedral that morning. Lovely.

Among some of the other places that I visited include the MuseumsQuartier, the Danube River and Stadt Park.

Stadt Park’s pretty awesome. I love the garden clock. It’s so cool. And the park is filled with a lot of different figurines of famous people. Standing with his violin in the pic below would be Johann Strauss. I think Schubert’s in the park as well. Sitting.

Aside from the Mozartkugeln and the Apfelstrudel, another dessert that was mentioned in the Lonely Planet book as well as most websites is the Sachertorte by Hotel Sacher. It was a dessert that was made famous by some emperor simply because it was his favorite dessert or something. And now, Hotel Sacher is said to make one of the best Sachertorte in Vienna. A place that every tourist should go, sit and eat that cake.

Oh, what is Sachertorte you ask? Sachertorte is actually a 2-layer chocolate cake with a thin layer of apricot jam spread in the middle and dark chocolate icing on the top and sides.

So yea, I insisted that I go to Hotel Sacher, sit under the sun at a temperature of 11C and be one of those tourist that comes to Vienna and had to try the Sachertorte. The ORIGINAL Sachertorte. Or so they say. With a glass of hot chocolate.

It wasn’t super duper awesome. Not like a to-die-for-dessert. Not to me at least. But it’s nice. Maybe it’s the environment. The dark chocolate was actually really good. The combination of the chocolate cake with the apricot jam was great as well. Maybe it’s coz I kinda think that the cake is not moist enough. It’s nice. Just not to-die-for. I’m happy I tried it.

Getting around Vienna was super easy. With the buses, trams and subway, it made everything super convenient. People are not generally friendly, but some are helpful enough when you’re kinda lost in between those old buildings.

Would I want to go back to Vienna again? I would, in a heartbeat. No doubt about it. Not just Vienna, but Salzburg as well. I mean, I have to go on that Sound of Music Tour. Really. I just have to. I need to run up those hills like how Julie Andrews did in the movie and start singing in my best possible voice, ‘The hills are alive, with the sound of musicccc…‘.

Okie. I’ll stop singing.

It has been an awesome 4 days. I would love to do this again. To go to Austria.

With you.