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Sunday, December 29, 2013

BareTrees and Birthday Thoughts



I took this photo in a nearby reserve where I live. I like the  textures,&colours and the bare trees










Every time I see bare trees.  I feel like something that connects me to them.  I enjoy the sight of them, but at the same time I feel a certain cocktail of emotions running through my bloodstream... 

Trees talk to me.  That's why the first thing that attracted me to buy my house was the many trees in the property---really huge trees. 

In the front yard of my house stands a jacaranda tree which is deciduous dropping off their leaves only to re-leaf again.  The amazing thing about this tree is it gives purple blooms when my birthday is around the corner.  I always look with eager anticipation when my jacaranda tree blooms because it showers my yard with its florets which spread like a purple carpet in my lawn. I always think that it is God's way of telling me in a special way---"Happy Birthday!  I hope you'll enjoy your day. Stop being melancholic! However, I must have made you that way!  Just love yourself---just as I love you! That's why I sent Jesus to give you eternal life and also abundant life.  Whatever happens always remember that my love for you is matchless."

Soon it is going to be my birthday.  Instead of being happy as I used to be, I feel within me this certain sadness. I ask, is it because I am now alone most of the time?  

I stared at the jacaranda tree swaying with the breeze.  Funny, but it could not give me a word.   


My mother has not been around now for over two years.  BCG, who was supposed to be with me, has technically walked out of my life right after my mother passed away. Maybe, because I did not ask him to live in my house. Maybe...because we should have been together, shouldn't we?  However, I was scared.  Also, because God seemed to be telling me--No.  

Yes he did come every now and then--but he has always been like far away.  I felt like we were not connecting and it was not definitely working out.  Was it because of my fault--just like what he had always said? 

I know I have always been faithful to him since day 1 and by intuition I know that he is having a string of women. 

God knows who has sinned in this relationship, anyway.

Thursday, December 26, 2013

God Took My Heart by Surprise ..( He gave me foretaste of living in my 'second home' in the CBD Sydney!)


WoW! I can't ever own a home in the city--not in my dreams. But I did--only a time-shared ownership!  Well, that's what my friend in Chula Vista said.  Becoming an owner of Wyndham Vacation Resort is like owning a second home.  It is nice to think so. 

23 December 2013.  I got a call from Nimrod--well he always calls to ask how I am after our mother passed away.  As usual the talk ranged from Christianity, philosophy and travel.  We were talking about the flood in UK when his wife Connie came to consult him about something--it was about their pre-booked accommodation at Wyndham Vacation Resort.  They booked this  nine months ago so they could spend this Christmas season with us here in Sydney, particularly with our mother. However our mother passed away last June 7, so the reason in the strictest sense, did not exist anymore. In other words, since our mother is gone and with other unspoken reasons, they would not make it here in Sydney.

To cut the story short, my brother and sister-in-law strongly persuaded me to stay in the resort instead of being alone in my house. I said, why not!  It doesn't happen everyday that one can just stay in this resort as it is always on "red season"--i.e. on  high demand.

I sent a private message both to Daisy and Art if they would like to stay with me, as Cynthia was busy working.  I got no reply.

24 December 2013.   Early morning, I walked to the house of an elderly woman whom I had helped in few ways in the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living and whom I thought did not have any relatives.  I thought it would be good if I could do something good on Christmas Day. But after knowing she's got a son and grandchildren, I dropped the idea.  After all, Christmas, apart from celebrating Jesus, is about giving love and spending time with your family.

So, with no one to do the A-Z of this holiday, I took the train to the city to find Wyndham on my own  before attending our clan's traditional and big 2013 Christmas Eve celebrations. With no big drama, I checked myself in.

As I opened apartment 703, I said "WoW! So nice, so neat and so cute! "  It's not that I haven't stayed in any of Wyndham resorts, I have--heaps of times in fact because three of my siblings are owners!  However, before I could ever go inside the apartment, chateau or whatever,  these are already full of our luggage and Cynthia's "kitchen" stuff (ie as we have all become health freaks, we count on our fingers the number of times we eat out)! Needless to say, I do not really get a good vista of the place exactly as shown in the brochures of Wyndham.


 
This is the small dining area. Well, it's not as big as the dining area in my own house, but I really like the big mirror.

After our Christmas Eve Celebrations, my kind niece AJ (thank God!)  dropped me off at the resort. It was already 1 o'clock in the morning so I just went to sleep.





25 December 2013. Christmas day.  I looked out the window and gazed at the street down below.  I could see the ground wet. Ah, it has been raining.  I suddenly heard ringing on my ears the song, "have yourself a merry little Christmas....No one should be alone on this special day. But here I was alone. It was not that I intended to be alone.  I invited my siblings.  Daisy would be having Christmas lunch with her children and  their friends, Art with his friend's family.  I invited a lady whom I met in the bus and became a good acquaintance eventually, but she did not call.  From hindsight, I asked myself "was I desperate to have  company this Christmas or was I just too kind to share with people this good gift from God?" Yes, I slept well the night before--because I was confident I did not want to enjoy this blessing on my own.

The above photo shows a picture of  myself I took using my camera's timer in the small dining area.  Here, I drink tea coffee and eat cake, as well as my big meals.  I could have eaten  out, but I watched a bit of TV on bed after showering and needless to say slept through it.  I woke to have lunch, watched TV and slept through a Disney movie which I had the chance to see anyway to get its gist and enjoy it.  Daisy rang. I told her I wanted to buy apple juice. She told me I could walk out the lobby and turn right to get to a convenient store. I felt like my day was not complete if I couldn't drink apple juice which I usually drink every day. Daisy also told me I could get free DVDs from the reception. 

At the reception, I was told they could give me a DVD, yes,  but I had to rent it for $7.50.  I replied, ''Hm...I'd just watch TV, after all there's usually something on TV. In fact,  I could not find time to watch the new DVDs I have at home because I do not want to miss out on what's on TV.  The guy asked me what's on TV.  I said well I just watched a Disney movie, at which point he threw a laughing glance at his co-receptionist. 

I borrowed an umbrella at the desk so I could go to Coles which was like a fair bit of walk. I could not decide if I wanted to buy at the convenient store as prices of food commodities here are much dearer.  As I walked towards the direction going to Coles, I asked a lady walking in the opposite direction from me whether I was on the right track to Coles.  She said yes and quickly added it was closed.   I asked why.  She laughed and said it was Christmas Day.  Hm. That was funny! Yes it was Christmas Day.  I must have slept too much I thought Christmas Day was over.

26 December 2013, Boxing Day. The weather improved so I decided to take a walk after the free continental breakfast invitation of Wyndham.  I had a marvellous time here having met an old retiree couple who owned a huge property at Moree.  I was thrilled because the man said one could still buy a house on an 820sqm block of land for $20000. WoW!  However, I had no plans to buy another house.  I don't work full time now and there's no way I am going to commit myself to any financial obligation.    

I walked along Goulbourn Street studying closely which direction to walk from Wyndham as reference point to the Family Court, the Madison Tower and the Downing Centre where I used to do some work before my mother needed a high level care then.  It was quite a while since I haven't worked here and it would be good if I'd learned how to walk here again without getting lost.  However, for this particular walk I wanted to go to Sydney Eye Hospital as suddenly I realised something was wrong with my vision, as new as my spectacles are for which I paid so much money.

To both my amazement and shock, the crowd was unbelievably huge and crazy!!! At many points I had to stop only to realise that I was behind people who would not really move because  they were in a queue to get a bargain at Oroton, Prada and other designer labels.  As the crowd was uncontrollable and would  not follow traffic lights, I saw a few police to regulate both the traffic and the crowd.  Hm!  Unbelievable, I have been living in Sydney for 25 years but I have never been caught in a big crowd such as these. 

I got to my destination only to find out, there was only one eye doctor in the hospital and with such a number of patients waiting, I surely could wait till eternity and still would not be seen by the doctor.  So I walked back. 

This time the crowd was even more mad and crazy.  I got trapped at the junction of George Street where I was hoping to get into Woolworths a bit easier to get something to eat as I walked back to Wyndham. I could feel my blood sugar was going down.  I wanted to go to McDonalds earlier but it was full packed, same with Hungry Jacks.  I would not even dare go to  Westfield because the streams of people seem to be never-ending.  Nevertheless, the crowd moved so I got myself in Woolworths where I just bought apple juice and doughnuts...

After a short while, I was back to my R and R.




myself in the study
in the lounge




the small kitchen

tea and coffee


lounge and dining







Well, I took the photo of the bedroom to show that the door has lock and mirror and also TV (that is, in addition to the TV in the lounge.
Here at Wyndham, in Sydney, I became, not a queen but a king.  This king size bed--all to myself.  Unlike at home however, where I have two European pillows and four standard pillows, here I only have two standard pillows and those two little cushions.
 
Do I complain? Not at all! With two more nights and one day of stay, I truly had a good R and R.  Thank God!!!

.....loved foretaste of having a Wyndham time-shared ownership?
Absolutely!!!

I go to the city only to work and hardly find time to walk around shops because I always like to go home before the sun goes down. If I check myself in here, I'll have all the time, not only to walk around the shops but also to the beautiful park nearby plus all the historical spots which although I have already seen during my early years in Sydney, I'm sure these will be equally if not more enjoyable.