I wonder.

Rediscovering your passions and who you once were is an interesting thing. Often when we contemplate about it, we tend to ask ourselves "Wow really?" at the amazement about the person we once were. It is a bit odd seeing as we generally don't change who we are but rather how we are. I mean it's almost as though depending on how we feel or our current situation will determine how we are at that point in time which is some what true but if you think about it what really our identity, when we have nothing going on. Is it when we are at peace with ourselves and all external conflicts are null which determines who we are? It's a confusing topic to think about, because really when can we say this is who I am. Maybe it is a collection of every reaction to each story of our lives and the fact that we all have so many experience that makes it so hard to find a conclusion to these questions.

So in the attempt of trying to find who we use to be and reigniting that life, we actually just find another facet of ourselves in the process of joining who we once were into who we currently are. Interesting isn't it?

"Who am I today?" - Peter

Peter.

Mans best friend.

Oh what happened? There was a time where we use to get along so well. We'd be just hanging out all the time and there was time where we both smiled. And yet now I just find you as an insignificant part of my life with no place in my future. It's not like I stopped caring, but rather that I stopped wanting what you had to offer. The nature of a human being is of "Love" and well you just didn't cut it anymore. Now every time I walk past you it seems a tad awkward. You always have a sense of hope in your eyes, but still your body only shows defeat. But the truth is as much as I forget you, I still know you and that you were undoubtedly a key figure in my life. I hope we still have the time to make up and maybe we can smile again. Just one more time.

"I haven't seen you, feels like a long time, sometimes it still hurts, but I always get by" - David Choi

Peter.

Half is enough.

"I can't stop loving you with half of my heart". As undecisive as it is when it comes to love, maybe that half that is often not fully shown is right. That maybe this time it's ok to go through and open your whole heart. Because with love there is always a risk, but better than missing the opportunity right? In the end having your heart broken 10 times before finding the right one is worth it. Because we all crave to be wanted, relied upon, loved. Maybe you already know her (or him) and she's just waiting. I wonder.

"Love, it's all you need, it's everything, to keep it all together" - David Choi

Peter.

Friends, Lovers or Nothing.

If your a JM fan then you'd probably already know I stole the tile directly off one of his new tracks on the new album "Battle Studies". Which I must say is quite different from his older records, but nonetheless another amazing display of inspiration, guitar and all things good. It is an album that you will "hate at first", but will "learn to love".

The statement isn't hard to understand, but it I couldn't agree more with it. So you see, sometimes we are stuck in the situation where we question whether to tell her (or him) that you "like" the person without knowing if they like you also. And when she replies with everything but "me too", it for most cases always mean "I don't". Then your stuck in a moment that is ridiculously awkward and should have been completely avoided. In that moment, it determines whether or not things shall progress as planned and we live happily ever after or it will simply be a permanent awkwardness destroying all the friendship that could have been.

But asides from the direct meaning I learnt something that to me seemed even more profound. How hard is it to find a your best friend? I mean sure we have lots of friends (from a general perspective), and finding a Lover will eventually come, but there is such a rarity of friends who you can truly hold dear to you in all situations. In the circumstance that this person should be of the opposite sex, it is even harder to find such a person. Because we are once again stuck in the situation of being "Friends, Lovers or Nothing".

People spend their whole lives looking for "the one", but I reckon we should spend our lives looking for "My Best Friend". Not completely avoiding finding her (or him), but putting that up there as something on the agenda. Because lovers fight, but my Best friend will always have my back. And if you have found that person let them know that you got their back, or if you haven't when you do find them. Well I think you'd know what to do.

"I like you" - Anonymous

Peter.

*Note: If you're wondering why I haven't been writing a lot, it is because I've been playing COD:MW2 with all my spare time. Oh yeah, I've finished highschool! Congratulations Class of "09"

True?

If I had a penny for everytime I heard the word "If" I swear I'd be a millionaire.

Sigh.

You can't make money off yourself can you?

Peter.

The Spirit.

Over the last week or so it has been an emotional roller coaster of just enjoying friendship and the company of each other as a year twelve cohort, till the final assembly where we officially bid our final farewells to the teachers and students of our college. It has been an odd and interesting week I must say. Though it doesn't feel any different you'd realise that the reality is, is that it is pretty much finished.

There was a speaker on closure day who talked to the class of 09 about living your life without saying "what if?". It is a pretty much self explanatory where we make sure we make the most of everything. But I for one know that this doesn't happen in most cases, talking from personal experience. Now to explain it all in a couple of sentences would just be showing off my misfortunes, but I suppose for everything I could of done, I remember at least I did this. And I hope that this gives a little bit of me gives you something you can remember.

I'm not entirely an emotional guy, and for this last week of school it was just as always the same. I'd find myself in the awkward position of being in the middle of a place where it seems that everyone seems to be sad and emotional besides me. It almost reminds me of my grade six graduation where once again everyone was crying except for me. The only difference is this time it literally is all over. Well memories are good, but well if it was only that then what is Facebook for.

Friends. I wonder what would have happened if we had never met them. Some say that we are a reflection of the people we hang around and because we meet so many people the combination creates a new personality that makes you well you. To imagine that if we had never met these people we could possibly be a very much different to who we are today. It is amazing to find so many things that we can thank our friends for. We thank them for being there for us in times of strife. We thank them for lending some lunch money when we forgot it at home. We thank them for helping us with our maths homework. And most of all we thank them for being our friends. Because without them we wouldn't be who we are.

I guess for me it will take a few weeks or even a couple of months to miss waking up at 7:30 every morning to prepare for school and having to give a new excuse to why I was late for class. Just maybe I might miss getting yelled at my teacher for someones else's miss doing or even buying stuff from the canteen. Well whatever happens life keeps going and in the end if we don't make the most of it, someone else will. So let that someone else always be you!

Good Luck Class of '09!

Doey.

The time has come, not really.

Quickly she hears the foot steps coming closer and the noise of the gates open wide again. Her face lightens up and she begins to have a jolt of excitement just hoping to get some attention. But he walks past her grabs his jumper and walks back closing the gate behind him, not even a glance.

If any of you people who read know me enough, you'd know that I have a dog by the name of Lucy. Back when I was a kid she use to have puppies quite a bit and I'd still remember playing with them even though I'd be allergic to them and get amazing reactions which left me scratching for ages. Over the years she had about eleven puppies, which were given away but never ended up giving away Lucy. She's the same age as me and still going strong.

I was doing the washing today and out of curiosity I decided to observe her for a moment. She was on her back rolling around in an attempt scratching it, which seemed quite self indulgent, and then she scurried over to the garden and dug around a bit just minding her own business. Then I remembered a time where she use to be the main attraction, the one whom use to catch everyones love and affection, but now nothing. Sad huh?

Sometimes we are like that, we just do what we do. We don't do anything wrong to annoy anyone and at the same time we just do what suits us best. If we do anything to flashy we get too much attention and that is just risky. So long as no one notices, its all good. But as much as we know as that isn't how it should be, it in the end is just easier. Ah the good old days. Well that what all the could've beens say.

Simply enough, it shouldn't be like that, although it does help when you have good friends.

"One, two " The preacher thought. He knew that there was definitely one more person, but didn't know who "Where is three?". Time went by and all he knew was that time had won this time but still he knew that there was one other out there who definitely needed to respond, maybe another person will get to this person. Only he will never have the satisfaction of knowing who that person was. The third person? Who knows? who cares.

"Aja! Aja! Fighting!" - Geum Jan Di

Peter.

The thief.

Relient K- There Was No Thief

For a time I thought there was a thief among us
I thought I'd track him down, but prior to my pursuit
The smoke it cleared, and to my disbelief
There was no thief 'cause it was me that lost you
There was no thief 'cause it was me that lost you

I guess it's safe to say you're never coming back
And I understand why you wouldn't want to
I guess it's up to me to find a way to get to you

And there's just one last thing that I have to say
As we reflect on the mess of all of this I've made
It was cowardice that made me push you away
I was so afraid 'cause you were so much better than me

I can't see you
Getting used to
Living in the midst of your perfection
But I'm so lost
How can you trust
Somewhere the sun is always shining

And there's just one last thing that I have to say
As we reflect on the mess of all of this I've made
It was cowardice that made me push you away
I was so afraid 'cause you were so much better than me

I guess it's safe to say you're never coming back

--

Because sometimes it's your fault that things happen.

"There was no thief 'cause it was me that lost you" - RK

Peter.

The Key.

The other day I sat in my psychology class and I'd come to realise that none of my psych mates were there. Well there were people but not the people who usually sit with me. So out of sheer I decide to write this story, but first before I'd like to bring up another small story that happened to me recently.

NOTE: This will probably be a long one.

---

So it was Thursday and I had just completed my third period. I then had my lunch and jumped on the bus for the excursion. Everything was all good and dandy as I learnt a little more about Universities, selection and all things boring. But as I left I realised something was missing. My wallet. So I retrace my steps but still could not find it so I concluded that it might be in my locker back at school. When I arrive at school I quickly walk down the hill, into the building and rush to my locker. But it's not there.

For the following days after I informed everyone about the deep and sad loss of my precious wallet, except for one person. The person who gave me the wallet. Though there was money, all my identification, my license and internet cafe membership cards in there, all I was worrying about was how to approach this person to tell them of the missing wallet. My irrational thoughts concluded that they would hate me forever once I had informed this person about it.

Eventually I drew the courage to tell this person and in the end this person didn't hate me and rather this person was more concerned with what was in the wallet as anyone else would. After this it made me realise two important things. One that a friendship isn't based on materialism and two that there are more important things to an item or person than their outside because what they hold inside is what really matters. Interesting really because it relays that the old saying that there is more to a book than its cover. Profound eh?

So anyway I was about to give up on the wallet and was about to cancle all my cards (actually I didn't because I was lazy haha) but then I received a phone call from a security guard that had picked it up. And that was the end of that dilemma. Oh I must also mention it was coincidentally right before this person was going to buy me a new one. How good is that?

---

So thats the first little story and here is the main event.

---

A present from his father excites the boy as he eagerly claims his prize. A key, one that had been passed down through their family history. It seemed insignificant to the young boy. He looked at the key from all different angles trying to find something of interest within the in-animant object, but all he saw was an old key with a little rust within the dented crevasses of the key. "Don't lose it" the father tells his son and with a quick reply the boy smiles and says "I won't". His father knew that he would lose it just as he had.

Years later the boy turns twelve years of age and is given another gift. A small wooden box. Though he had close to no interest with it he smiles and says "thank you". The father then tells the boy "There is a key to opening this box, but you must press on the heart to open it. Only when I am gone are you allowed to open it". The boy smiles again and says "Ok".

Time is not often a good friend of the elderly, as too realise that the reality of death is so close only makes life pass by so much faster. And that time had finally come for the father. The boy was boy was struck with an immediate sadness. Memories of his fathers love comforted him, but his mind only reminded him of the reality that his father was gone forever.

Among all the sadness the boy remembers the wooden box his father had given to him as a child. He picks it up and observes it from all angles and notices a small golden heart. He then realises that he had also received a key, but he cannot find it. He is immediately angered at his carelessness and grips the box with all intentions of destroying it. As his does this he puts his thumb over the heart and squeezes as hard as he can. *click* The box is open.

Shocked by what had happened he immediately remembered what his father had told him as a boy. "So that is what you meant Dad, haha" he says. Comforted he opens the box and finds a letter and another key. On the letter he reads:

" Dear ____,

It looks like you finally realised how to open the box. Remember this that at times you may try to find they key to every situation but more often than not you would have lost the way to go further, and when it seems as though you have no more answers press on your heart. Enjoy life.

From Dad

Ps- Pass this key down and replace it with another so that this lesson will always be with us. "

So life moved on and the boy one day became a father and he told his girl "Don't lose the key". She smiled and said "Yessir!". But he knew she would lose it. Cute isn't it?

---

I only expect two or three people to read up to this point and if you have thank you. And yes you finally read my lame story Chi :)

"When you can't trust your logic, follow your heart" - Chi Trinh

Peter.

Kick it with you.

It's ten past the eleventh hour of the day, only two hours left he thinks to himself. He glances across the room and observes finding the flashing lights of the router, the clock ticking its way and the clouds slowly passing over the horizon. After moments of day dreaming, he looks down and draws attention to the amazing technology all based within a simple pencil.

"Ah I am so bored, what to do?" he thinks to himself knowing that he is restricted to the very walls of the room until the supervisor announces that they could leave. He continues to look around drawing attention to every pointless detail within the confines of the room. Only an hour left until the dreaded boredom was over. But with knowing the time it often feels as though it goes slower, which is a pain.

So with the longest hour of his life he begins to ponder about thoughts which had been on his mind for a long while. Remembering the warm memories where by he was able to hitch a small smile for a second, but suddenly is saddened to why it ever came to this point.

Ten minutes left the boy finally realises that he had not even achieved anything within that practice paper. "Next time" he says to himself. The supervisor gives the final reminders to everyone and finally dismisses.

He thinks to himself as he leaves the class room, "Oh well yesterday was pretty good, but today never is, maybe tomorrow will be better". He thinks of her.


"I miss the old ____ " - Anonymous

Peter.

How?

Why hello there readers. I've decided to take a new approach to give me more ideas to play with so now I've decided to do a photo journal kind of thing. I post it on deviant art but for the more interesting ones I will post up here. Enjoy

-



How? by ~TheHungryRock on deviantART

This is a quick snap of the amazing architecture of Melbourne Central Station building. It never ceases to amaze me how they could ever do such a thing. I would continually ask my self in my head rhetorical questions such as "How did they even get up there?", but I would automatically answer my self "Probably a crane or a really tall ladder", so to stop ruining the moment of simple amazement I tilt my head and ignore the voices in my mind and ask "How?".

Peter.

Make a Change

Gotta make a change,
For once in my life,
It's gonna feel real good,
Gonna make a difference,
Gonna make it right.

As I turned up the collar on,
My favorite winter coat,
This wind is blowin' my mind,
I see the kids in the street,
With not enough to eat,
Who am I to be blind,Pretending not to see their needs.

A summer's disregard,
A broken bottle top,
And a one man's soul,
They follow each other,
On the wind ya' know,
'Cause they got nowhere to go,
That's why I want you to know.

I'm starting with the man in the mirror,
I'm asking him to change his ways
,And no message could have been any clearer,
If you wanna make the world a better place,
Take a look at yourself and then make a change.

This is the first 2 verses and chorus of Micheal Jackson's amazing song "Man in the Mirror". If this isn't powerful stuff I really don't know what is. Infact we come to realise even further the allegations were true, that really this man is the "King of Pop". Once again RIP Micheal.

For those who want to have a small experience of this powerful song here is the link to a performance of the song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zwTgVKdPQk&feature=channel_page

"Where there is love, I'll be there" - Micheal Jackson

Peter.

Too soon?

If you have noticed anything within the media within the past week, You may have realised that the The king of pop is dead. It's a tragic event that many didn't expect, but with it brings up another issues. Once upon a time Micheal Jackson was a world renowned pop star talented in singing, had extraordinary dancing ability and created music that revolutionised the industry. But within the last few years its fair to say that the "king of pops" reputation has been destroyed by the media. If anyone had done a little research then you'd soon find out that Micheal Jackson wasn't the tyrant that the media had made him. In fact he holds the record for giving donations to charities. But when the death of the King happens all so suddenly the media in effect realises that maybe he wasn't so bad as everyone made him out to be.


The first issue I would like to shed light about is the fact that everyone makes mistakes in this world. Some of them are major which can cause damage to others and some affect no one. It's within human nature to make mistakes which comes packaged with the amazing gift of free will. So naturally we all have to take consequences for our actions. The sad thing is more often than not it doesn't end there. The destructive power of rumor will destroy the person. In fact rumor is so destructive even if a person had done nothing but rumor spread it will still have the same effect. Using the example of MJ we can see what it has done to his career and reputation. Truth be told 90% of what the media has to say is untrue or ridiculously over exaggerated.

Death is a grim thing. During funerals we tend to remember the good and happy moments of ones life. The thing that really annoys me is that it took Micheal's death for everyone to realise how much he has contributed. The media ever so frequently pushing him down and now it seems as though they care about him. It shouldn't take a death of someone to be noticed for the good things they have done or their talent.

Within everyone we have the capability to do amazing things and to achieve success. Whether you define success as making a million dollars, completing an assignment or even just finding that special someone just go with it following your heart, and make sure that you'll be remembered for what good you've done. Worst thing is to go through life and achieve nothing.

RIP Micheal Jackson

"...in the end you'll know I've lied to get your attention in faking my own suicide" - Relient K


Peter.

Perfection.

Searching for something you want is like trying to draw a perfect circle. You are ever satisfied with the result, only finding more flaws the more we look at our trials. The failure here is to realise that it we dont appreciate the uniqueness of flaws. And until we understand that perfection can never be found.

"What letter is perfect? U are"- Chi Trinh

Peter.

Hi, goodnight.

It's that time again as the two hours the past midnight fades away, the boy tired from the troubles of his day begins to reminisce the events of the daylight hours.

“Today was good”

Slowly drifting from the wake hours, he holds his heart up high quietly receiving the goodness that the clever mind crafts. Hopes and aspirations sprawl while imagination runs wild, as he pose’s to his heart an inspiration in the uncontrollable events of headspace at night. With his head bowed he converses the articulation of his mind.

“Let me find the joy of being and having with adventure and mystery, to know and be sure of self with purpose, to understand and be reassured of the tasks.”

The boy pauses as the thought of her grows within the forest of complexities of his own understandings. To falter at this point would only break his own heart. Quickly he begins to idealise these thoughts.

“Will the search be over tonight?”

Unsure as the unknown is sought, the boy holds onto the excitement of finally knowing. Comforted by the warmth of climactic thoughts, the eyes fall and the walls of consciousness plunge to the ground.

“Amen”

Sleep well, my friend sleep well.

“Good night” – Consciousness

Peter.

From Heart to Rock.

Awake, it happens again,
The night calling out as the patterns of routine crawl around the empty life.
"Friend where are you?"
He strolls along the same path but finds something new,
An open door.
Interested but hesitant he contemplates.
“The door is open walk go” the heart yells,
Yet the mind whispers “you’re already disappointed, don’t”.
With the glimpse of hope on the line he looks straight into the heart and reads,
"Acceptance is a risk, yet without risk you will find nothing"
Quickly he calculates and finds failure to be presumed,
The heart bellows "trust me".
So he walks through expecting nothing but disappointment.
He looks through with his tired eyes,
And finds something special, invigorating and amazing,
A smile.
The smallest ounce of happiness dripped into the heart,
The seed of friendship sprouted.
Unspoken joy arises from within,
And all he has to say is “thank you heart.”

To end it there would be abrupt,
But to see the implication would be unattainable.
Few would assume it was “The one”,
Others will not find meaning.
To understand, would simply be “to be”,
Only you know who you are.

“Happy Birthday” – Heart

Peter.

English SAC: Oral Presentation "Arson or Murder?"

This is my script for my oral presentation, sorry if there is minor grammar mistakes, wrote it at 130 am. Enough said time for bed. Enjoy

--

Over the last few months rural Victoria have experienced the worst bushfires ever. More commonly known as “Black Saturday” this natural disaster has brought about many controversies and issues. One of which is the topic of whether arsonist are murderers.
The definition of arson is “the criminal act of deliberately setting fire to property”. Common logic would question, who on earth would do that for any good reason? Because clearly there isn’t. It is simply evil costly and causes no one any good ever. Now we when look at this in retrospect these arsonists are the cause of the loss of communities and homes, laying nothing but destruction.

Yes this is arson, but the fact is this foolish act has caused the death of peoples lives; over 200 people in fact along with hundreds of others injured physically and scarred psychologically all because of the heartless acts of arson. The moment that father died what was considered arson has just become the criminal act of murder.

The definition of murder is the “unlawful premeditated killing of one human being by another”. As I’ve said in the definition of murder it is “premeditated”, and sure the arsonist may have never intended the death of so many people. But saying that “oh I didn’t know this wasn’t going to happen” is clearly not a good enough reason to justify these actions. If these ignorant human beings are going to argue that you didn’t intend that for people to die, then go tell that to those who have lost their families in these devastating blaze.

These criminals should be dealt with even harsher than they would in a murder case, considering the damaged caused to the community, properties, peoples psychological wellbeing and ultimately the death of Australians.

Sure they can argue that it was going to happen whether they lit that fire or not. And yes this may very well be true, but like any organised crime it’s not just the Mastermind that gets caught but everyone who contributed in some way. In the same way their actions may not have been substantial to the cause of the horrifying blaze, but in the end people are dead, and they have that on them for the rest of their lives with no one to blame but themselves

I believe that the Australian people have a right to know who these arsonists are. The identities of these people have been hidden to protect them from any harm. This idea has its merits, but considering the destruction they have caused, the word “rights” has been destroyed. They pretty much drew their own targets on their backs the moment that fire was lit. Some would argue that they are human beings, true but consider this no rational human being would ever do this and no one is so ignorant to not see the before and after of their actions.

After factoring in all these evil doings, it is clear to say that arsonist’s are murders the moment a person dies in those blazes. And if not a person they have killed the communities because of their actions. Considering things further we can conclude that in fact arson is worse than murder. Now lets all go home to our families, oh wait some don’t have that pleasure anymore, why? Because of those malignant arsonist.

Be yourself.

The short,
The sweet,
And the simple,
Quickly defined by the short mannerism implied the meaning of each of these statements.

Striving for love, acceptance and popularity the identity of ones self is quickly diminished as the sway of the lovers call or the approval of the group ultimately changed what was already beautiful. Only fix what is broken because if you fix what isn't broken covering up the natural cracks will only weigh you down. So don't change your amazing self for anyone, because if you ever did, no ones actually looking at you anymore.

"I like you for who they didn't make you" - Peter Do

Peter.

Homework, SACs, Exams and all things good.

The year is 2009 and it always seems to be going so fast. Being me it is obvious that I just want all of this as soon as possible. The scary thought is that the sooner the end approaches, the sooner those final exams will arrive. The day that I finally have to encounter one of the hardest task's in my life is only but five or so months away. To further extend these exams pretty much determine what will happen with my life.

The thoughts "I can do it later" or "I can't be stuffed" are one of the major flaws in this generation that pollute the minds like poison, stopping them from achieving more in their lives. If we all decided to do things right away rather than leaving it for the night before it is due, it would clearly make a difference on our end results. More time to do things is clearly beneficial. Don't wonder why your so stressed if you had time to do it earlier.

The fall of disappointment always seems to be the main thing to bring us down. There are two reactions that regularly come up. The first is "Flip that was the hardest SAC ever, I hate this subject". This reaction would often cause the person to move into a depressed state causing to careless about the subject and further falling behind. (Doesn’t exactly like that, but generally you know what I mean). The second reaction would be this "Far out the teacher didn't show us how to do it, how Bull$%#! is that". The flaw is putting complete blame on the teacher. In some cases this may very well be true. But we all know clearly, who's fault it really is (Yours.)

School to some can be considered as fun, but to others it may just be something that they have to go through it getting whatever grade. The best way to succeed is to simply find something to inspire you. Whether it be a girl or guy, a career, for me it would be Jesus or you can even be motivated in just being the best for yourself. And when you do find that something that drives you, everything just becomes easier.

The best feeling is completing an assignment or an exam and knowing that you gave it your all. Because if a man gives his all, what more can you give? You don’t want to be the one saying you wish you could do better.

Anyway, regardless of how long you decide to procrastinate, Exams are approaching at a rapid rate, and the only way to make it through is to take it head on.

"You have a whole week, just sit down and plow through it" - Jon Tran

English SAC: Creative Piece

This is another draft of one of my English SAC's I will be writing in the near future, I only hope it would be as well written as it is here since I am not able to bring this draft in. Wish me luck and enjoy. Oh and also the Prompt for this piece is "I hated that place"

Edit: I don't actually hate this world, It is just that all the other prompts required me to watch a movie, so this was the easiest and most convenient.

---

My world is a simple place,
Full of life, vibrant and raging cars on the freeway.
Where synthetic faces are found in an abundance,
And superficial relationships with the word “I love you” counted more often than the air we breathe.
The modern day landscape is covered with tall sky scrapers towering like Everest,
And small parks conserving the past of the forgotten land.
The quiet oceans of people rushing in and out of shopping centres,
Finding something, anything to be fulfilled with a false sense of happiness.
Children crying out to their parents to update them with the latest game magazines,
And matured women scheduling their next beauty appointment in an attempt to find true beauty.
The routine of our humanity can be found anywhere and everywhere we look,
A student dropped of at school, a father going to work, a lover saying good bye.
The sound of music fills the breezy air as motor vehicles rush across what once a quiet street,
The orchestra of raging traffic found in the heart of Melbourne.
People screaming out loud trying to make their life pass by faster,
Trying to find a sense of worth within a dead world.
It all seems as though everything worked in perfect harmony just
Everything seems in perfect balance, the reality of a fake world,
If anything were to disturb the peace, it would simply be hung up and forgotten.
The voice of a child crying out for help, hopeless and lost,
The call of the distressed mother eagerly seeking Her child.
All of this just to bring it back to normal,
And what seemed to be the norm seems to be replica of a simply empty world.
It’s real, but it isn’t, and I can only say one thing,
I hated that place.

English SAC: Reactions to landscapes

The teacher allowed me to write up my SAC in blog format, so why not post it up. So here is my SAC draft enjoy.

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Today’s topic to be explored in this blog is why people react differently to their landscapes. Everyday we continually encounter different landscapes; though these landscapes we are exposed to are the same, people perceive it differently. The cause of this derives from the psychological theory of perceptual set. Other factors that may influence reactions to landscape would include past experiences in life, how people look at life and our friendship groups. Many examples of this can be found in the film Jindabyne which will be further explored.

The theory of perceptual set stresses the idea of perception as an active process involving selection, deduction and interpretation. It is a bias or readiness to perceive certain aspects of available sensory data and to ignore others. What this means is that things we already know influence how we perceive a place or object to be. For example if we are walking through a rain forest and soon after we observe a random tree, we would view this not just as a tree but rather as part of a vast rain forest exploiting other factors of nature and wildlife. But if we just looked at the tree we would just see it as a tree. In the film Jindabyne this can relate to the native Australian people (aboriginals) who draw a sense of spirituality from their landscape. Where as the White Australians only see it as land that is used for recreation and their own purposes.

Our different perceptions on life change how we react to our landscape and environment. To extend this point further. In general, when we are happy we are able to see things with more optimism and have a more positive outlook. But when we aren’t in such a happy mood we find that that nothing seems to matter. Relating this back to how people view landscapes differently, that generally when people are happy it lifts the environment around them up and in the same way when people aren’t in a good mood it is obvious that they wouldn’t care about their environment around them. For example, whereas Caylin Calandria regards Lake Jindabyne with a sense of awe, Tom is fearful of it, refusing to swim therein.

Friendship groups affect how we react to landscapes. The notion of being in a friendship group gives us a sense of identity and self worth. And the people within the friendship generally reflect the overall leader of the group. This affects how we perceive landscape because in most cases the opinion of the group is made by the leader. In saying that we do not want to disagree with the fear of being pushed out or being different to the group. In which this would hinder our true opinion on any topic for that matter. So rather than speaking your own mind it is rather the group mentality that dominates over all. This is evident in Jindabyne when the men saw the dead body of the aboriginal girl, the group mentality suggested that they leave it, but surely one of the men thought they should do something about it, but because of the group mentality it didn’t matter what he thought.

All these are clear examples of what can influence our perception on landscape. Though we can say that it would be the same landscape, a range of factors can change our perception on how we react to landscape. There are many other examples that we can exploit, but in the end, to really gain a greater understanding and appreciation for landscape we need to take ourselves out of our worlds and just see everything for how it is.

Peter.

The gift of time.

Straight to the point. The greatest gift you can ever give someone is your time. Time can add the essence to any thing, whether it would be a simple gift between friends or a dinner with your special companion. The main factor that makes any gift or any thing for that matter, worthwhile is time. Often taken for granted, what we do give with our time can never be taken back.

Time can be given in many forms, whether it be spending time with the person, chatting to them, comforting them or it can even be simply taking the time to look for a gift about what they like and so forth. Allowing the other person to realise the time you've spent on them only makes it that much better. Because sure its easy to get something expensive for your friend, but if you didn't put any heart into it, thats all it will ever be a materialist item with a price tag. Time can make what would be considered a "cheap" item to be the most valuable gift they would receive.

Another example would be organising an outing with a friend, and there are to options. You could either take the easy option and go to Mc Donalds, or spend the time to find out what they like. And its obvious which would mean more.

These are just two of the many examples of how time can add that something special to anything we do or give to others. We all live in it, bound by it and often wish we had more of it. And you all know the saying "Spend wisely" and what better not to spend your time on those your truly care about.

"All the money in the world, couldn't buy the precious time I've spent with you" - Peter Do

Peter.

Its all Because of Facebook

A couple of days ago it was my birthday, as part of a social experiment I decided to see how many people remembered. Without remembering the all important factor that of which is the internet and more specifically. Now lets be honest and say how many people did actually know it was the day I was born? And the truth is it wouldn't be to many. And as depressing/attention seeking as this sounds, this is the beauty of Facebook. We no longer have to remember any upcoming dates for events and birthdays. All the information required can be found within a few passwords and clicks.

Facebook like any online community shall I say, is a web based society where we are able to comment each other, finding out what is happening and even have some fun playing one of the many Facebook applications. Enough of me explaining because clearly if you know what blogspot is you'd probably already know what facebook is about.

While all of this is cool and dandy, the thing I want to bring up is not how much money I lose playing poker(on facebook of course), but this one topic that is always on my mind. And that is simply the fact that people can upload absolutely any photo for the world to see. It is usually just standard photos with people posing and their peace fingers sticking up. And that is fine but every so often we would come across those photos we would consider embarrassing.

Now these photos would be a picture with let's say a boy and a girl, and we all know what that means their going out! Another example of this could be a boy and a boy and yeah I think you know what I am talking about. Often enough I find that I am the victim of this. A comment about it would be fine, but when it leads to a page worth of discussion and further discussion beyond the bounds of the internet (real life), that's when it begins to become a little annoying.

Since the internet has come this far all these things are bound to happen in due time. And in time we just learn to adapt to flow with technology. I say we go back to creating rumors about the couple sitting in the back and actually remembering important dates you silly conformist. But thats just how the cookie crumbles.

"It's not official unless its on Facebook" - Jon Tran

Peter.

Wouldn't it be funny?

I was a little hung up on what topic I should write about on this next blog, and after acquiring a few opinions from friends of mine I have decided to write a short story of an event that happened not to long ago. For the sake of confidentiality my other friends will be named Alex (girl) and John (guy). Enjoy

*Note: Excuse my bad english.

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So John, Alex and I decide to hang out while we waited for the party later on. We walked around the city, grabbed some ice-cream and it was all cool. We went to the food court and sat down and had a chat for a while about random things going on in our lives. "I'm really hungry" I cry out, and the problem with this was that the party was only an hour away. My friends were urging me not to eat but because the fact that I think with my stomach I decided to grab a bite to eat. And both John and Alex shook their heads in disappointment.

Soon after that we decided to walk around and look at the many attractions that the busy Melbourne Central allowed us. We came across a furniture store and decided to take a look inside. We saw many different comfortable elegant pieces of furniture in abstract shapes and sizes. In the background we could observe the beautiful house hold items such as vases, chandeliers and mirrors. We get to the back of the store and find a nice couch with a couple of soft pillows on it. I sit towards one end of the couch while Alex sat at the other and John found himself comfortable on a recliner near by and I notice the pillows. And out of immaturity I pick the pillow up and throw it square at her face. She quickly noticed and her automatic reaction was to throw it back. When the pillow approached me I used my ninja fast reflexes and deflect the pillow and at that moment we heard the sound of a crashing Vase hitting in the direction the pillow was flung. At that moment we paused for about three seconds in shock and I quickly said "Let’s get out of here". So we hurried out as fast as we could but not to fast so that no one would notice what had happened.

As we exited the store we all sighed in relief as we had escaped punishment for destroying a possibly expensive vase. My logic allowed me to comfort Alex who initiated the attack, in that "the store was a multimillion dollar company, and that vase was nothing to the company, just a mere item for display". And that is what keeps my conscious clear till this very day.

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Ok so that was a funny event that happened not so long ago, but what I wanted to bring out is how often we would think that "hey that won't happen to us" or "wouldn't it be funny if", but every so often it does happen and luckily we didn’t have to pay the price (the price of the vase that is). I just wanted to say that don't be to confident in thinking that we are invincible, though this case wasn't to serious, we can see the parallels when it comes to different situations in that our lack of thinking can cause serious harm to yourself or others.

"Wouldn't it be funny if I punched in that direction and hit someone in the face? *punch* OH CRAP! Are you ok?"

Peter.

You were there.

I heard an amazing statement while listening to a sermon in my Text and Traditions class and it was something along the lines of "Until we understand the nature of who Jesus was, we wont know where to find him". This sermon was based on the story of when Jesus was at the temple and his parents were looking for him all over Jerusalem and the last place they finally looked was the Temple and that was where Jesus was.

I find that this is message profound because a lot of the time I don't know where to find Jesus and in that sense don't know where to find that sense of connection connection with him. But when we look in the scriptures we can learn that our bodies are temples of the holy sprit. And when I finally understood that I learnt that in reality the place where Jesus was, was at the temple as the holy spirit (which is apart of the trinity of God which is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit).

I guess in this short but powerful revelation, we can look everywhere for Jesus and question where He is in our world, but until we understand the nature of who God is we wont understand that He dwells within us as the Holy Spirit. And that He has always been with us. In that sense when we understand the nature of who God is, we can understand furthermore how amazing grace is and how He continues to bless abundantly.

"God loves us the same before and after sin, and even while where sinning" - Jon Tran

"He was there"

Peter

*Note: I editted it because of people noticing my lack of vocabulary. I hope your happy now.

But I Did!

The past few weeks have been simply hectic especially with school and the many SACS they throw at me. And thats to be expected of since I am in year 12 this year. With the piling amount of stress that I have been overwhelmed with it seems no matter how hard I try there always seem to be more i should have done, to further and extend what I try to achieve.

The common thought would be that you are thinking that I am talking about my studies, but for that point your only half right. For those who know me it is clearly obvious that I am a fat guy. And in the past couple of weeks I've rapidly changing what I eat in an attempt to reduce my weight and become more healthy in general. Heres is what I eat in my usual eating routine:

Breakfast- Coffee and and a banana
Recess- fruit juice
Lunch - Some healthy expensive bread roll/wrap
After school snack- Banana and maybe some sweets like ice cream if I have any.
Dinner- Usually rice and other stuff that goes with rice.
And on top of that I drink a lot of water now

Impressive I know, but as impressive as it seems the results aren't appearing. It's been like three to four weeks since I've been doing this routine and nothing! Why??? You can say " you haven't been trying hard enough Peter" and i would reply "But I did, I have been!".

I guess it is a bit early to expect such results, but I still hope for further improvements in the future. On that note it would probably be more effective if I exercised, but the epic fail attitude of "I can't be bothered" lingers around in my thoughts and therefore is not allowing me to do so.

So thats enough rambling from me. Year 12 is beginning to apply pressure on me and it doesn't ever seem to get easier. But on my quest to get an 85 i will persist and yeah lets hope its not an 85 kilos.

Orientated Family

This is an older blog that I wrote a while back and I wanted to bring it from myspace to hear because this is utterly important to myself. It is also a bit long so be warned. enjoy.

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Blog about the important things in life

Family. The thing I dread the most but also need the most. Yes both are contradicting statements, but time and time again I fail to realise the importance of family. In this Blog I don’t want to be telling anyone what’s right or wrong, but rather just my side to this issue. The greatest issue of people disrespecting our parents. And I know I need to work on these things to because we are all culprits of this, sometimes with out realising it.

We all get into fights with our parents. They can be over anything from going out to much, spending too much time on the computer, boyfriend or girlfriend and even simple things like not doing our chores. Our main argument is "Mum/Dad you never understand me" or "you don’t know what its like" or even "I am old enough to make my own decisions". And as much as it seems that all they want to do is bring you down it is really the opposite. Because in actual fact the only reason they would ever some would say interfere with your life is because simply because they care and love you. Sure they might not understand your exact situation and sure they might over react a little, it doesn’t change the fact that they'd do anything to protect their kid. It's a parents duty to worry, because in the end all the ever do is care.

I remember when I was a kid I use to be the worst. I would always get into trouble and my parents would have my kneel down in the corner or hit me with a something. And I know for a fact in my mind I would be like "I hate you mum/dad". Why? Simple because they hit me. I didn’t understand in the heat of the moment why my parents hit me, which is because when we are young we are simple minded and fail to look at the bigger picture. Our parents don't enjoy punishing their kids. In fact they would rather avoid it. I mean who would seriously want to hit their own kids. There has to be more to it and there is. That’s because they are disciplining you so that in the future you would be a better person. The reason I brought this up is because for teenagers we don’t understand why parents don’t let us go out or do things that might be harmful to us. Likewise as a child we are simple minded and don’t see the bigger picture that it only benefits us. A parent punishing their kid brings them no benefit. They gain nothing except the heartache of hurting their child. As much as we believe they don’t understand it is in fact us that don’t understand. But like I now understand why my parents hit me with a chopstick, we will understand why our parents didn’t let us go to that party.

Don’t you hate it when your parents are right? We always go to them nah that wont happen to me. So they let us go on our merry way and we soon discover that oh crap they were right and then we have to up to them and apologise. Even if we already know they are right we continue to make our stance against them to some how manipulate words to make you sound right. Let me give you an example. Growing up I have always been eating junk food. My parents would be like hey don’t eat so much you'll get fat, but I was like Nah I'm fine don’t worry sif I’ll get fat. And look at me now. Oh crap if only I listened to my parents. I don’t understand it either but some how our parents always seem to be right. I guess we just have to learn to trust them because as much as they aren’t you, you aren’t them either (well you kind of are) and that’s exactly my point. You keep telling them they don't understand when you have no knowledge of what they apparently don’t know if you know what I mean. They just simply want to pass their experiences on to you so that maybe you wouldn't make the same mistake. It might be a different situation but it’s the same concept. Different, Differentbut the same.

The last thing I really dislike is how teenagers talk to their parents as if they are trash. I mean it might not necessarily be like fully swearing or abusing their parents, but more like just pushing them away in harsh tone of voice. As much as we might have a crap day or you might have bad relations with your parents, they still deserve to be respected. Besides they did bring you up as a child till where you are today. Parents are awesome. Some aren’t as lucky to have parents, and I guess it’s another reason to respect your parents because I would hate to regret not spending time with them when they are gone, because truth is they don’t last forever. It might seem like it’s always the same but one day they will be gone and the worst feeling is regretting after it’s too late. So yeh treat them with respect not only because they deserve it, but because you want to give it. After all they gave you everything you have.


Peter

The Awesome Three

Even with the common prospect that these people will probably never read this blog, in the hope that these people will I would like to write anonymous messages to them as they are important to me at this point in time. These will remain anonymous. If these messages inspire, teach or encourage you in anyway, that’s awesome, if not I’ll say I’m sorry for wasting your time in advance.

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Man you are by far one of the most important people in my lives. In many ways I live for the hope and aspiration God has placed in your life and more (including mine). As much as you are a great leader and mentor to me, your also one of my closest friends. There are too many things that I can describe as the same between us for me to mention, but it’s just in effect even more so why you mean so much to me. Where ever you are I know you’ll keep me in your prayers and vice versa.

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The friendship we share isn’t that great at this point in time. But I know through our trials and valleys that it will only draw us closer. Though I don’t share much with you, its sweet that I know that I can turn to you. Going through this year will be a tough one and I know at least we can fall on each other as brothers in Christ. Your encouragement means a lot to me and thanks for it, may God continue just to be your rock, salvation and comfort in your life.

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You are really just a great person to have as a friend. For the short time that we’ve known each other you and I are already really good friends. It’s pretty cool that I can share to you what I’ve gone through during the week and we can have a laugh at my attempts to be funny. Asides the awkwardness created by those around us just being with you and spending time with you is great. It’s so awesome that you just accept me for who I am. Your friendship means the world to me and I treasure it so much in my heart. Seriously though you should chill out sometimes, I think your overstressed at times with school and church, all I have to say is quote “don’t worry it's ok”. Just keep being awesome.

"I treasure your friendship more than myself"

Peter.

The mix of love and attraction.

Quite often in the twenty-first century we can observe and view that the words “I love you” is thrown around all the time. We hear it everywhere, in our houses between the beautiful gift of marriage, on TV (or Movie) where the main protagonist sways the beautiful jewel with cunning and sweet talk, and now more often than ever before in our schools where teenage love seems to be in abundance. Which of these can we consider to be real love?

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Sam, a quiet guy was having just an average lunch in the company of his many friends. Everything seemed as ordinary as it usually would seem. His friends were chatting away, his sandwich in his right hand, juice box in the left, Ben standing next to him talking about his wild dreams and aspirations with no one seeming to care, Joe to his right picking out the girls passing bye and Jeremy showing off his new iPod. So Sam just eating away at his ham filled sandwich takes a quick look around the building and something catches his eye. An angelic smile was the only words that he could think of. The utter perfection of her body showing the true beauty of Gods handiwork on earth.

Weeks would go by and over the endless periods of school they got together only to soon realise that the oh my goodness don’t say it word “love” wasn’t there. And this is the thing that stumps many young teenagers in our common age. They mix the two words love and attraction. When it comes down to any relationship there is always the initial attraction. Something about him or her makes them different to the other four billion people on the earth. But this is where nine out of ten times people get it wrong. Does the phrase “I like you, lets go out” sound familiar to you? Well you see the first mistake here is, you don’t even know the person. In fact that is your only mistake. Another common phrase or something along the lines of this would be “why did it turn out this way I thought he was ‘the one’”. And that’s simply because you don’t know him (or her).

To be attracted to someone does not necessarily mean you have to marry him (or her).It just simply means that you find a certain aspect or quality that just draws you towards them in a different way than you would be to other people. If you are able to understand and grasp this meaning of attraction, I believe that it could take friendship to a whole dimension, even better than most boyfriend/girlfriend relationships in some cases.

Now back to my original question to which of the three can we consider “real love”. As we can see throughout the tone of this blog clearly, not the high school relationships. And it is obviously not the not the actor because it’s just a TV show. Which leaves one answer and that would be the married couple. It is because they’ve over time (most of the time), built up a relationship from the first attraction and didn’t rush the true beauty of friendship. Simply its just because they know each other.

“I like you more than I love you”

Peter.

Ps: This doesn’t apply to everyone, some are lucky enough to instantly fall in love with someone, and I am jealous. But in most cases you need to work on friendship before you get relationship.

Lunch Time

Another day passes on where life continually throws its hurdles at my undermanaged mind. I sit there thinking, pondering, wondering how long it will finally take for me to realise the time it is. Sitting, wishing, and waiting while the rush of students to the cafeteria creates the sound of a spinning tornado.
I sit there unable to comprehend the current situation I stop. Silence. Somehow in the raging chaos of the lunch hour, I’ve come to a peaceful stop in my mind. I press my palms together and pray “Oh my Lord, You are stronger”. I open my eyes renewed, excited, passionate and ready for the task ahead.

Time goes by tick tock, tick tock I continue the task at hand and soon realise I am running out of time. I begin to hasten my tempo in an act of desperation to finish my mission. Thoughts running through my head “I can’t, I can’t”. I stop and breakdown with frustration and anger towards my tormented soul. Crouched up in the corner I wait in hope of a way out something just to take it away and in that moment of distress I hear a sweet serenade to my ears “You will.”

Once again I stand up with my equipment at hand ready to take down the beast. I work at it, time grows short, and regardless I persevere continually telling my self “I can, I will”. I pushed through the desert and found myself at a blissful oasis relaxed relieved that it was finally over.
“Beep Beep” I get up and go. Ready for the last periods of my day, I stand strong reiterating to myself over and over “He can, He can”. Why? Because He did.

I find strength in the one who gave me strength first.

“You are my strength,
Strength like no other,
Strength like no other,
Reaches to me.” –Hillsong

Peter.

If faith was a rollercoaster, I'd want you to sit next to me

According to a dear friend of mine Jon, Love is defined not by all the lovey dovey feelings that are there initially, but rather sticking with the relationship when all the feelings aren’t there. Profound? It inspired me to fix up my old crappy poem from myspace so here it is.

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I know that is sounds kind of old and may sound a little cliché,
but I know there is the “The One” person who is meant for me.
Holding thoughts dear to my heart,
the that the day that I would finally meet you feels like an eternity.
To think of the joy and care I would give her,
waiting, moment by moment for the time that our two very different lives will cross paths.
We would share moments relating our characteristics,
but also learning to accept the beauty of our differences.
Though understanding may sometimes be hard to come by,
we will both know regardless that our first love will keep us strong.
The hardships will come our way and times may seem dim,
I know that you’d stick with me right to the end.
I don’t know who you are, and I don’t know when I’ll meet you,
But I know when I meet you that this is what I have been waiting for.
Readers, family and friends, you probably question “why are you writing this? What is the motivation?”
The simple answer is I know “Good love is on the way” – John Mayer
Who it is? I do not know.
It could be anyone, it might even be the person reading right now.
But who ever it is I cant wait to meet you.


Peter.

The Beginning of a waste of Time

This is the beginning of the many blogs to be posted in the near distant future. They will be comprised of stories, opinions, poems and some basic theology. This is for the sake of improving my English for my VCE, and exploring new ways to express my imagination through text. Opinions from readers is ok as long as flaming is kept to a minimum. I seek new ways in improving my extraordinarily crap English so please give me some tips. If not then you can leave.

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When I say Genius, do I come to mind? As much as it may seem that the natural genius is gleaming from my amazing introduction, I am far from what we can consider to be smart in this world. The simple path of laziness can lead to the destruction of the beautifully God created mind. The fact is "The Rushing Streams devours the Great Mountain". To elaborate on this point, the stream represents an insignificant truth that the small things which seem harmless have detrimental effect on the larger scale of things. What we thought was unmovable is demolished by the passing of a stream of water over a period of time.

You can’t avoid the streams, because the seasons of your life will continually bring rain and over your mountain. The water also represents opportunities and situations; they will always come up in your life. Its up to you whether you let it take its course and let it carve you down, or direct it to bring new life and opportunity. We all know that in this season of drought that water is one of the biggest issues today. We can’t stop using water because we need it to live, but we can use it effectively and efficiently to get the most use out of it as possible.

Now to finish things up, bring everything back to the point of laziness can destroy a brilliant mind. Laziness is pretty much wasting opportunities to expand and grow in any area of your daily living and life. If you don’t deal with this "small" issue you’re going to find that your valley is deeper than you thought, and by that time it may well be too late.

Don't waste water.

Peter