♥ Dominique ♥

Dreams & Reality

Saturday, February 28, 2015 • 9:13 AM • 0 comments

Woke up feeling rather gloomy today and the weather in Melbourne reflects exactly that. It has been sunny this week until today. Pretty sure it's gonna rain in an hour's time.

Ever since I've moved into this room, I've had dreams every night. They are not pleasant at all. :( I often wake up feeling scared or sad. Today, it's been the worst. It's a stark reminder of what I've lost and it was painful. You would move on from all these memories because life and time goes on and being someone who's caught up with my own goals, I do move forward. However, we all would realise, that from time to time, these memories come back to haunt us. Once again, we find our hearts and minds really affected by them. I often feel alone when I feel this way but I'm pretty sure he does, everyone does. It's just how frequent and how much we allow ourselves to be affected by it.

Moral of the story? I need a dreamcatcher! :p

Meanwhile, being in Melbourne alone and starting on a new independent journey again, is a dream and goal come true! :) However in reality, this new phase of life may be giving some stress. Although I feel fine but my body and mind are finer calipers of balance and right now, I may be just feeling out of sorts while adjusting to life.

So far, I'm quite thankful. Not many major hiccups and I'm grateful for many things that have happened and people who have helped. I can only continue to pray and hope for things to be good, for love, peace, health and happiness. Amen.

The pictures kinda sum up what I've been doing.

Coffee (loads), exploring lanes, night life (White Night!), Queen Victoria Market, CNY, Beaches (St Kilda)! :)

Labels: 2015, australia, coffee, dreamcatcher, dreams, emo, God, life, lost, love, melbourne, queen victoria market, st kilda, stress, travel

2014!

Wednesday, January 1, 2014 • 3:13 PM • 0 comments

First post of the year. Woke up feeling that 2014 might just be a better year than 2013! :) Cheers!

2013 was not spectacular but I'm thankful for some of the wonderful days I've had.
Met some nice people & made some happy memories together but I've also met some not so nice people whom I hope receives their bad karma (e.g., the warty fellas who stole my 2 iphones).
There were memories that I reminisce all the time and it was bittersweet to know and accept that they're going on to better places.
There were many bad decisions like having bad food with a lingering bad after taste.
There wasn't much time to reflect and feel satisfied with things at work and feel appreciated.
On a happier note, I've always loved looking back at my travels in the year and I'm so thankful to have had awesome time with my cool company in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Hawaii, Perth and Korea.
I'm extremely thankful that everyone I love around me have not had very poor health and are all relatively well.

The first song I thought of on the eve of new year was Oasis's Don't look back in anger. Nothing else says better than this song title. There's no use in looking back, I really want to move on and go forward and let love and happiness fill in the gaps in between.

To do list in 2014:

Spring clean and throw things that don't matter out of my life
Donate what I can
Exercise regularly
Save more money
Have a holiday
Study
Think positive and say positive

I hope and pray for health, happiness and love. <3

Labels: 2013, 2014, don't look back in anger, donate, exercise, happiness, hawaii, holiday, hongkong, karma, korea, let there be love, love, oasis, perth, save, shanghai, songs, springclean, travel

Seoul-ful Sights

Monday, December 16, 2013 • 3:50 PM • 0 comments

10 years of friendship celebrated with a trip to Seoul. Indeed, it was good for the soul. ;)

Identity crisis during the trip...

I wanted to be a man...a frenchie, with a curly wurly mustache. Bonjour, I am Dominique.

sometimes a kitty without the mouth...

or maybe a giraffe?

But mostly, I wanna be a kitty cat. *meow*

Beautiful winter slopes

Freedom village in the North. It's a sight to behold how differences in thoughts can separate the same people.

My brother and I had a conversation about how the world perceived the northies to be suffering when they could be happy. Friends and I had a similar conversation. Sharing of articles on facebook on both sides of the coin - how people are happy and don't need the 'privileged'to help versus we are self-deluded into thinking that poor can be happy in their own ways so that we feel better about ourselves.

First, happiness can be measured at so many levels - wealth, health and security. I find it difficult to write it into a GP essay/argument so I'm gonna just write my thoughts in points.

Like everything else, there is always a curve. X-axis as one of the 3 factors and Y-axis as the happiness level. Up to a certain point, happiness level will plateau. No matter how much more money, health and security is given, you won't be any more happier.
Happiness and contentment are different concepts but they are also mindsets. They are determined by the individual and are dependent on the amount of resources and the circumstances in which one is bounded by. For e.g., I am born in a farm and I am contented with life as long as i am healthy to work, have food, shelter and my family in good health. I am happy when the weather is good, harvest is good and when there are no natural disasters or poor health. However, if I am ambitious and not contented with a little farm house because I've seen bigger houses on TV or I am driven by factors like i need more money to seek treatment for a family member, then I may not be happy with life and would want to go out there to earn more money.
Someone can be contented with life at how it is now because their knowledge of a good life is shaped by their society and culture. Maybe if they are given knowledge of alternative forms of good life, they may no longer be contented and happy with life.
So maybe the northies are contented with life because that's the life they are born into and they are bounded by circumstances (i.e., they cannot leave the country). Therefore, they might as well live their life to the fullest. Are they happy and contented? Yes, at this point in time. However, given the freedom of choice to leave or stay? Some may want to, others may not. Because everyone has a different plateau/peak in the curve.
The beggars you see along streets or children with bloated stomachs because they have lack of proteins in their diets? They are probably happy and contented if they can have food and shelter everyday. Is that the end? To let them choose food and shelter everyday or a chance at being educated and work for a living? I won't be surprised if some choose option 1 and others, option 2. Because everyone has a different plateau/peak in the curve. However to not give them the basic food and shelter and security, then they are at the start of the curve and would therefore, definitely not be happy or contented.
In short, happiness is a very very effy concept and has many grey areas. The only way to know if someone is happy, is simply to ask. Even then, they may not really know better either. Most importantly, neither do we. It's a self-perceived value afterall.

Ok, enough of the dreary. It's almost 2014. I really hope it will be an awesome year. More health, more wealth, good travels, good peace, good food, good love and more good progression. Cheers!

xoxo

Labels: 2013, 2014, BFF, food, happiness, health, holiday, hope, korea, love, north korea, peace, seoul, ski, snow, travel, wealth, winter, work, yongpyong ski resort

Random Rants

Saturday, November 2, 2013 • 7:47 PM • 0 comments

I feel like going London or NYC for Christmas.
I want to fall in love again. I want to be loved and to love in return.
I want to start something.
I want a good change.

Am I really just a bright spark that fell onto the ground and lost its sparkle?

I've a new love for Lang Leav's works. Shall buy her book. A few of which I'm feeling inclined towards these days...

Labels: 2013, emo, hewyork, holiday, hope, lang leav, london, love, poem, relationships, travel

The land of beautiful beaches

Saturday, August 10, 2013 • 12:51 PM • 0 comments

The beach in Waikiki is beautiful and the first day I arrived, the weather was marvellous and the view was breathtaking. The skies were in a pretty shade of blue with wind swept clouds. The sea was covered in layers of turquoise, emerald, mint and aqua. The cool sea breeze blew across our faces while the magnificent sun beat upon our backs. I was in Hawaii, baby! Woohoo!

Snorkelling with many many fishes. I've never swam with so many different fishes before. It was an amazing feeling. :) So glad I bought my waterproof camera case.

Couldn't leave Hawaii without a few jump shots! =D

And of course, the emo shots. Sunsets are super gorgeous here and the sun goes down behind the hills so quickly, I felt fortunate to catch a glimpse of this setting.

So you sailed away, into a grey sky morning...

Hilton fireworks happens every Friday evening at 7.45pm. It was spectacular!

If you sit by the Hilton part of the Waikiki beach, you could feel your heart thump everytime the firework explodes into a thousand, million sparkles in the dark night sky. Everyone sat on the beach in awe. =) The feeling was immensely pleasant. It was romantic.

If you had watched it at Ala Moana beach park, it was further away but the fireworks painted the black canvas of night sky. You could admire everything so much clearly as if you were at a art gallery. Families filled the park, grandparents, parents, children, relatives, friends, lovers, all gathered with their mats, tents, deck chairs and big bags of food and drinks. Everyone was blissfully enjoying their bonding time, watching the beautiful night sky lit up by wonderful display of fireworks.

I also learnt to make my own lei. It was easy and fun and pretty. :)

This is the easiest method..

We need a special needle, rope string, 20 panda orchids and 30 ilima, thread them together through their 'hardier'parts and Viola! Beautiful garland or Lei, a symbol of affection. ;)

Drove by someone's 'animal farm' and decided to feed the cute little animals. Goats were super territorial and are really the alpha animals. None of the sheep or any other animals came near to me for food because the goats would shoo them away.