Talking about photographs, I took a whole lot in Chicago, will upload them onto my Flickr account soon, after I get the polsci midterm out of the way tomorrow. There're cool shots of the Navy Pier, Sears Tower, the Cheesecake Factory (perhaps the best dessert place ever, Cafe Greco of Melbourne has been relegated to second place right now), and of Six Flags Great America Theme Park which we visited on Sunday. Oh and we were also so trigger-happy that we took a couple of pictures of the menu from Penang (this restaurant in Chicago Chinatown that sold, much to our delight, pretty authentic Malaysian-Singaporean fare like Hainanese chicken rice, roti prata, bubur hitam, oyster omelette (!)). We were all delirious with happiness over having local food after eons that we promptly made reservations for the next night immediately after finishing dinner on the first. And there were egg tarts in the bakeries in Chinatown, which we bought on the first night, intending to have them for breakfast the next day. But instead we went to the International House of Pancakes (IHOP) and neglected the egg tarts in the car, and one of the tarts displaced its custard filling onto another tart, which was quite strange really. But I don't think anyone cared, since egg tarts in themselves were treat enough.

We spent a pretty good time in Chicago, I must say it was definitely a most enjoyable experience with the boys, stuffing ourselves silly with gargantuan portions of cake at the Cheesecake Factory, waiting in line at Six Flags for an entire hour for a silly middling rollercoaster called the Ragin' Cajun which actually resembled more of a dodgy ride in an enormous teacup, travelling along the I-94 highway and running over a dead deer on our way back to Ann Arbor, which left a smattering of fur and blood on the tires. Which left Alvin pretty flustered especially after we mentioned that it was a distinct possibility that he could have run over a woman in a fur coat and have mistaken it for a large furry mammal, in the darkness.

Life is good. It's fabulous on the surface. New friends, time well spent, loads of things to do, road trips, experiences of a lifetime that come with having the opportunity to study overseas. But in the back of my mind there are always some things that gnaw away at my insides, things that I try to refrain from blogging about, issues that I find hard to discuss because of the simple fact that no one can give me an answer so it doesn't make a difference anyway. I can't even find a solution to my own problem. It's an awful feeling when you're so desperately hopeless and you wonder what you've done wrong and you would give just about anything in the world for things to be okay again.

i just pray that someday, somehow, you'll find the drive to love again.


***
Sometimes I feel the fear of uncertainty stinging clear
And I can't help but ask myself how much
I'll let the fear take the wheel and steer
It's driven me before and it seems to have a vague
haunting mass appeal

But lately I'm beginning to find that I
should be the one behind the wheel

Whatever tomorrow brings
I'll be there with open arms and open eyes
Whatever tomorrow brings I'll be there

So if I decide to waiver my chance to be one of the hive
Will I choose water over wine and hold my own and drive

It's driven me before and it seems to be the way
that everyone else gets around
But lately I'm beginning to find that when
I drive myself my light is found

Whatever tomorrow brings
I'll be there with open arms and open eyes
Whatever tomorrow brings I'll be there

Would you choose water over wine
and hold the wheel and drive

Whatever tomorrow brings
I'll be there with open arms and open eyes
Whatever tomorrow brings

I'll be there.
***
incubus :: drive