No one can be that shallow! Can they?

On the way to buy the Weekend SMH and the AFR for a bargain price of $3

It has gotten to that time of the year again. People call it the silly season, kids call it Christmas, for me, I call it summer – the time to pack your bags and head for the cooler season in the northern hemisphere. This is the time for people to catch up, reminisce old memories and ponder the future; all of which we were able to do courtesy of a few well organized barbeques (not mine for a change).

It was here where I caught up with old friends. People I haven’t seen in a while and people I hope to see more often now that their tertiary education has finally come to an end. I know what they are going through. The excitement of the closing of a long education and the empty fears of the future. There is nothing more perfect that people sitting around, eating excellent food and enjoying each others company and discussing our dreams and goals.

It is also around this time that people start to go on vacation to avoid the horrible heat that is gripping Sydney. And listening to all these plans bought a touch of envy in me. I wish I was going on holidays. I wish I was escaping the Sydney summer. I wish I was jet setting around the world.

So while I was pursuing the mountain of the aforementioned newspapers I came across a headline that really got me thinking. “First Home Special: How to get started.” It’s getting to that point in my life again where I reassess my goals and a home is definitely on the list. While I have successfully completed my first goals / wish list, I have yet to formalize a new one. Looking back, I have been pretty lucky / aggressive / irrational in pursuing my wish list, but around this time last year, I made a goal. Call it a promise, but back then, it was more of a dream. Something to aspire to. Something to get me through another birthday. Something to ensure that I lived for another day.

In verbatim, I stated:

“On the way back from the waterfront, we were ushered by the police to follow a stupid procession out of the area which happened to bypass the Peninsula and its arcade. For those who don't know and for those who do, the Peninsula is one of the best hotels in the world and the best in Hong Kong. Anyway, the ground floor of the Peninsula is graced by the likes of Louis Vuitton, Prada, Versace, Tiffany and Co, Celine, Manolo Blanik, Boss, Gucci, Cartier, Ferragamo and more (many more) and as I strolled along these procession of boutiques, I started to smile - a first for the night. Why? Because I was content in knowing that one day, I will be able to shop at the Peninsula Arcade.

So I formed my new years resolution - to shop at the Peninsula. This will entail me returning to Hong Kong and significantly raising the credit limit on my Mastercard.”

So that one day will be in the new year; I will going back to Hong Kong. These are dreams that I have and dreams I thought were not possible, only designed to inspire. Who would of thought that dreams do come true. I will be shopping at the Penninsula. I will be shopping with not only by myself, but with friends, both human and international corporations called Visa, Mastercard and American Express.

Just considering that I have been able to achieve this and the others, one can only feel proud and humbled by their own hard work and success luck.

But there are also dreams that I have that I thought will not come true. I feel reluctant stating them here because I do not want to jinx myself. These are dreams I have had since I started to remember dreams. More intimate and profound that the others. Life long dreams. Things that children aspire to when they grow up.

I am going to Paris.

posted by tykang @ 11/28/2004 11:28:00 AM