I'm currently perched comfortably on a porch of a double storey house, on top of a hill, in the middle of a Brisbane suburb called Mount Gravett East. It is now 7.33pm AEST in Brisbane. I've just completed my first week of clinical work placement at The Cat Clinic, and have another week to go. Rewarding myself with a chilled bottle Little Creatures. Climate's about 25 deg, with an ever-so-slight breeze; the kind of evening weather that you can describe as perfect. Quite obviously I'm in a reflective + blogging kind of mood -- which, doesn't happen very often as you can already tell. I often find myself reflecting, but never saw the point, or my thoughts were too personal to put it up on the web. Maybe it's the weather, or it could be the beer, or it could be Karnivool. Or maybe a combination of the three. Whatever it is, I shall make the most of this awesome vibe and keep this flow of words going before it ends.

I guess I haven't blogged for so long, it somehow makes sense to re-introduce myself to my own blog. I believe I'm a slightly different person now compared to when I last blogged. Not drastically, I assure you my SG friends, only very slightly. I think. Or maybe not. Well, it doesn't matter what you think, does it? Cos' I am who I am right now and as long as I'm comfortable with it, you can make up your own mind about me when you nxt see me. Pleasant surprise or not, totally up to you. =) So, here goes. Hi! I'm XJ. Final year vet student @ Melbourne Uni, 23 years old, loves cats, music, little creatures beer, interior design, tattoos, solo travel, night drives and food. 2011 has been quite a year for me. I've grown much in this time. I picked up guitar and singing, became a frequent gig-goer, fell heads-over-heels for Aus local music scene, got my driving license and a car, formed bands, tried my hand at writing music, faced housemate troubles, lost direction in life, got another tattoo, shaved off half my hair and only recently regained my faith in what I thought was a horrible choice of career path. All that and managed to pass both semesters. THAT I've gotta give myself a giant pat on my back. They say 4th year is the hardest year. No doubts about that.

The distant row of lights from the highway mesmerises. It actually is starting to get a tad chilly out here.

So yea, it's been a whole lot of ups and downs. Through it all, I met new people, made new connections. Of these people, there are a couple that made exceptional impacts in my life. Don't take me wrong, I don't even know them well. They are mere acquaintances, but they've definitely inspired me. I don't even think they realised that I've labelled them my personal life heroes. They'll probably find it really creepy if they do. Heh. With a giant ego like mine, you can imagine how few fellow human beings I hold such high regards for. One of them is my former singing instructor ('former' cos he's no longer teaching now and has gone full-time in being a rockstar), the other my supervising vet in the Auckland vet clinic I was at two weeks ago. I shall leave names out in case you stalkers out there start doing creepy things. I guess the main characteristic both of them share is the fact that they are really down-to-earth people despite being truly brilliant. And that passion they have for the things they do! They're just...amazing, amazing people who taught me so much without even trying. Won't go into details what I've learnt from them --- they're personal and they'll probably bore you. But what I can tell is that they've helped me find my mojo back -- in life, music, and vet science.

I guess everyone, at some point or points in their lives, needs that bit of inspiration to get them to see life in a positive, vibrant light once again. It is so easy to lose sight of what's important and what's not. Especially with the pace of life now. Time slips away almost unnoticeably, cliche as it sounds. So go out and find your remedies, my friends. Whenever you find yourself just trudging through life, go find yourself a quiet porch and a bottle of good beer, diagnose yourself of this wasting disease, and wander the world for your treatment. It is out there, may be a personal encounter, a person, a story, a song, a stranger. You've just gotta find it.

Right. Think I've reflected enough for now and I'm starting to shiver with the drop in ambient temperature. Time to head indoors and start planning for my exciting weekend ahead. Gonna do some travelling. =) If any of you guys are reading this before I nxt see you, I'm looking forward to seeing ya'll again. As much as I love Melbourne, I do have my homesick moments.

Till next time.