Still here!

Its been a while!

but we're still here, and on the greatest ride of our lives!

The road to the road - by him

The lead up to the great ocean road trip was not so smooth for him.

He remembers the few days before the trip began, events rushed by swiftly in life.

He said goodbye to his work place, packed his last boxes and watched moving men take them away, he gave his tiny pet birds away to the pet shop.

And with all that he moved to a mutual friend's place to count down his final days in Adelaide.

The girl was still not used to his presence in her life and like a wild horse would still buck violently from time to time, as she did 2 nights before the trip was supposed to begin.

Just a usual call before he would nod off to sleep, the girl suddenly pulled away over the phone.
I don't know, I'm not sure I like the idea of you in my mindscape... your presence is there but I don't particularly like it. I think I'm going to need some space...

Or to that effect.

Disheartened the boy rang his best mate in Sydney.

Hey she's done it again man, gone all nuts on me, I think I'll be doing the drive home solo.

Whoa, don't do that man, its a long drive, how bout I fly down and drive with you?

Really? It'll be fun I guess, but I really with she'd make up her mind about me.

Well, just let me know yeah? I'll fly down if needs be...

After some thought the boy put down the phone and dialed her number again.

"Hey I wanted to know what's going on with the trip? I'm not sure after all that I need space talk if you're still keen on anything so how bout I just jump in the car and drive back now and I'll come back to visit you in a few weeks?" he heard himself say.

The girl simply laughed and said, no no don't be silly I'm so looking forward to this trip! of course its still going ahead...

The boy puts down the phone again, both relieved and confused....

the Great Ocean Raod 22/7/09 - by Her

It's very clear in her memory. It was 22nd July 2008 turning into 23rd July 2008, just past midnight. She finished her work at midnight and rushed home like crazy because she had an important appointment.


50 minutes of journey back home from the hospital after a long shift was tiring. But she was actually very excited. She was about to hop on a car with someone she quite liked to an exotic place where she had heard about for so long. At this stage she did not know what would turn out, she had no clue at all.


She reached home, quickly showered, packed a few things, and there he came.


Like a gentleman, he loaded her backpack and camera gear into the car. Smiling the whole time. Then again he pulled out the homeword he'd spent days doing, excitedly explained to her the names of the little towns they would stop by.


' I know you love taking photos, I planned this trip so that you might take some good shots along the way...and you deserve a good holiday...'


yes, Blue Bubble, yes. Thank you very much.


It was a fantastic journey. Mr German Bob cruised smoothly through the small city loop, then the surburban streets, then along the highways... They talked and talked in the car.


I can't remember what they were yapping about on that night. But they identified more and more similarities between them after each topic that slipped out of the tongues. They felt they were again brought closer to each other.


They talked about work, their common friends, their childhood, music, their hobbies, photography...


Something has broken. It must be the ice.


And in between towns she fell in and out of sleep. He thought she was very adorable when she curled up into a small ball while she slept.


It was dark and cold outside, but warm and cosy in the car.


She didn't know how long it took...it must have been 7-8 hours of driving. The first ray of sunlight beamed through the thick dark cloud at dawn and she woke up. The surrounding mountains bowed low to the sun. How beautiful. How magnificient is God's creation!


She yelled out and clapped her hands happily like a kid. He smiled again.


' Shall I pull over so that you can take some photos of this beauty?' he asked.


'No, Blue Bubble, no. but thanks :) '


They arrived at a small town Mt. Gambier for a break. They decided to have their breaky at the McDonald's, that's the only thing that was open.


They sat down, ate, had their coffee; he flipped through the newspaper while she was busy playing with her camera. No one talked, as though it was a mutual agreement, and they were not uncomfortable with the silence.


Out of the blue he put down the paper, nodded , smiled and said ,' This is good.'


Somehow she knew what he was talking about because she felt the same.


She smiled and answered, 'Yes, indeed this is good.'


Yes, Blue Bubble, this is very good.

this time last year, she freaked out again - by her

Again, this is a story about their journey. In my opinion, a beautiful journey painted with many colours.


He came to her and gave her a card, ' you are cordially invited to go on a road trip to the beautiful city of Melbourne'... Together with it was a folder containing a stack of maps and directories, which she thought was very impressive.


He opened the folder, pulled out the maps and started telling her the itinerary. She did not give her full attention to the very comprehensive explanation at all. Infact what she was thinking is, 'Am I really going????'


And the next day (the night before the trip), she freaked out again. She did not know if it was a good idea to go on a road trip with him because she did not want to send out the vibe to him.


So again they had a very long conversation on the phone... Admittedly he said this time it was his turn to want to run away from this. It had been a very daunting journey for him as he tried to get close to this girl who had a heart as cold as ice. She said yes, then she said no, then she said yes again, and she said no again...clearly she was not the only one who feared, her instability freaked him out too. He too wanted to run away from this. Too much hurt in the past. His heart could not afford another bruise.


He was ready to abandon the road trip, and just drive by himself.


She said 'give me some time, please. Don't run away. I can't love you yet, but when I reach the threshold, I can love you with all my heart. Stay a lil longer.'


His heart was softened...once again. He waited for her.

A rare gem under the tree...by Her

She said yes to the invitation to Melb.


Days later there was a group outing to the Victor Harbour. Her very good friend Fuzzy was going away for good. Just less than 10 of them, the girls were in her car, and the boys in his.


Lunch was at a bistro/cafe. He sat next to her. Oh was it intentional? No private conversation at all. But she knew he was looking at her most time.


Don't go too far away, silly boy...


Then it was the hike. When the rest have gone ahead, she was always the last who followed. Lost in the world of her own and the nature, she found herself again through the little veiwfinder of her camera.


And every now and then when she finally looked up, she saw that he was always there, not too far away from her. As unintentional as it may seem, she knew he was there waiting.


Silly...I don't need you to wait for me.


But she smiled. Suddenly she did not feel alone anymore. She knew he was taking photos of her. A photographer's being photographed? Is the photographer not the loneliest amongst the crowd?


Rain started dropping and everyone went under a huge tree for shelter (well, thank God there wasn't thunder). It was a dead silence. Suddenly he started singing. (!) Oh...it was the most beautiful male voice she's heard. A stranger joined in and made a duet, they sang on and on for a long time. And of course, they were rewarded with a round of applause.


It was a very unusual scene to her. No other man that she knew had sung in public. She was awe struck. If only she had a beautiful voice like his, she would love to join the random duet.


Her girlfriend nudged her, ' He's a rare gem...good catch!'


She smiled for a long long long time. No, that's not her catch..yet. But one thing she knew, that this silly man is like no other. Indeed, he is a rare gem.

Orange Beanie

Things were up and down for the boy in the weeks leading up to his departure.

But he wasn't the first one to leave the Festival State.

Her great friend fuzzy was leaving first and there was a departure trip organized for her to Victor harbor.

The boys took his car and the girls took hers and they were off to do a spot of whale spotting.

The day was uneventful for the most part, the girl ensuring that distance was kept. Making sure friends were always between them so that no conversation could be had.

The boy was not fazed, watching from his obligatory 100 paces as she photographed the world from her private space.

Then it started to rain, in the middle of a walk, and the group took shelter under a large tree (!) .

The silence wore thin and sick of merely watching and waiting he sang a show tune, feeling suddenly free.

Comically with a mix of embarrassment and mute resentment the public watched his little performance.

Then another stranger started singing along and the ice was truely smashed...

The rain stopped and some applauded whilst others moved on, and the boy went back to his loft perch. Content to watch the pretty thing play photographer.

On the way home they swopped cars much to the amusement of the group.

A silently announcement to their friends, yes we're panning on taking a trip together...

it started from photography - by her

He wrote her a story. An original one.


'Because you have given me so many originals,' he said.


People said she takes good photos, but no one used to study her photos like he does. He likes her photos, and he reads her through her photos. Melancholic. Dark. Secretive. Mysterious. Deep thoughts in each photo.


And he is fascinated by her photos.


Deep down in her heart, she knows that he understands her, just like how he understands her photos. She is a girl in her own world, photography is her way of telling the world what she thinks, and he gets it.


He talks to her about her photos, he sees a little girl's loneliness and helplessness. Her passion draws him to her, her coldness repels him, yet above all, he sees her helplessness in those photos. And he wants to come near her.


He printed out those photos, laminated them, and put them on his office wall.


She almost knew that he was God-given. For no one has understood her like he has. No other men that she knows pays so much attention to her art work and photographs.


In her heart, the small little voice says, what are you waiting for? But yes, she will wait. She has not heard from God, so she waits. Wait a little longer, please...