And there I conclude there was little impact that my short HK trip had on my FIIM exam, cos I didn't really feel I haven't had enough time to study for the final paper. But perhaps it's becos i've successfully departmentalize my brain...to be able to switch mode according to situations...while i was in HK, I took my mind off the exam revisions...and when i came back, i wasn't really thinking much about the holiday itself. It's good to be able to departmentalize your mind.

And so it's the only weekend before the start of my 11-week long internship. Spent the whole of saturday preparing for SMU Squash Fever with the squash gers (well done everyone!) and then went to catch Pirates 3 in the evening with evan. Maybe because I was a little tired, or perhaps the plot was really too draggy...tt's y didn't find it as fascinating as pirates 1 or 2. Let's hope Shrek 3 won't disappoint me.

And then watched The Road to Guantanamo and The Motorcycle Diaries on my comp without realizing both shows have got something to do with Cuba.

The Road to Guantanamo is a true account of 3 innocent British Muslims arrested by US Marines while on a trip to Afghanistan in the days following Sept 11. And then they were deported to the infamous Guantanamo Bay Detainee camp in Cuba where they were tortured and interrogated by US Secret Service about the whereabouts of Osama Bin Laden. Guantanamo is really more of a documentary addressing the issues of humanity behind the US Military's treatment towards P.O.Ws....

I have more things to say about The Motorcycle Diaries. I like the show very much. It speaks of all-time famous Cuban Revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara's Latin American road-trip with his good friend up North from Argentina, where he gets to witness the harsh realities of life in countries like Peru and Chile.

(Most ah-bengs wear t-shirts with Che Guevara's picture on them without knowing who he is.)

Again, it's a show about human connections and delivers the message of freedom, aspirations, youth and compassion. There're scenes where Fuser (Guevara's other name) went to help out some Peruvian leprosy patients on an island and this reminded me of my Cambodia trip last December. People go the distance to learn about cultures, to make friends and to deliver human compassion. It's perhaps something that I can strongly identify with.

Another reason why I like The Motorcycle Diaries because it highlights the surprise element of road-trips, road trips without a purpose. Along the way, you meet diff pple, you chance upon moments of passion, you experience different cultures and lifestyles, you get involved in tough and tricky situations and then you go about solving problems on your own, all in the spirit of adventure. It simply allows you to take your mind off the routine and highly-predictable nature of your daily lives.

And then I conclude I really enjoy watching foreign films (motorcycle diaries is a latin show) with travel/adventure themes, especially those based on true accounts. They motivate you to lead your own life as what you truly want it to be, and make you wanna disappear from where you are and what you're doing and constantly experiencing new purposeful lives.

Let's not enslave ourselves to anyone or anything. Let's just pursue and lead the meaningful lives we have always dreamed of. And only then will they not be dreamscapes, but reality. Let's just quit restraining ourselves.

Shall end with a quote (translated) from The Motorcycle Diaries:

"This is not a tale of impressive deeds. This is a piece of two lives taken in a moment when they were cruising together along a given path, with identity of aspirations and a conjunction of dreams. Was our vision too narrow, too partial, too rushed? Were our conclusions too rigid? Maybe...but that aimless roaming through our enormous America has changed me more than I thought. I...am not myself anymore. At least, I'm not the same inside."

~