A [bittersweet] Homecoming

As you may have noticed, I have returned to Melbourne, and what better way to celebrate this occasion than having dinner at my neighbour's with a bunch of friends.


My neighbour's aunts were celebrating their birthdays, so it was a pretty joyous occasion.


One of my housemates is also returning to Hong Kong, so I'm glad that he's given a decent farewell.


No, thats not his farewell present, but he helped to unwrap some fine china for the birthday girls.


You will notice a slight colour shift as I switched the flash to manual mode for more consistent exposures. It is thus advisable to switch the white balance to flash white balance.


Everyone paying attention as we introduce ourselves around the dinner table.


The ''compulsory'' group photo at the end of the dinner.


OCF Carlton had a welcoming night in conjunction with the start of Semester 2 for most universities in Melbourne. For starters, we had a pizza buffet [no, I'm not kidding :)] which is a little different compared to the pot luck that we usually have.


Though not everyone has returned from holidays, it was good nonetheless to catch up with them.


Before this event, I quickly handmade a flash diffuser, because the timber ceiling in the back hall would make bounce flash pretty much impossible in these circumstances. Though the lighting from the flash is more ''harsh'', I'm pretty satisfied with the results. This will have to do till I get a Gary Fong in the future.



After dinner, comes singspiration...


which is followed by a short message from our president detailing how our OCF center works.


There was a lucky draw for movie tickets with a catch = its only for students :)


Most, if not all of the bible study groups had fun introduction sessions.


This is my bible study group for this semester. Fortunately there are alot of familiar faces, so it should be relatively easy for me to get along with them.


Preparing some tea for supper in the kitchen...


Once again my housemate comes forward to receive a farewell gift from the OCF committee.


me and my housemates in july 09


A few more group photos...


...& that's it. To all Australian university under / postgraduates, welcome to semester 2, 2009!

On a more serious note, it is somewhat disheartening to know how things can change in such a short span of time. These changes have somewhat dampened my optimism of returning to Melbourne, which is regrettable. Hopefully, I will be able to brush these issues aside, and concentrate on what I want [and need] to do this semester.

cheers..