I am back in Malaysia for what is left of the holidays, and I will hopefully be able to start on my EE.

As strange as it may sound, I am actually glad for the holidays, even if the better part of it was spent lying on bed. Plus, Christmas, which has always been my favourite time of the year, is coming soon, and this year's festive season has been spiced with the thrill of scouring Orchard Rd for bargains with my friend after kettling for Salvation Army. If that doesn't ring any bell for you, that's fine, because I have been doing just that for the past week, and trust me, it is not very pleasant at all.

Anyway, I figured that the most delightful aspect of getting anything is the anticipation. Stuff on display always look very good until the moment you pay for it and bring it back home, at which it ceases to interest you as much as you swear it did.

In the same way, I suppose, some things have ceased to interest me anymore, simply by being there again, after a long absence. I don't know if I am being fickle, although I suspect that this affliction is more widespread than it seems. Maybe it is hard-wired into the human psyche to strive for anything out of reach, but whatever it is, some things have become a lot less tantalising than it seemed, three weeks ago.

I am feeling strangely liberated because what I had wanted an awful lot for the better part of the year isn't really what I made it out to be. If anyone tells me whether this is a good thing, I will be infinitely obliged to you.