Holiday Mode.

"A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in."

- Robert Orben

On the 30th of April 2012, I went for the first day of my Foundation in Science course at Nirwana College. On the 11th of July 2012, I sat for the final paper of my final exam for the semester. As of right now, I am currently enjoying my much-appreciated semester break before the second (and final) semester begins next Monday.

My classmates and I had been given the week before the exams off, a so-called 'study break'. Of course, being me, I had already gone into 'holiday mode' before the study break had even started. The three-day exam was, in my mind, merely an inconvenience that was interfering with my vacation. I barely studied throughout the week, and only really pushed myself on the night before the exam was due to begin.

After I had finished my last paper, I left the college as soon as I could. This was an attempt to make myself feel happy at the fact that I was finally free from the shackles of any sort of formal education for the next eleven days. However, my efforts were futile - I was already on holiday mode, and I was already as happy as I could get.

Back in my school days, I had never really liked school holidays. I would much rather go to school where I could meet my friends, play football and basically have something to keep myself busy with. At home, on the other hand; boredom, chores and often-annoying siblings would await. It was clear to me which place was the more enjoyable one.

My perception towards holidays have changed now that I've left school. I definitely prefer the holidays more. I have more freedom now, as well as a driver's license. Boredom is still inescapable, but no longer in abundance. Plus, now that I don't see my school friends every day anymore, going to visit them will be more meaningful.

As for college, well, it quite simply can't hold a candle to school in terms of enjoyment. You can't even afford to not do your homework anymore. 'Nuff said.

So, what have I been doing since my semester break started? Apart from sleeping, watching TV and surfing the Internet, I also managed to spend the weekend in Subang Jaya.

Casa Subang. Image coutesy of the Internet.

On Saturday afternoon, I drove myself in my rusty, 15-year-old Iswara to Subang Jaya to meet a couple of friends there. Being students at Taylor's College, Subang campus, they were staying at the grandly-named Casa Subang. I'd already checked out the location on Google Maps earlier, but that still didn't stop me from getting lost in the area's unfamiliar streets. I did get there eventually, of course.

The apartments units were, as expected, economical (read: small). There were maybe about seven students per unit, and not necessarily ones from the same course or batch neither. Well, at least they were all the same gender.

I spent most of Saturday night out on the road. Driving on unfamiliar streets at night, guided only by signboards, phone-relayed instructions and a guy in the passenger seat who only knows the area slightly more than you do is never easy. It just so happened that Saturday night coincided with the MTV World Stage concert-thingy at Sunway Lagoon, which just happened to be in the Subang area. That did not help the traffic flow. Nevertheless, it still turned out to be an enjoyable night. My friends and I finally got back to the Casa at one in the morning.

Sunday was highlighted by an outing to Sunway Pyramid, where my friends and I watched The Amazing Spiderman (which was pretty amazing, might I add), followed by pizza for lunch. After all that was done, it was finally time to go home. We said our goodbyes and I set off on what I expected to be a long drive home.

The drive turned out to be pretty short, in the end. There was considerably less traffic on the road than I had expected for a Sunday afternoon.

So, what now for the rest of the week? Well, I have two or three more road trips planned out, so this semester break promises to be one of the more eventful holidays I've had in a while. Anything is better than lazing around like a sloth all day, I suppose. At least when the new semester starts, I won't have to look back on my holidays in regret.