HERE\u2019S JOHNNY!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Catchphrase coined by Nicholson in The Shining, can\u2019t\nbelieve he ad-libbed it,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spoke volumes of his genius as a thespian but that ain\u2019t\nwhat we\u2019re looking at,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Happened to be sampled into some dance track back in \u201896, Hocus\nPocus made a killing as it lit up clubs, pubs, amusement parks and roller\nskating rinks,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking of which, your boy right here was quite the beast in\nthem blades,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Early-day wobbles were inevitable, but with practice and\npersistence wheeled around for days,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still swimming and practicing karate, achieved green belt\nstatus with the latter,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Though time brought about waning interests that had me\nlooking towards greener pastures,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Same could be said of cartoons once enjoyed in early youth,\ndouble-digits bringing changes in tastes,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still retaining the spirit of a gamer, some habits won\u2019t be\nabandoned in haste,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Music also invading personal interests, the seeds done been\nplanted,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gonna take some time, though, before the trees grow and\nblossom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
HERE\u2019S JOHNNY!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eleventh year on the planet wasn\u2019t half-bad,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sure, it had its moments, but overall it truly kicked ass,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Learned about The Goldrush at school, the good, bad and the\nugly,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Culminated in a field trip to Bathurst, panned for gold but\ngreat rewards remained pure fantasy,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lunchtime hijinks with the boys, playing soccer at the park,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why they kept putting me as goalie is a mystery, clearly I\nwas nothing short of sucky,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Learned the Macarena as part of the curriculum, not sure for\nwhat reason,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To keep us active, I guess, and at least it got us out the\nclassroom,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tamagotchi craze was on, virtual pets got kids fretting,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Served as class distractions back then like how social media\nis in the present,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Video gaming sessions on Friday and weekend afternoons were\nhighlights every week,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mulling over it in class, daily, got me drifting into\ndaydreams,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even that aspect of life evolved, out with the PC and onto\nthe SNES,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Graphics were sick for its time, now guaranteed to be\noutdated as hell,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Took some time to watch the Olympic games on TV, two weeks\nin all,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remaining oblivious to the magnitude of it all, though felt\ngood whenever our nation won gold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
HERE\u2019S JOHNNY!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Also celebrated a friend\u2019s birthday at Intensity,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Had a great time though admittedly that one almost slipped\nout of memory,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Took a trip back to the motherland, five years after\nmigrating Down Under,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Keen to experience it as a pre-teen, hopped on the plane fit\nto burst like a fire cracker,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reunited with extended fam, even some I ain\u2019t met before,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jolibee never tasted so good, oh what fun it was to explore,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shame about the language barrier, Tagalog <\/em>wiped by five years living overseas,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Felt like an alien in my own birthplace, triggering\nconfusion over true identities,<\/p>\n\n\n\n The heat was a motherfucker, don\u2019t recall it being this hot,<\/p>\n\n\n\n All in all it was fun times, always a thrill to travel\nabroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n HERE\u2019S JOHNNY!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Took a beach trip with friends and fam, frolicked in the\nwaves,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Still time to kill in the afternoon, plenty of time to strap\non the blades,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gliding across concrete following a refreshing swim,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Can\u2019t compare to gaming but all in all a great time, still,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Still took the occasional trips to Wonderland despite\ninterests dipping,<\/p>\n\n\n\n The thrill of it somehow fading, gaps between visits\nwidening,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Growing pains evident, subtle spurts of the\nnot-so-flattering kind,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Voice remained Minnie Mouse-like, body looking as though\nfuelled by pork rinds,<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m talking round gut and little boy-titties, so much for\nthe swimming and karate,<\/p>\n\n\n\n How the fuck did we get here? Just five years prior was\npraying mantis-skinny,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Looking back twenty-plus years later had a sudden\nrealisation,<\/p>\n\n\n\n The page was slowly turning, teen years beckoned, gonna be a\nhell of a transition,<\/p>\n\n\n\n One year ago was carefree as could be, how can one year make\na difference?<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s still out there in the distance but nevertheless felt\nits imminence,<\/p>\n\n\n\n This year then the next before childhood\u2019s end,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gotta make the most of it, it\u2019s rough and choppy seas ahead.\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" HERE\u2019S JOHNNY! Catchphrase coined by Nicholson in The Shining, can\u2019t believe he ad-libbed it, Spoke volumes of his genius as a thespian but that ain\u2019t what we\u2019re looking at, Happened to be sampled into some dance track back in \u201896, Hocus Pocus made a killing as it lit up clubs, pubs, amusement parks and roller … <\/p>\n