New Year came and went, then it was straight back to\nbusiness,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Went by too quick, that holiday period, daily life prefers a\npeculiar brand of slowness,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ten years-plus an outcast, cynical and jaded,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Middle-finger salute to society all but permanent but low-key\nwanting some type of connection,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Logged onto FB one night, found me an old friend, he was\nwith me in the trenches during the warzone that was lunch and recess,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both of us deemed nerds, copped our fair share for it,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Me more so than him, that once-cheery kid grew up the polar\nopposite,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Back to the present he accepted my friend request, DM\u2019d me\nafter a few days,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hadn\u2019t seen or heard from him since graduation, his circumstances\nchanged in strange ways,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After a few days he spilled his guts, tales of woe and\nheartbreak,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thought she was the one so he upped sticks for her, before\nshe tore his heart out then hurled it into the incinerator,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This mind back then wouldn\u2019t allow sympathy, he\u2019s just paying\nthe price of vulnerability,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Welcome to society, where so many are fucking slimy, to\ntrust is an act of self-sabotage, really,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why\u2019s he even dumping onto me this shit? This type of info\none would keep a secret,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How\u2019s he trusting a homie after more than ten years of\ndistance?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Been keeping it in for too long, the contents within\nbubbling, pressure busts pipes, sooner or later there\u2019ll be an explosion,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Somehow found myself compelled to help, this must be what\nthey call compassion,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Channelling my inner optimist long dormant before I got to\nreplying,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Encouraged him to soldier on, do away with plans foolish and\ndrastic,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His luck could turn in a minute, in the end it\u2019ll be worth\nit,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Regurgitated every clich\u00e9 used by every motivational speaker\never,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Somehow it worked, though, found that out a few short months\nlater,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sure enough he met someone, in the present he\u2019s still with\nher,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two little ones to cap it off glad his happy ending came\nalong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In return he turned me onto anime again, been some time\nsince I\u2019d watched a series, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then came a new beginning, at Pops\u2019 insistence and urgings,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Began a new discipline, nothing like others that I\u2019d tried,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Boxed and wore a karate gi in the past, but this seemed to\nthrow every rule through the glass,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Squared on, everything from the centre, hard striking\nforbidden,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A fresh challenge but one that I took on, kept at it going\nforward, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Seemed to be the turning point, felt a metamorphosis of\nsorts, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Befriended some fellow practitioners, for the longest time\ndidn\u2019t feel awkward,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Holed in my fortress for so long but dared to believe that leopards\ncan change their spots,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Have I found a home away from home? Some semblance of\nacceptance?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All signs pointed to that direction, slowly but surely\ntoppled the fences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finally embarked on a mission for qualification for that\nrole I\u2019d long been coveting,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Several months of fun and lessons, not to mention further\nfriendships, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Can\u2019t say I was a natural, but I\u2019ll say I did ok with it,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was fun while it lasted, been done for a while but thankful\nfor the experience,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Later reunited face to face with that old buddy, the\ncatalyst for this trajectory,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not much changed physically, other than he\u2019s aged markedly,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Got to know his co-pilot and the rest of their crew,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still running with \u2018em to this day, counting \u2018em in my inner\ncircle too,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Had long felt stagnant at work but seemed to embrace it once\nmore,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Positive vibes permeating all aspects, have I found some\nsecret key to what they call happiness?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Christmas with the extended fam sure was a blast,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trip to Kosciuszko the icing on the cake, thus ending a year\nfull of blessings in its wake,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Been a great one, I have to say, one of the best I\u2019d ever\nhad,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still look back on it wistfully but to have lived it once\nI\u2019m still glad,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Began as a surly recluse, all but anti-social and pissed at\nthe system,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wasted a great deal of young adulthood for it, always\nplaying victim,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Picking at scabs from long ago, would have healed sooner had\nI not kept on doing so,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lone sufferer the man in the mirror, time to get moving,\nbetter late than never, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many moons prior, the Mayans predicted this to be the end, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For yours truly such was the case in some ways, finally\nemerged from a long hibernation,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Out from the darkness of the shadows to the brighter lights,\nit was a glorious reunion,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Old self has finally come to pass, in its place an older,\nwiser and all-round better version.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New Year came and went, then it was straight back to business, Went by too quick, that holiday period, daily life prefers a peculiar brand of slowness, Ten years-plus an outcast, cynical and jaded, Middle-finger salute to society all but permanent but low-key wanting some type of connection, Logged onto FB one night, found me … <\/p>\n