My Adventure of Finding Out That I'm Suited for a Monkey's Life

You Are A: Monkey!

Monkeys are intelligent and agile, well-adapted for jungle life as they swing happily from tree to tree. As a monkey, you are a social animal who eats a wide range of food, is quick to learn new things and loves to climb. A monkey's tiny primate features are irresistable, as is his gregarious personality!

You were almost a: Kitten or a Duck
You are least like a: Turtle or a ChipmunkDiscover What Cute Animal You Are!

Me cute little monkey. Not too be confused with Beruk Mak Yek, though me can be that somtime. Me do not intend to put up the monkey quiz posting as it is deemed redundant to challenge oneself.

My Nocturnal Excursion in FRIM II

The Women's Aid Organisation (WAO) is an independent, non-religious, non-governmental organisation based in Malaysia, committed to confronting violence against women.

In 1985, the Anak Angkat Program was launched to meet the educational needs of ex-residents' children and in 1990, the WAO opened a Child Care Center, the first of its kind in Malaysia, to provide a home for ex-residents' children.

Last Saturday, through the Herpetofauna Group of MNS Selangor, trusty assistant & I, with the help of a few other (gullible) volunteers, organized an ‘introduction to frogs’ workshop in the morning and later in the evening, a frogging trip to FRIM for these children.

Seeing as I had 2 open houses in the day (involving the relatives, which meant that I couldn’t play my ‘get-out-of jail’ card, as compared to other open houses), I had to miss out the days’ activity. I was told that the kids, (13 in all, ranging between 3 to 12 years old) enjoyed our little frog origami, story-telling and drawing session. Trusty assistant did a bloody good job of it, as well as our other volunteers, considering how hyper those kids were.

Later in the evening, it was my turn to handle them. Luckily, they were pretty stoned-out then and somewhat controllable in FRIM. Having one of them running off and getting lost wouldn’t be good PR for the Society.

I led them quickly through the trail as it was already quite late in the evening, sacrificing the chance of spotting the leaf-litter frogs which are usually abundant along the trail (the kids were quite noisy which meant that any frog or any other animal for that matter, would have long since legged it).

The trail ended at FRIM’s Sungai Kroh, which is in actual fact a shallow, slow moving trickle of water. The source of which is derived from water which had somehow been diverted into a narrow channel from the main waterfall of FRIM. There (Sg. Kroh, not the waterfall), I allowed them to fool a round a bit. Again, the noise they were making was obviously scaring the shite of every animal there. Thus, they had to contend with the 4 frogs and a toad that trusty assistant and I spotted.

I wrapped up things a few minutes past 11pm, and allowed trusty assistant to lead the way back to our cars. I brought up the rear as I wanted to take my own sweet time for my own sweet self to at least spot a couple more herp life. I managed to add a lizard and 2 additional frogs to our list that night.

The mandatory leech inspection took about 15 minutes but ironically, the loudest scream came from my own volunteers. We quickly bundled the children (leech free) into the van, which in itself took about 10 minutes of cajoling. Before leaving, I doffed my hat off at the driver, clearly thankful of not being in her shoes. Imagine having 13 hyperactive kids, stoned-out they may be jumping and screaming at the back.

I congratulated trusty assistant and volunteers on a job well done. I still remain apprehensive of taking out too many children frogging, especially to places such as FRIM but this lot looked liked they enjoyed themselves.

My Adventure of Being in an Awkward Position

Earlier this year, during my Blogdrive tenure, I wrote about a little piece of drama which happened to my friend, in which I inadvertently was involved.

One bit I failed to mention then, which made the drama so very the drama is that the friend’s former fiancée works in the same building as us. She’s on the 16th floor while we worked on the 20th.

This has resulted in many awkward moments, usually involving the lift.

Last Sunday, friend’s wife delivered a healthy baby boy. No worries on that.

The awkward moment surfaced yesterday morning while I was going down to the 3rd floor tuck shop to replenish my cigarettes.  It so happened that the lift (damn it to bits!) stopped at the 16th floor. I need not explain what happened next, do I?

Friend’s former fiancée engaged in small talk at first, but just as the bloody lift doors opened at the 3rd floor to provide me the escape that I was seeking,  she hit me with THE question,

“Dengar Izan* dah dapat baby?”

I gave her a really awkward smile and nodded my head, “Lelaki”.

“Oh ye ke?” she replied. Was that a hint of jealousy or regret in her eyes? I could not be sure.

“Baguslah, tu. Kirim salam kat diaorang ya?,” she added, eyes already moist.

I managed a short nod before the doors closed behind me.

Next time, I’m using the bloody fire escape.  

*bukan namo sebonar.  

My Adventure During Eid Celebrations

6 Things to Remember for Next Year’s Eid Celebrations

#1. Ensure that at least one Baju Melayu consists of its complete set. (1) Songkok, (2) Sampin, (3) Baju & (4) Seluar. This is to prevent one from realizing some of the attire to be missing at the last minute and subsequently  having to utlilize a combination of the Baju Melayu shirt, 8 year old jeans and skullcap. This is also to prevent one’s mother being pissed.

#2. Sleep early.  Banging away on the PS2 with one’s brother until the wee hours of the morning is a deterrent to one’s ability to wake up early.

Note to self: There is no way one can beat a 17 year old who grew up whilst having the game pad permanently attached to their hand.

#3. Wake-the-bloody-up at least before 9am so one will be able to perform the Eid prayers.  To do so, see #2.

#4. Pace one-self whilst stuffing one’s face. Stomach need to adjust after one month of fasting.  Especially when one  shoves in the lethal combo of  laksa johor, ketupat, rendang , nasi himpit, and taken at one sitting.  Failure to do so will result in the frequent visit to loo of every house-owner.

#5. Try to watch more Malay movies. Government, Private as well Sattelite TV stations have paid a shite-load of money in purchasing the rights to show them. The least one can do is to brave through 2 hours of mind-numbing, shite acting and illogical plot lines.

#6. There are abso-bloody-loutely no cars on the road of KL during 1st Syawal. Bliss. Altough one must remember that them foreigners who have taken the opportunity to go  sightseeing, are not potential road kills and must not be mowed down indiscriminately.

How was your Raya celebrations?      

My Adventure of Being Weird

The Diva tagged me with this 5 weirdo list thingy in my own comment box, the cheek! Oh well, here goes.

#1. I still have my bantal busuk. I have been using the services of one since I was a toddler. They’re usually get thrown away by my mum/grannie, but safe to say, a replacement is close at hand every time.

#2. I’d like to scratch my ermm.. testicular region. They get very itchy a lot la. Don’t yours?

#3. I snore when I’m exhausted, a very throaty, gurgled, snoring sound. It is not a pretty sight to see nor a pretty sound to hear.

#4. I like to talk to myself, or more to the point, think aloud. This has resulted in people thinking that I am a bit of a loony.

#5. I like to daydream. I used to daydream a lot. Being an only child for the first 11 years, and having a shit-load of toys to myself, I had to make believe a lot of things. I didn’t suffer to the extent of having any imaginary friends, though.

Now, the if you’ll excuse me, the angry voice on my head is telling me to clean my shotgun again.

My Adventure of (Not) Getting Tagged

This is another meme that’s been circulating every-bloody-where. I have yet to be tagged on this but thought I have a bit of laugh of identifying the books which I’ve picked up over the years. Disregarding the current rules of having to print back the entire bloody collection, (last count was 470) I have taken the liberty of displaying ONLY the ones I’ve read.

001. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
005. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
007. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
009. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
016. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
022. Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone, JK Rowling
023. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
024. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
025. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
034. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
035. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
036. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
039. Dune, Frank Herbert
042. Watership Down, Richard Adams0
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett0
53. The Stand, Stephen King
056. The BFG, Roald Dahl
074. Matilda, Roald Dahl
089. Magician, Raymond E Feist
119. Shogun, James Clavell
128. The Hound Of The Baskervilles, Arthur Conan Doyle
132. Danny The Champion Of The World, Roald Dahl
141. All Quiet On The Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque
145. James And The Giant Peach, Roald Dahl
169. The Witches, Roald Dahl
170. Charlotte's Web, E. B. White
173. The Old Man And The Sea, Ernest Hemingway
313. The Art of War, Sun Tzu
340. Paradise Lost, John Milton
369. Ivanhoe, Walter Scott
428. Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler

31 books out of 470. That’s about 6%. Shite. Well, still it’s a decent list.

My Adventure of Getting Tagged

I’ve been tagged thrice with this “7” meme. 3 times a bloody charm now innit? Babe whacked me with my third. Well, since she was nice in being my first volunteer to chase the ‘pemburu2 haram’ and whack their pancreas’, how could I refuse. So, here goes.

Seven things to do before I die :
- lose these damn spares, and get a bloody six pack
- scuba dive off the bahamas/maldives/great barrier reef
- catch & secure my first King Cobra
- milk a poisonous snake
- discover a new species of wildlife, and have it be scientifcally named after me
- master the guitar
- get married, have kids and hopefully grandchildren.

Seven things I just-can't-do :
- sleep late, wake-up early. really not a morning person
- get rid of these pimple scars on me face
- grow taller
- slam dunk
- quit smoking
- have long hair
- correct my eyesight with laser surgery.

Seven celebrity crushes :
- maya karin
- marion caunter
- annahita balkavoli
- coco lee
- jessica alba
- lacey chabert
- hillary duff

Seven often used phrases/words :
- the f-word ( a lot)
- rilek la
- pundeks
- siot la
- technically..
- basically..
- shite

Seven things that attract me to the opposite sex :
- Cute/adorable features
- Nice rack
- Perky buns
- Nice rack
- Nice hair
- Great cook
- Nice rack

Your Adventure in Searching for A Lost Rhino

Kehadapan Pemburu2 Haram,

Warkah ini ditulis adalah untuk memohon kepada Persatuan Pemburu2 Haram Asia Tenggara untuk mendapatkan perkerjaan yang lebih afdal dan berfaedah. Sekian lama pihak tuan telah memburu kehidupan liar di rantau ini sehingga terancam sesetengah populasi haiwan.

Sifat tamak haloba pihak tuan telah meyebabkan banyak hidupan liar di rantau ini menjadi mangsa nafsu rakus yang tidak mengenal belas-kasihan. Diantara haiwan terancam yang menjadi sasaran pihak tuan adalah merupakan Badak Sumbu Malaya. Populasi haiwan tersebut semakin hari semakin sedikit dan ada kemungkinan ia akan pupus dari muka bumi ini.

Sedihnya, haiwan tersebut diburu dan dibunuh semata-mata untuk mengambil bahagian2 badan yang tertentu, yang diakatakan mempunyai 'medicinal properties' dan juga 'aphrodisiac'.

Dukacita dimaklumkan, kepada tuan, kajian saintifik tidak pernah membuktikan kesasihan teori di atas. Di samping itu, terdapat banyak pharmacy di kota dan di desa yang menjual vitamin serta supplement.

Kelemehan tuan di ranjang mungkin disebabkan oleh isteri2 tuan yang hodoh ataupun kemaluan yang kecil. Tanduk haiwan tersebut tidak akan membantu masalah yang dialami tuan.

Oleh itu, saya mengesyorkan tuan dengan segala hormatnya menghantukkan kepala di gerigi cermin rumah ataupun menseterikakan telinga rakan tuan sampai dia menangis.

Akhir sekali, tuan dinasihatkan berdoa kepada tuhan supaya tidak berjumpa atau terserempak dengan saya. Saya akan mengerjakan organ pankreas tuan secukupnya.

Terima kasih,


Yang menjalankan tugas,

Mimi Buruk Tuan

My Adventure of Becoming A Year Older

9th October came and went. It’s appearance was as fleet as a warm gust blowing in the chilly October sky. It’s departure, sudden and unnerving. There were no allowance for celebration, only well-wishing. Since the day itself coincided with Ramadhan, the only joyous partaking of food and drink had to wait until the muezzin’s call for Maghrib prayers.

28 years old. It’s been a long road getting here, but even a longer one waits. Insyaallah.

My Adventure of Discovering A Phobia

I hate Fire Centipedes. I hate them. Hate, hate, hate, hate.

Most of you will probably be laughing at the idea. Mr. Nocturnal Excursions himself, afraid of a small, innocent centipede?

Small and innocent my arse! Fire Centipedes or Lipan Bara is a huge, red, many- limbed freak of nature. The two (yes two!) that I saw last night was at least 30 cms long, with the tail armed with a 1 cm-long double sting.

Your common garden centipede, the ulat gonggok, I have no problem with. But the lipan bara is another story. There I was in Sg. Penchala, surveying potential Frogging sites and suddenly from under a rock they both came out, crawling towards me like some mutant nightmare creature.

So I did what any other entomologically adverse person would do. I legged it, whilst screaming obscenities at the both of them.

My (Mis)Adventure of Seeing Liverpool Get Torn Apart

Jose: You muppet Raf, give us this match at Anfield and we’ll bloody let you win at the Bridge next time. We can sort out that annoying Frenchmen at Highbury for you was well.

Rafa: Sort out that smelly Manc Scotsman on top of it, and you have yourself a deal, mate.

Jose: Ok, 4 goals ya? Here’s an ownership of a diamond mind in central Ukraine, courtesy of Mr. Abrahamovich. You can go and buy that Adriano lad or something. You really have to get rid of that number 9 of yours now innit? Bloody hell mate, he’s rubbish.

Wouldn't it be nice of the above-said conversation did take place. The reality is that Liverpool got suckered into Chelsea's gameplan. We should have "parked the team bus in front of goal" from the start, then hit them on the counter-attack.

4-1. Shite. Not a good start to my week.

My Adventure of Past Nocturnal Excursions

Any sane person would find venturing into a dark and forbidding jungle at night to be somewhat intimidating. If the truth be told, during the early days of my nocturnal excursions, I had doubts of pursuing this particular endeavor. Honestly, I was scared.

Tales of missing trekkers, hidden by those of the Unseen or rubber- tappers being attacked by wild animals haunted my mind. I was an avid trekker during my school and university days, as my appreciation for nature developed early on, but all of these jaunts were done in broad daylight.

My father, a very superstitious person, never did understand this particular passion of mine. He would usually shake his head in disbelief, wondering how his eldest has chosen such an endeavor as a hobby. My mother, who had tried to dissuade me from the very beginning, could only roll her eyes as she had ran out of words to nag me with. She found out from the onset that it was exasperating to say anything as talking to me would be like talking to a brick wall.

We all have heard tales of mysterious, unexplained incidence encountered by other people. I could not deny that even I had experienced some really weird stuff throughout the years. For example, during a hike up Gunung Jerai in Kedah, my companions and I suddenly came upon a well kept garden, complete with mowed lawn and bubbling brook, when we were cutting through thick foliage moments before. We hastily made a wide detour.

Another time in Gunung Ledang, whilst on night watch, not only was I presented with unexplained balls of light playing in the trees overhead, but just a few metres away where we had designated a solat area, I could make out the 3 figures, clad in the white tudung which the muslim women usually wear during their solat, standing as in prayer. I checked the girls’ tent. They were all asleep.

Fortunately, the green lungs of the Klang Valley are not as intimidating. I have never encountered any unusual situations either in Bukit Gasing, FRIM or Genting. God willing, I will never experience any. It would just spoil the whole Frogging trip, don’t you think? Heh.

Although…. there was this particular incident in Templer’s Park last year. 8 people had gone in and I had made it a habit to constantly check our numbers then and again to ensure there were no stragglers. It would’ve looked pretty bad if I had lost somebody out there. I was getting confused as my count at times were 9. When I counted again it would be 8 again. This went on quite a bit but I kept it to myself. Fortunately, when we exited, everybody was accounted for.

Fortunately, these incidents were rare. It is not advisable to be an uber-superstitious person nor would it be too clever in being a cocky little bugger also. You would only need a healthy respect for Nature and hopefully learn to appreciate her in her fullest glory along the way.

Liverpool's Adventure in Defending Their Crown II

Two blatant fouls in the penalty box by Gallas & Drogba, going unpunished summed up Liverpool’s fortune last night. Although a bit mild in the first half, Liverpool pushed into top gear in the second, to match the “favorites” Chelsea in every department. In the end, a win would have been good but at least we had drawn the match rather than losing it.

Now, if you excuse me, I need to go and buy that Italian referee pair of bloody glasses.

My Nocturnal Excursion in FRIM

The Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM) is the leading forestry research institute of Malaysia, situated in Kepong, just outside Kuala Lumpur. Established in 1929, not only does it carry research in all aspects of forestry and forest products, it also conducts research in ecology and silviculture with the objective of enhancing the knowledge and understanding the ecology and dynamics of the forests and their responses to logging and other anthropogenic activities.

It also has a shit-load of frog, snakes, lizards, insects and small mammals.

So it was last Saturday at 8.30pm, I found myself in FRIM, preparing to lead another group of MNS members into the jungle. I was not scheduled to lead the said trip as I was supposed to return to Sungai Petani for the weekend.

Unfortunately, Trusty Assistant was incapacitated by a nasty virus (which is by the way, blatantly flying around the Klang Valley at the moment), FRIM Frog Lady was tagging some tree in Belum and Venerable Mentor was chasing Siberian tigers in Russia, thus I only had Significant Other-half tagging along.

It so happened that I had postponed my ‘balik kampung’ to early October, which meant I was the only one available and qualified to lead this particular group of 12 into the Engkabang trail of FRIM.

Although it had rained the day before, the heat wave on Saturday did not help the conditions in FRIM. The ground was bone dry. The air was humid.

Although we spotted fewer species of frog as compared to my previous visits, our sightings for the night were favorably diverse. We recorded 7 species, from 3 Anuran Family, one gecko and one lizard.

It was somewhat pretty uneventful for my standards but my participants looked like they enjoyed themselves tremendously.

My Nocturnal Excursion in Bukit Gasing

The Giant River Frog, Limnonectes
malesianus (Kiew, 1987), in my hands.

The group last Saturday was the largest I had ever taken for Frogging to Bukit Gasing. Ever since I assigned Trusty Assistant to assist me, I’ve included her name as one of the person to contact for our activities.

Before, when I was handling the group alone, all communication went solely through me.

Before, I was able to apologise to people and politely ask them to bugger-off if the number of participants grew too large or my assigned quota was met. Whichever came first.

With Trusty Assistant by my side, both of us had been receiving inquiries from the MNS members. Mainly to a miscommunication between us, she ended up with 13 souls while I, had the privilege to guide-in 12 people. Due to her eagerness, or “semangat yg membara” or whatever you want to call it, she didn’t have the heart to turn any of them away.

My own 12 participants were from the same family (yes, all 12 of them) and to turn one away was to turn them all away.

Thus, we had to split the group up into two. I would take the first group in while Trusty Assistant, after waiting for about 15 minutes proceeded in with hers.

The particular frog which I had committed my “scientific sin” was there, in abundance. The questions floating in my head with regards to this particular frog has yet to be answered as FRIM Frog Lady was away somewhere and I had no one to assist me in the identification.

“Why” it was there and “How” it came to be would continue to be an enigma until, FRIM Frog Lady return.

Adding to this conundrum, I found that the increase in number for this “mystery” frog had resulted in the “decrease” in sighting of the ever so popular Giant River Frog, Limnonectes malesianus (Kiew, 1987), which was thriving well previously.

Your Adventure in Searching for a Lost Cat

Please help. I've lost my kitty. If you have any information on the culprits who had taken her, please call ASAP.

Thank you.

Liverpool's Adventure in Defending Their Crown

Luis Garcia
He drinks Sangria
He came from Barca
To bring us joy
He’s five foot seven
He’s football heaven
Oh, please don’t take my Luis away
(One of the best song heard on the Kop terrace, sung to the tune of ‘You are my sunshine’)

Mr. I-think-I’ll-just-pop-into-this-penalty-box-and-score, did it again last night. Practically non-existent in the last few matches, he’s making it a habit to just arrive out of nowhere and score important goals for the team. Also, Encik Tiang Lampu TNB, finally showing glimpses of why Senor Benitez brought him to Liverpool, he held the ball up well and played it down for the other lads.

It was such a relief when Mr. Konrad Plautz whistled for time as I wouldn’t think my sofa could have withstood any more of my continuous jumping.

There are three things which Liverpool do best. Produce attacking excellence, deliver sheer defensive defiance & defend like there’s no tomorrow and inducing coronary failure in me.

Last night, they did all three.

So a 2-1 win over European Champions League debutants, Real Betis, provides the prefect catalyst for Liverpool to defend their crown.

My Adventure of Committing Scientific Sin

In biological science, correct and precise information is required to ensure that the most carnal scientific sin does not occur. Vague and incorrect information with little or no evidence or failure to provide an exhaustive scientific study is sometimes more dangerous than no information at all.

I had an earful this morning from one of my biologist contacts. I had made the carnal sin of not providing enough evidence and basing my identification on assumptions. I had wrongfully identified a frog species before and had sent the information in to a certain publication. Yesterday, I had inquired with biologist friend on the identity of a frog whilst providing a vague description.

As an auditor, my approach in conducting audit fieldwork would be something similar as in field biology.  Data collection is crucial to ensure that sufficient evidence is obtained before a conclusion is made and an audit finding is presented to the auditees.

As such, biologist friend has told me off and advised that in order to obtain solid information, I will need  a voucher specimen, properly fixed and preserved, and maintained/stored in a well-curated herpetological collection in a public institution (such as FRIM), with all the accompanying catalog details (locality, date, microhabitat/behavioral notes), this is the critical underpinning of scientific herpetology, and the basis from which all other aspects of the science (conservation, evolution, etc.) follows.

I stand corrected and will ensure that from now on, such faus pax shall never occur again.

My Adventures Update

Yahoo Group Name

I appreciate everyone’s feedback in my efforts to find a suitable name for the Yahoo Group. Although most of the names which were provided were… interesting and unique, I had decided on a simple name for it. OngOngGedekGedekGedek is such a B#*ch for one to be typing, when one is in a hurry.

As such, I had named the Group, katakmns, Mr. Originality I am not.

Hit & Run

The cheek of it! The culprit, a week ago, had filed a report with Traffic Bandaraya that someone had rammed his car. The identify of the culprit is finally revealed, however Traiffic need some time to investigate the matter due to the contrasting reports from both parties.

Culprit claimed that he was hit by an unknown vehicle, in which he couldn’t identify what type of car it was, in an incident which took place late in the evening.

Culprit is so full of shit, as according to Lawyer friend, her car was hit in the morning and she has witnesses to prove it.

My Adventure Down Under

Sydney.

Just over 200 years ago, Captain Arthur Phillip brought his fleet of 10 square-rigged sailing ships to anchor in the peaceful little bay that was to become known as Sydney Cove. With his ships, dubbed the 1st Fleet, his crew, farm stock, a handful of settlers, an array of marines and the prisoners in their charge, Phillip established the farthest flung outpost of the British Empire.

And just over 4 days ago, Hurnain Hamid brought about $350 AD, one quite empty backpack as well as his trusty laptop, and had set his foot on Australian soil for the very first time in his life. Yet, he was not alone, as the Company had sponsored 36 other souls for the trip.

“Down-under”. The term was derived from the first settlers and they had proclaimed it such. Australia, was the closest to hell that they could ever be. However, it was anything but.

A charming town of western influence it was hard to believe that this was the site of penal colony, with a total of 568 male and 191 female convicts with 13 children, 206 marines with 26 wives and 13 children, and 20 officials that had made the voyage of the 1st Fleet.

A city of historical wonder, this was the place where Australia had started. It was a place to see, and people to meet. With his feet as his preferred transport, Hurnain Hamid had toured the city of Sydney. Most of the time he had walked. At times he had taken the Monorail/Train and twice he had taken the taxi. With a population of nearly 3.9 million people, he had noticed that the city was surprisingly calmer than the chaotic conditions of Kuala Lumpur.

His escapade had taken him to the Rocks, (where the first settlements had been established), Darling Harbour, Circular Quay, Historical Museum, Sydney Aquarium and the Zoo.

His visit to the Zoo had a meaningful quality to it as there he had witnessed a real-life Red Panda in the flesh. He always had a soft spot for Red Pandas. Also at the zoo, his first encounter of the South American Eye-Lash Pit Viper, deemed to be the most beautiful species of pit viper in the world, was equally memorable.

On the 4th day, when the time came for him to return home, he had promised himself that he must return to this beautiful city, sometime in the future.