Reflections from Ballarat

Sometimes, when you think you like some thing so much, your mind starts playing tricks on you. It starts glorifying to perfection, and you fall in love with your own imagination. For 3 years, my mind has been painting a picture of a beautiful lake I once knew. A lake whose sidewalks lined with yellow, orange and brown maple trees. A lake which sent its waves against the shore with perfection that you could walk on the tracks and water was just inches away from your feet. A blissful paradise with chirps of birds at a distance...

And for that very reason, I have been falling in love with Ballarat, and I have always wanted to go back and work there some time.

So 3 years after my medical school, I decided to pay a visit to Lake Wandouree - a place I highly deem for its beauty...

And what the f***??? Where's all the water? The lake is half-dry! In the middle of winter! Boatsheds that once used to delineate the shoreline are totally exposed and barren. And muddy swampy ground separates between the pathetic body of water and sidewalks. It looks so dirty, gloomy and uninspiring... that I almost wanted to leave the place at once and head back to Melbourne.

Then again, I should give the trip some due credit. So, I took my camera out, had some uninspired shots, accidentally stepped on dog shit (my day keeps getting better!), drove around the lake just to try to be nostalgic, and headed back home.....

Moral of the story: You might think you like something (or someone) a lot, but it's all in your imagination. Give yourself some time, and you will realise it aint worth dog shit...

Goodbye Ballarat...