Fall

fall arrived in the most flamboyant of fashions. unlike the subtlety of spring, which creeps in on you and keeps you guessing with anticipation, fall is unpretentious, almost to the point of bluntness.

as i woke up today, it was freezing outside. the weather widget on my computer says it's 3 degrees celcius out. the usually welcoming morning air suddenly turned painfully piercing, and for the first time as far as i could remember, i turned the tap in the bathroom sink towards the "warm" side.

the colours seem to have produced the starkest of contrast overnight. wilted foliage and the broken twigs and branches on the floor made the walk to the morning class that much more scenic. the flaming maple leaves and those that refused to shed their shades of green serve as a constant reminder that fall is still very much a work in progress, on a grand scale.

the lazy sunlight renders blotches of light, dark, light, dark all over campustown like a shadow puppeteer. traversing through the quad thus presented some of the most interesting challenges: keeping yourself in the warm and fuzzy sunshine while picking the shortest route to get to the other side in this freezing weather.

the quad squirrels seemed much more restrained, just foraging around an occasional tree looking for fallen pine nuts and whatever they can find i suppose; for once they're not chasing each other frantically around the place.

steaming breaths, hands in pockets, hooded sweaters; and then there's the odd rebel or two still in bermudas and t-shirt. the rosy cheeks of those on bycicles trying to fight the windchill, and the looks of discomfort on the faces of those who decided to brave the sardine-packed campus shuttle - it is as much about the change of seasons as it is about the people.

a fistful of colours, splashed onto the 50 or so acres of stunning backdrop. so ends september, fall comes knocking.


+listening to: wake me up when september ends by green day