living days. and then some.

Click on the Box.

2007-02-03T15:30:00.000+08:00

Temporarily Unavailable

2007-02-02T15:14:00.000+08:00

Dear fellow bloggers and readers,

This blog will be temporarily inactive. Sorry for any inconvenience caused.

Best regards,
Vern

It's Time to Fulfil...

2007-01-30T16:21:00.000+08:00

...another tag. Another tag from Judy. And this time it's...

My Top 5 Favourite Malaysian Bloggers (jeng jeng jeng jeng!)

On number 5 stands the my beloved cousin Fern. We grew up together, bathed together, ate together, and made fools out of ourselves together. Now in Form Four, she has written several books already! Even though she can't publish them simply because she writes fan fiction (she uses characters from her favourite shows) but her ideas are 100% original. Her grammar and vocab is better than mine! Oh, and her mom makes good 'Hokkien Char' and 'Tauhu Th'ng' too.

Alice grabs the number 4 spot. Ever since I read her entries I began to hop to her page whenever I can! Her entries are inspirational - even if they are just scribbles about her daily life. She claims that I play 'inai-inai ba' (Peek-a-boo) with her as I randomly drop comments from time to time. Alice, when I don't drop comments doesn't mean I didn't come by nor read your post. Just bare in mind that I read your blog e-ve-ry-day. :)

Ok, Judy Leese earns herself lucky number 3! I forgot how I came across her page, maybe through someone else's page. Even though she's no longer Malaysian by name, but I'm sure she's still very much grounded to her Malaysian roots. Just look at her cooking! Makes me drool all the time! Other than that this blogger has a really big heart as she does not hesitate to include her fellow blogger friends in her entries. I heart you!

On number two stands the ever young Kak Teh! Even my mom's a fan of her writings! Mom would tell me from time-to-time, "Eh, your friend Kak Teh's latest post is very nice..." Written straight from the heart, one will never be bored of Kak Teh's entries. Recently Alice enlightened me about Judy's confusion over Taufik Wan and Taufik Too, it was hilarious. Kak Teh, don't ever, ever stop writing ok?

And now.... *drum rolls* grabbing the number one spot is MayaKirana! We met in the blogosphere early last year and she is the first ever online friend who actually became an offline friend. Even though she doesn't update as often as others do, she never fails to impress everytime she does. Be it about her daily thoughts or her food entries - she is practical yet quite a dreamer, witty, and absolutely approachable. We would meet up for lunch when I go back to Penang and we can yak and yak non-stop! There was once where we were talking so much on the way to a restaurant she made a wrong turn! Oh, to Penangites out there, her aunt makes absolutely delicious jam tarts for Chinese New Year!

That's it. But to those who aren't on the list, do not despair - I read all the blogs that I have linked everyday like a bulletin! :D

Artist Review

2007-01-29T20:39:00.000+08:00

I seldom write CD reviews - or any reviews for that matter. The main reason is because I love all the CDs and books that I collect. Plus, they keep coming in so I didn't think it'll be a good idea to review each and everyone of them.

But there is one singer that I have been wanting to write about for a very long time. And since I remember and recently bought his latest album, ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce to you Damien Rice.

I think most of you may have heard of him - his probably most well-known track is "The Blower's Daughter" from the movie 'Closer' starring Julia Roberts, Natalie Portman and Jude Law.

The main thing that captures my interest in a song is the lyrics. Damien Rice writes his own songs - and uses words to express intimacy in a very creative way. When I bought his album 'O' that also features a second CD called 'B-sides' I knew a new collection has begun. The contents of his songs are mature - but that doesn't really matter as they are all beautifully composed. Sometimes we tend to pop in a CD and take a book to read as a form of relaxation. I do that most of the times, but whenever I play his songs I'll make sure there's nothing to distract me (even books) as I want to capture every word that he sings. The melody contains soothing and tranquil acoustics - no hardcore or heavy metal rock. Rice is often accompanied by a female singer named Lisa Hannigan whose soft, delicate voice makes a noticeable impact in the songs.

In his latest album '9', his singing partner Hannigan kicked start with a beautiful song called '9 Crimes'. The starting phrase,

Leave me out with the waste
This is not what I do
It's the wrong kind of place
To be thinking of you

was enough to make me grab that CD off the shelf in Borders.

The second album is definitely more mature compared to the previous one 'O' - but hey, if you think you're able to accept it as just art and nothing more then I don't see any problem in getting it.

Here's one my favourite songs from the previous album 'O' called Cannonball.

Cannonball

Still a little bit of your taste in my mouth
Still a little bit of you laced with my doubt
Still a little hard to say what's going on

Still a little bit of your ghost your witness
Still a little piece of your face I haven't kissed
You step a little closer to me
Still I can't see what's going on

Stones taught me to fly
Love taught me to lie
Life taught me to die
So it's not hard to fall
When you float like a cannonball

Still a little bit of your song in my ear
Still a little bit of your words I long to hear
You step a little closer each day
So close that I can't see what's going on

Stones taught me to fly
Love taught me to lie
Life taught me to die
So it's not hard to fall
When you float like a cannon

Stones taught me to fly
Love taught me to cry
So come on courage!
Teach me to be shy
'Cause it's not hard to fall
And I don't want to scare her
It's not hard to fall
And I don't wanna lose
It's not hard to grow
When you know that you just don't know

For poets and dreamers, these albums are definitely worth it. I'd rate it for listeners 18 years and above just to be on the safe side. :)

'O'

Latest album, '9'

A Bus-tling Ride

2007-01-27T10:57:00.000+08:00

I'm about to write on another 'first time' moment that might not be as thrilling for others because they've done it so many times. Nevertheless, I'll share it anyway - if you're bored by the first few lines I'm about to write you can just shut this off ok?

Anyway, I've just finished my first week of the new semester and usually there's nothing much to do in the beginning so I thought I'd go home for the weekend to take care of some 'unfinished business'. Usually my parents would drive all the way down to pick me up, but I realised that this cannot always happen. So I called mom.

Me: Ma, since I'm free this weekend and I finish early on Fridays I can make a trip home by bus.

Mom: By yourself?

Me: Yeah, but I'll have friends accompany me to the bus station.

Mom: We can come and fetch you.

Me: I thought I'd give taking a bus a try.

Mom: But by yourself wor... and it's a long trip. I think you should try with a friend first, not alone.

Me: But I've already taken a bus down to KL with you. It's the same thing, as a matter of fact, the trip is shorter.

Mom: That's different...

That explained it. I know that if I were to take the bus my mom would be worried sick all the way until I reach. No, not just worried - but VERY worried. Then she told me that my dad and her would make a trip down on Sunday to pass me some stuff, then we can go out for lunch. I agreed.

But I continued to give this issue a hard thought for the next couple of days. I spoke about this to some of my friends who have taken the bus, and most of them told me, "It's always hard during the first time. They'll call every half hour to make sure you're not thrown out of the bus or something." or "You can always go home - it's whether you're going to get some scolding or a welcoming hug - I got the first one though, then the second haha!"

At the same time, a bunch of my friends are making their way to KL to catch the Korean star Rain in Bukit Jalil and also to just do some shopping. Before I knew it, I was at the bus stop with my other friends catching a bus to the bus station.

I thought to myself, "I must do this to break the 'first time' barrier. If I'm going to 'kena marah' after this then might as well be it. It's going to make the rest of the trips easier. Plus, it's about time I 'grow up' and make some decisions myself. After all, it's not like I'm dealing with drugs or anything."

My coursemate was a real gentleman. He made sure I had my tickets and that I got up the right bus as he knew this was my first time. Within minutes, I was already on my way home. Oh, did I mention that my parents didn't know?

When I reached...

Me: Ma, where are you?

Mom: I'm brisk walking at the field, almost finished. Why?

Me: I'm at the bus station now, can you pick me up?

Mom: ARE YOU SURE???? YOU CAME HOME WITHOUT OUR PERMISSION???

Me: Uh..yeah? Anyway, can you come pick me up?

Mom: Ok ok ok, wait ah... I'll go back and grab the car.

Me: Ok take your time.

That was it. I did it. I came home, in one piece, by myself. I felt like doing a victory jump at the bus station that minute - which I didn't - as my parents came and picked me up. Nope, I didn't receive any scolding as they were glad to see me (well, dad was all cool as a cucumber but I know he was probably thinking 'That's my girl!').

The moment I came home both mom and dad already gave me a list of things to do. I told mom, "I don't know why I come home but I came home anyway." She laughed.

iPhone. iWant.

2007-01-26T08:47:00.000+08:00

Coming soon, 2008.

Back to Routines

2007-01-22T17:29:00.000+08:00

It’s official.

I’m back to campus life. My second semester has begun and this time, classes begin at 8 – an hour earlier than the previous semester, which also means I’m deprived from an hour of beauty sleep. Even though I’m taking three subjects less this semester (I have already graduated from Moral Studies, Sports Science and Thinking Skills) I am also required to take up a new subject known as Intro to Computers and Information System – which by the way, teaches you about what a mouse is (the clicking one, not the squeaking one), how to operate Microsoft Word, Excel and so on. This subject actually takes up more time, hence my timetable is as packed as usual.

My first class on the first day is English. However, due to reasons only the lecturer knows, she didn’t show up. We waited for more than half an hour and made our way to the lab to register for our Chemistry and Physics lab/tutorial sessions. Unlike last semester where the bunch of us were at a lost of what we had to do, this time, we were the early birds to ‘jom’ or reserve our places in the classes of our choice. The moment the doors were open it was like a stampede. The guys and the girls even pushed and pushed their way through the narrow pathway and sensible ones like yours truly became the ‘victims’ as my arm grazed the edge of the pathway, resulting a 2-inch line as though made by the scratch from a cat. We have a couple foreign lecturers this year, one is from Sudan while the other was born in Senegal but resides in France.

Unlike the weather, things are looking more on the sunny side as I discovered that wireless Internet is now available. It’s not provided by the university, since we need our own Streamyx account using our own money so it’s from the hotspot station somewhere nearby. Well, considering the campus is huge, the main point might as well be from somewhere inside. However, I’m still waiting for the LAN port in my room to be open, because intra-networking is so much faster that way.

I’m back in my old room – nicer and more comfortable bed sheets (thanks to mom) and a clearer mindset of putting in more effort into my studies. Of course, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Which is why I have two seasons of Monk with me and a few other DVDs to let me unwind after studies. I watched a the first episode of the 3^rd season with my roommate yesterday and I think I’ve got her hooked – though I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.

Ok, before I end, a short update on the finger. The skin around my finger is peeling off (result from the ointment I applied earlier on) and the dark blue is now black. It doesn’t hurt as much but I still can’t type with it yet. I was very tempted to take up Emma’s offer to put up photos of it but I think I’ll spare Judy the agony of puking all over her keyboard because it looks horrible with the skin coming off. J

A Photo Entry

2007-01-19T10:54:00.001+08:00

PERMATA CAMP, Port Dickson

14th-18th January 2007

View from the room

In the room

Outside

Pollution

Footprints in The Sand

Drifted Away

Hidden Sunset

No Catch Today

Away From Home

X & Y

After the Tide

Silhouette

Waves

Solitary

Samba 5

Ooopss...

Aduh!

2007-01-18T20:59:00.000+08:00

Hi all, sorry to be idle for the past few days - I was attending a camp in Port Dickson, just as it was said at the "Vern Says" column. I'll post about the camp later, when the battery of the camera is recharged so that I can obtain the photos.

As I am typing this my right forefinger us pointed directly towards the screen as my mind is silently cursing "Ow!" No, not the Micheal Jackson 'ow' but the usual expression when one is in pain.

I was following dad to get some dinner and to collect my new pair of spectacles earlier this evening. As I got off the car, I slammed the door and suddenly I felt something weird. My finger was stuck in something, and I feared the worst - the door slammed onto it. I turned to look and immediately the pain sped towards my brain, and made me let out a soft cry, "Aaah...." It took less than 3 seconds to turn the lower portion of my fingernail area black as I opened the door and said, "Dad...my finger got caught between the door........" My dad went, "Why you so careless one...?" No tears of any sort came, as I 'tahan' and made my way to the optometrist. The moment I reached the shop, cold sweat began to appear on my forehead as I felt a little dizzy. Whoa - the finger really hurt. I couldn't even smile - and only managed a soft thank you as I left the shop. When I got home my all-knowing dad poured some ointment and asked me to dip my finger inside for several minutes. That certifies the first injury of the new year.

Another UNinteresting fact about Vern is that I am very accident-prone.

When I was 3, if you read the previous entry - I got bit by a dog near the eye. When I was 4, my finger got caught between my nanny's room door. Then, when I was 6, I fell of a monkey bar and dislocated my left elbow and right wrist. My dad didn't bring me to the doctor for the usual sling and cast. Instead he brought me to the Chinese sifu who took pleasure in twisting and turning my joints as I cried out with agony. In early primary school I actually stapled my finger. Also, I burnt a small part of my calf when my leg accidentally got in contact with the hot exhaust pipe of my uncle's motorcycle. Not long after, my entire right leg slipped and fell into the drain - resulting in a big, ugly bruise and some scrapes. In Primary Six I cut the upper flesh off my finger with a scissors during Art lesson. In secondary school where I fell in love with basketball, I could not even keep track of the number of times I strained my fingers. The most significant strain I can remember was the time my entire right thumb looked like a huge, blue drumstick. I had my fair share of tripping and falling during games, the most memorable one would be the time I fell and rolled over like a dog - resulting in a big wound on my left knee and right shoulder. I still have the 'battle wounds' to prove it. And yeah, the finger today.

My 'favourite' would be the time when I was about 4, I just randomly fell down while walking at the outside of my granny's for no apparent reason. I just think that was rather cute.

Those are the few highlighted injuries that has happened for the past 18 years. What is there to say? Wear a helmet and all those knee and elbow pads when I go out?

Haih......

5 Uninteresting Facts About Vern

2007-01-12T19:31:00.000+08:00

Judy oh Judy....I know you miss me very much because we hardly meet on MSN anymore but why.... of all tags....why this topic??? If there are 5 things that people don't know about me, it means that there are 5 things I don't want people to know about me right?

Oh well, being the good sport that I am, here they are - the 'safer' ones:

one
I always end my steps on a staircase with my right foot. I even skip a step if I have to.

two
I used to pretend I was a Power Ranger with my friends or cousin when I was younger. I used to be the Red one. And although I no longer watch the it, I still keep up with the latest news of the series via the internet.

three
I was bitten by my nanny's dog near the eye when I was about 3 years old. We were of the same height at that time. Here's the weird part : I don't even remember - it was mom who told me. And until today, I'm still a very big fan of dogs - big ones especially.

four
Even though I play the piano and the guitar, I would really, really like to learn how to play the saxophone.

five
I'm not afraid of heights, crowded areas, germs, thunder, lightning, horror movies or even death. But I'm afraid of a lizard's tail, though.

Aha! There ya go. Enough to keep you entertained but not enough to use it against me. Who shall I tag...? On second thought, I'll let my fellow blogosapiens go on this one. I'll bombard you people with those 50-question ones next time. Heeeheeeheeeheee......

Vern writes...

2007-01-11T14:29:00.000+08:00

Sleepy Eyes

Sleepy eyes, don't drift away,

I know you've had the longest day.

Sleepy eyes, I'm here to stay,

Share with me all you have to say.

Precious eyes, God made you to be,

The doors of love and humanity.

Behind those eyes, lies a mystery,

Where dreams collide with reality.

You have questions of the things you see,

Like a little child, answers you seek.

You like pretty things, and colours too,

You seek kindness, purity and truth.

But sometimes tears may flow from you,

When the harshness of reality sets through.

Don't be discouraged, nor be afraid,

Open wide, be strong and brave.

Sleepy eyes, now rest you may,

Until you wake to a brand new day.

****************

Above is just a poem I wrote when I was watching the telly this afternoon.

Have received my final exam results just a few minutes ago. I have to admit I didn't put much effort into it, which is why I am so grateful that God decided to spare me this time by granting me just-ok results. Must work harder this time.

Am also trying to 'detox'. I need to get off my caffeine addiction. Coffee and coke, go away.

Last but not least, I need to learn how to like the sunshine. I used to like my room gloomy and private, and would grumble every time mom asks me to open the window to let the sunshine in. I did just that today, and read with the sunlight. I think I'm beginning to like it.

Of Salesperson, Cars and Eyes.

2007-01-10T16:55:00.000+08:00

Weird combination, I know. But here it is anyway.

I went out with mom today - needed to shop for a new baju kurung before my semester begins . We went to several places, and one of them was so.........persistent.

Have you ever been to a shop (usually those selling clothes) where the salesperson will try to be as persuasive as possible to get you to buy an item? To make matters worse, they try to get you to buy the more expensive ones! I was just browsing, haven't even picked any or asked about the price or size, and this particular salesperson came over, highlighted the good quality of the one I was looking at, simply took one and handed it to me. I starred at her for a moment and she said, "Gia khi try kua," (direct translation: Take go try see). I was speechless and looked at mom who just gestured me to try it out of politeness, after which I did, decided I didn't quite like the design. I went over to see the cheaper ones because even though I am quite known for "expensive taste" I also buy things according to my needs. The fact that I won't be wearing it often tells me that there is no need to get anything pricey. A reasonably priced, nice one will do.
Not long after, her comrade in arms (another salesperson) came along and they started launching double missiles towards us - keep asking us to look at the expensive ones and giving the same reasons over and over again. As usual, we just nodded our heads politely and made our exit. We aren't the only victims of these kind of salespeople, my friend Jo Ni once encountered a worse group in one of the shops in Prangin. According to her, the moment she stepped into the shop, the salespeople started to throw different kinds of garments towards her and ushered her to the fitting room. They completely ignored her when she said, "Xie xie. Wo khan sien. (Thanks, Let me see first.) Don't these people know when to stop?

As I drove us to another place, the was a long queue at the traffic lights. The reason is that a car on one of the lanes broke down, causing the other drivers to move to our side. Alright, I don't mind letting them come into our lane as they had no choice, but out of nowhere a lorry (yes, a LORRY) came from the outer side to jump the queue! The cars on the right trying to come in was enough to cause the jam and now this lorry was trying to move his big butt into the hardly-moving queue from the left! I just don't get it. When these things happen, do these people (those that jump queue) feel that their time is more precious than others?

Then perhaps a lesson from all the resentment that I felt earlier in the day, when I was trying to park the car...IT GOT SCRATCHED! Aduh, sakit hatiku when I saw the beautiful work of art I did to the car. MY FIRST TIME! GAaahhh! I held such a beautiful record when I didn't have any scratches or fines from the moment I obtained my license. And now, it's all g.o.n.e. Sigh. Lesson learned? Open my eyes BIG BIG next time.

Anyway, we managed to get the baju kurung, and I also paid my yearly visit to the optometrist. After several tests, the optometrist told me that my eyes suffer from accommodative spasm. Meaning, I have hyperactive lenses that try to accommodate everything I see, near or far, thus making my eyes tired or even cause slight headaches after a short while. I've been having that problem for a very long time which is why I wear glasses when I face screens or even reading - but this is the first time I found out the name for it.

An eventful day, I must say. I witnessed some true Malaysian culture, had one of my "first time" moments, and got a new pair of glasses. Tonight, I have a date with my friends for some cendol. No, I won't be driving.

Resolutions, resolutions.

2007-01-08T17:46:00.000+08:00

"So what's your New Year's resolution?"

That's probably the most popular question in the beginning of every new year. Few of my friends have already decided what they want this year. Some want to lose weight, some want to obtain better results in their studies (or even career), some want to learn how to control their finances, while others are just clueless.

I've given up on making new year resolutions years ago. Why? Simply because by the middle of the year, the whole spirit fizzles out and I'd find myself disappointed at the end of the year because I haven't done much.

A friend asked me this question again today. So I thought about it, scratched my head, fikir lama-lama, and then I told her, "I don't know-lah." Oh, and I also said, "When I have come to an answer I'll tell you."

I didn't put much thought into it after that conversation, moreover I have been thinking a lot about the past lately. Then I did some blog-hopping, to Judy's, Yu Jean's, Emily's, Alice's, Julie's, Kak Teh's, Marsha's and even Mayakirana's. No one spoke about resolutions, eventhough Julie's previous post did have a pinch of resolving to improve in life. But when I read through (including those that I have read before) the posts, I realise that everyday is a resolution itself. For instance, every day I resolve to accomplish a few things before I go to bed at night. Or sometimes things just happen randomly, like a hunch to get some ice-cream or watch a movie. But no matter what we do, it all boils down to one thing: We're all living for the moment and trying to make the best out of it.

Today is my dad's birthday, and unlike my brother's, I didn't give him a gigantic colorful post or even a present bought few days before his birthday. Usually, every year us kids would get him a new shirt or socks and things like that - practical things that my dad wouldn't mind us spending our money on for him. But I didn't get him anything this year - might sound really bad of me but I think getting the same thing year after year gets very mundane and dull. So my mom came up with an idea of buying him expensive dinner. However, dad declined the offer and drove us to our usual hawker's place for Hokkien Mee. As we walked to the car after our meal, mom bought some dessert from an old aunty who has been selling them every night at that little corner in the dark. I don't know how many people buys from her, but I noticed how her face lit up when we did. A little gesture like that could make a difference in a person's day. As we drove home, dad stopped by a bakery to get some homemade pandan kaya from his latest favourite shop. I volunteered to get it, and refused to take the money my dad wanted to give me. When I returned to the car, I handed the little bottle of kaya to dad and said, "Happy Birthday". I know to most of you, that was probably the most cheapskate present a daughter could ever give. Mom laughed when I did that and dad didn't say nor mumble anything about it - which is a good sign. It was all random. But it made a difference.

Now as I think back about the things that have happened over the past 24 hours, I now have the answer for that friend of mine. I'll tell it to her personally, but to those who want to know, my resolution for this new year, and the next, and the many years after, would be to savour every moment in life and bring more meaning into it by making a difference in life, for others and for myself. Be it big or small, a difference is a difference. And it would probably be the only thing that will bring people together.

I'm going to have a taste of that dessert now. Happy 2007 everyone.

When The Rain Falls

2007-01-07T12:20:00.000+08:00

The angels have began crying, just as they predicted. According to the papers, and loads of SMS-es from friends, the weather's about to get pretty bad - thunderstorms, floods - the works. As I type this, it's rather wet outside, causing the afternoon to look dull and cold. I don't mind rain, really. As a matter of fact, I like rain. I even like the smell of rain. I like the crackling sounds of thunder, and the beautiful flashes of lightning from afar. But I'm not sure if I'm a big fan of floods, though.

Anyway, I hope the water level does not rise. After all, Penang is one of the easiest place to turn into a big muddy swimming pool in certain areas.

I called up my best friend the other day - for those who don't know, she's in Russia at the moment - I finally got through after the umpteenth time of trying. We don't keep in touch via the Internet much (even though I still drop several emails from time to time), it's too expensive for her over there, so I try to call her whenever I can. The other way of finding out how she was doing was through her boyfriend who manages to call her every day despite the sky rocketing phone bill. It has been less than six months since she left - I could feel that being apart was a strain already. The phone conversation we had was draggy, with me trying to come up with as many topics as I could, though there were several awkward moments of pause in between. It wasn't like that before, we always had more to say that we could never really finish a conversation properly. We somehow reached a point where she said, "Sometimes when people go abroad, better lifestyle, more ahead, then differences will settle in." Of course she wasn't referring to us, we were talking about someone else. But would that happen one day?

For the first time, I think she forgot my birthday late last year. On New Year's, I sent her a message but never got a reply. When she changed her number, I wasn't told. Her birthday is coming soon, and I'm sending a parcel over. Am I doing too much? Or haven't I done enough?

I worry.

Deutsche Streicherphilharmonie

2007-01-04T12:58:00.000+08:00

english translation: German Philharmonic String Orchestra

Yesterday, I exercised my "tour guide" muscles once again for the first time in the new year. One of my sifu's, Joann, told me she needed my help to bring 30 German teenagers for a heritage walk along the Street of Harmony. I was reluctant at first, because I haven't done this in months and I missed the previous junior tour guide training few weeks ago. As we spoke about on the phone,

Joann: Take this as a chance to earn some pocket money...

Me: Joann, you know it's not about the money, it's about the ability to perform! I haven't done this in a long, long time!

Anyway, I did some studying the night before to refresh my memory and woke up early the next day to begin my quest. I met Joann at City Bayview Hotel where our German friends stayed. It was then that Joann told me that this bunch of youth were going to perform in Dewan Sri Pinang that night as an orchestra. She asked me to go, but I didn't think I would because it was rather last minute.

When the group came out for the walk, I was in awe. These talented group of young people get to travel around the world to perform, and yeah, a lot of them are very good looking too. *ahem*

The walk went better than I expected, and for the first time, I reached the checkpoint earlier than expected! The walk ended at the Blue Mansion@CheongFattTze Mansion where I too had the chance to experience a professional tour around that big house.

I came home tired, took a short nap, and did some work. At about 7.30p.m., my friend Jo Ni came online.
This conversation took place (some parts have been excluded to protect the privacy of the user):

redvern22: eh
redvern22: guess what
redvern22: today's walk ar
redvern22: i brought 30 german teens
redvern22: they're actually performing tonight in dewan sri
redvern22: some orchestra thingy
joni-inoj.j.ea.n: SERIOUS?
redvern22: yep
joni-inoj.j.ea.n: i wanna go la
joni-inoj.j.ea.n: i giv u 5 minutes
joni-inoj.j.ea.n: go bathe
redvern22: huh??
redvern22 : my mom cook dinner edy wor
joni-inoj.j.ea.n: ish
redvern22: OK OK OK
redvern22: listen ar
redvern22: the show is at 8
redvern22: chances are
redvern22: it will start at 8 sumting
redvern22: lol
redvern22: malaysian time
redvern22: so...

I had my bath and ate in 15 minutes. Then...

joni-inoj.j.ea.n: come now ok?
redvern22: kk

It was that random. Before we knew it we were on our way there. We reached a few minutes late, and we were quite surprised that they started on time. They were about to close the door when we arrived and was told not to make any noise.

What noise is there to make? The ensemble was amazing! They performed pieces by Handel, Strauss, Mozart, Bartok, Brahms and Schtschedrin with perfection of pitch and timing. And these people are aged between 11 to 19, so young and so talented! They were sweating and huffing during the walk, but on stage - they did their stuff with utmost confidence. I wanted to snap some photos for the blog but I kept my camera when I saw them shoo some photographers away. To those in KL, they will be performing tonight at the KLPAC (Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Center) so catch them if you can. It's worth it. You know what the best part is? Despite the all-black attire they wore and their classy instruments, they sure look like they were having fun. This is their first tour in Asia, their previous stop was in China. Before that they traveled across Europe to perform. If you do plan to witness this event, do bring an extra RM50 to buy their cd if you're interested. Oh, I met Mayakirana there too. Small world, eh?

I like to claim that my world revolves around music. But I'm pretty sure that theirs do.

Kick start 2007

2007-01-02T09:03:00.000+08:00

Woohoo! The first post of the New Year!

I started off 2007 on a lively note. I got home late from New Year's Eve celebration so I woke up late as well, but that didn't dampen the spirit of my folks. We headed out for lunch and stopped at a petrol station to fill up. Dad met an old friend there, and they had a rather cheeky conversation - in front of me and mom.

Whatshisname: Hey Soo! (Soo's my mom's surname - he knows my mom too)

Mom: Hallo whatshisname! Wah...how are you ah?

Me: (Saja butt in) Hello uncle, Happy New Year.

Whatshisname: Ah, happy new year. I already have 5 grandchildren!

(Then he went on and on until...)

Dad: Tulah, saya mau kahwin dua...

Whatshisname: Aiyooo....jangan...jangan... tak baik....

Mom: Dia selalu cakap macam tu, mau cari isteri lagi.

Whatshisname: Jangan...jangan.... ada dua susah lo... kita orang dah tua nak jalan pun tak betui... kalau cari satu lagi kena jalan sama satu kaki wo...

Everyone laughed, and the conversation went on and on until we finally made our way for our meal, where I met my friend Carol there.

At night, Azhan invited Yu Jean, Jocelyn and I over to his place for laksa. His uncle has a laksa stall opposite the Bukit Jambul Complex, behind the taxi station, one of the houses. Then we heard that Janet was also having a New Year's party and didn't invite us except for Natasha and Michy. Michy then called up Yu Jean and passed us to Janet - who, in return, felt guilty (or so I think) that she forgot about us. As Yu Jean passed the phone to me, I raised my voice and said this so she could hear:

Me: I'm angry at Janet cos she didn't invite us to the party!

Janet: Hehehe... (tersengih-sengih) Aiya Wei Vern...how am I supposed to know la that you are back?

Me: Hello?? It's New Year's and you could have called!

Janet: Please come lah... Ask your mother to fetch you guys here then your mother can join us old people while you young people have your own talk.

Me: All the way to Tanjung Bungah?? At this time?? Are you mad?

Then the phone was passed to Yu Jean, who managed to secure us a two-way ticket to and from Janet's place through Michy who agreed to fetch us, provided she gets her share of laksa too. Natasha tagged along. Apparently they were the only "young" people there. I guess they were very bored.

So, we made all the way down to Janet's place where we were greeted with some old, jazzy music and adults that we used to work with. Janet saved some special, homemade dessert for us, by which I'm guessing was a cheese fruit pie. It was so good that we finished the whole pan by digging in with our little spoons. As usual, put heritage heboh people together and you'll get all the heboh-ness there is. Then there was this little girl called Tian who had a strong American accent and laughed as though she was crying. Just like any other kid, she vied for attention. From hitting our heads with an empty 7Up bottle to dragging us to play congkak with her, the gang was still able to have our fair share of crazy talk.

One of them included preparing Azhan for his trip to Oklahoma, USA.

Natasha: Oklahoma is where those black dudes are right? Meaning they have this deep, southern accent?

Me: Haha! Then you can go "No, ya ain't gettin' some booty tonight!"

Natasha: Yeah! And also "Uh huh ma sista!" like those movies where there are those fat, black women in the church holding fans and they go "Praise the Lord! Oooh...I can feel His presence babe!"

****This is not a joke about God. We NEVER joke about God. But we joke about Americans a lot though.****

The whole thing went on and on as we tried to distract the kid from us. When we were near the congkak, Yu Jean made her attempt.

Yu Jean: Tian, you see those marbles? Ok, I want you to sort them according to their colours ok?

2nd attempt.

Natasha: You see Tian, there are numbers inside the marbles. Now I want you to sort them according to their numbers.

Tian: (In weird American accent) But I don't see any numbers!

Me: Oh...only smart people can see that Tian. Are you smart?

Tian: Yes, I'm smart. Can you see the number? (Hands a marble over to Natasha)

Natasha: Oh yes... I think it's a....3. Can you see that Azhan?

Azhan: Erm....(looks at it)...yeah.. I think it's a 3. Vern?

Me: Yep. It's a 3. Yu Jean?

Yu Jean: Yeah... it looks like a 3 to me.

3rd attempt.

Tian was playing with one of the marbles and drops it a few times.

Me: Tian, do you know that dropping marbles bring 7 years of bad luck?

Michy: Yeah, and since you've dropped it twice meaning you'll have 14 years of bad luck. In order to get rid of it you must sleep for 14 hours.

Me: In 14 seconds' time!

4th attempt.

Yu Jean: Let's play hide and seek, Tian.

Natasha: Yeah, but this time, you hide, we seek!

5th attempt.

This time, we managed to lead her to Janet.

Janet: Ok, what do you want to know?

Tian: How do you make this? (shows marble)

Janet: This, is made from coconut. (By this we were all laughing like mad) So I scoop the inside of the coconut, make it into a ball and freeze it in the freezer. Then I also add some chili. This is a coconut chili ball. (I tell you... we really couldn't tahan and couldn't stop laughing!!!!)

6th attempt.

Me: Tian, do you know that there is a missing marble? It's pink in colour. Can you help find it for us?

Tian: Where is it?

Yu Jean: It's in Janet's butt, so you have to go to her and ask it from her.

Tian goes to Janet and returns.

Tian: She's on the phone! If I have to bring her then I'll have to bring the phone line here and I'll have to bring the phone too!!

The 7th and FINAL attempt.

I decided to teach her the proper way of playing congkak and went for two rounds with her.

Natasha: Aww... Wei Vern has a way with kids....

Well, actually, the kid wasn't such a pest. We just like to think she is just because she's loud, slightly screechy, and...she's a kid. She's smart for her age, actually. She picked up congkak within minutes and even beat me in the first round. Really, if it wasn't for her, the night wouldn't have been as lively. As I think back, we were all the silly ones as we tried to come up with various ways to keep her busy. Sorry, Tian, if we were mean to you. You're actually a bundle of joy and fun...ok, and noise too!

I know this post is a bit late (sorry Judy) but that was how I spent my first day of the new year.
And you know what? I think 2007 will be a happening year after all!

2006 Episode Recap

2006-12-29T21:04:00.000+08:00

One whole year has come and will soon go away. I’d say that year 2006 is one of the most happening years in my life so far, even though 2005 did provide its fair share of events.

Oh, before I begin, let me extend a birthday wish to the person who made the first 5 years of my life hell, damaged the front bicycle tire of the boy who bullied me, was forced to share his toys with me in the early years and willingly (I think) shared more stuff as we grew older, listens to my rants when I disagree with my parents or even him, and loves me for who I am. People, today is my brother’s 23^rd birthday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KO!

Your present is sitting right here at home waiting for you to collect it.

Yes, you owe me mine!!

OK. Back to business. Just a little walk down memory lane of year 2006.

The first few months of 2006 involved academic as little as possible because I was still waiting for my SPM results then. But not being academically involved doesn’t mean wasting time lying around watching TV or hanging around in shopping malls and cinemas catching the latest movies. Because…ladies and gentlemen, meet Janet Pillai a.k.a. Ms. Heritage Heboh a.k.a. Queen Pillai. --->

She recruited a few young people, to become young facilitators in the UNESCO ‘Seeing With Young Eyes’ Conference/Workshop which was held here in Penang. Hence, the Airhead Travels was born. See more of the event here, and here.

Then came the Global Ethics Project in Penang, where the Airhead Travels did it again. It was hard work and a whole lot of fun. Earning a little bit of pocket money was also a plus point in all that too.

In March, it was results time. Thankfully I did fairly well, 9A's - praise God. Then, I was off to National Service. I had a rough time there at first, but I soon grew to like it. Just a few minutes ago I was browsing through some old photos and I miss the friends that I made there. I think the most fruitful outcome was that I learned how to speak Mandarin at the end of the day!

On the 7th of June 2006, this blog was officially started. I used to blog in Friendster and back then my blog was known as LivingDays. The "..and then some." shows the continuity from where I left off. Somewhere in June, I managed to secure a Petronas scholarship in Mechanical Engineering. In July, I was already in Universiti Teknologi Petronas. A lot has happened in the first semester, where I helped organize a futsal event and also the part where I took the wrong slip for my examination!

I made a special friend this year through this blogosphere - well, through cookies, more like it. Mayakirana and I started off by commenting each others' blogs to MSN chatters to offline friends. This is the very first time I have ever become offline friends with people I've met on the Internet. Risky, but I guess I got really, really lucky. It's like hitting a jackpot. Thanks Maya, for your understanding and friendship. :)

On the 18th of September, a good friend of mine Muna left for UK to study Chemical Engineering.

On the 23rd of September, my best friend Lily left for Russia to pursue her degree in medicine.

In December, my first semester has ended - my parents and I went for a week vacation in Sydney, Australia.

I turn another year older, again.

As J M Barrie once said, "Someone said that God gave us memories so that we might have roses in December."

To everyone out there, here's Wei Vern wishing you
a fantastic 2007.
May it be filled with blessings of all sorts
and memories to treasure.
Cheers.

Sometimes I Wonder...

2006-12-28T00:28:00.000+08:00

Why Am I Here?

This is not the first time I question my existence. This is just the first time I’m writing about it. Do you ever think about this? Ever wondered why you’re placed here by God to roam around the surface of the earth?

Until now, based on what I know, life isn’t all about ‘roaming around’. Lots of things happen along the way – good and bad. When good things happen, you’re happy, contented, and motivated. When things take a turn to the downside, you get angry, sad, and begin to doubt yourself and the things around you.

Why must there be two sides to something? Even though some may say “you must have bad to bring meaning to good” why can’t we just all be happy all the time? True, lessons are learned mostly when we experience unhappy, bad stuff – but what’s the point of it all when we must end up going back to where we came from? Christians believe in eternal life, Buddhism and Hinduism believe in rebirth, Muslims believe all will meet the Maker the day the world ends – but all of them mean one thing: you’re back at where you started.

Maybe such things are just to make living a little less boring, you know, so people won’t think about things like these all the time.

When I was 5, I began to wonder how I had the ability to feel. To be able to gain control of this body and to have a mind. Why is it that we are all different? Why can’t I feel what others feel and why am I just dedicated to this body of mine alone? How come they have a mind of their own? Where did this sense of control come from? How come there are so many of us here?

As I grew a bit older, I began to question the purpose of the existence of man.

Scientists, religious leaders, philosophers will all tell you different answers. So which is the right one? In conclusion we just choose what we want to believe. Are we here to make money? Are we here because God has special plans for us? Are we here because someone out there needs our help? Are we here to make someone happy? Which do we choose to believe?

Even if you have made a choice – this question is still inevitable from time to time.

Rick Warren, author of “The Purpose Driven Life” believes that life on earth is just a preparation for what’s to come in the kingdom of heaven. Some might interpret it as some sort of test. I respect his opinion, but I can’t help but wonder why the uncertainty? Death is certain, but when it happens, why it happens and to whom it happens are all beyond our control. A math geek will tell you that variables affect the outcome of an answer even though you have a constant placed in the equation. What is this answer that we’re looking for? I don’t know. And I don’t know if I’ll ever find out.

So what keeps us motivated to be here and enjoy the ride? Students will set goals to pass exams, enter good learning institutions and make their parents proud. Adults will strive to earn a better living, provide enough or more for themselves and their family, make sure their kids are okay. Doctors set a target to save all the lives they can. Engineers will want to design and invent new technology for the betterment of mankind. Artists believe in the freedom of expression to make a change in the world. Parents want to live longer to see their children grow and bring them grandchildren, and so on.

I remember the times I used to jump and try to reach for high things – the more I achieve, the taller the next target becomes. I have to admit I still do that, instead of reaching for those doorway frames I now reach out for more, complicated, abstract things – like making my family proud and happy.

But it’ll all stop some time – the only difference is I don’t know when. We all make temporary goals to grow and learn; I guess it’s just enough for us then.

Hey, if we knew everything there wouldn’t be anymore suspense left then, right?

Metal Gear

2006-12-26T20:35:00.000+08:00

My cousin Fern told me yesterday, "My teeth are gonna be put in jail tomorrow." Or something like that.

Yep, today, my darling cousin got her braces. So I asked her to send me photo of her with her new 'toy', where she kindly sent one over to me albeit slight reluctance. But super gracious of her to let me post it on my blog! Thanks Fern!

TA-DAH!

Cute, right? Did I mention that I was once VERY keen on getting braces for myself? There was this season back in secondary school where one by one my friends were getting braces and began to speak as though they have cushions in their mouths. Most people would think braces are geeky, nerdy and simply a fashion disgrace. But I digress. I thought, and STILL think that braces are pretty cool, especially the coloured ones! WHY? I just think that this is just a level of growing up that I would like to be a part of! It's like a trend, teens aged 13-16 are more likely to get braces (at least that's how it seems like in my school) more than older teens because I think that's when the "social hormones" start to come out even more.

Well, God blessed me with a nice set of teeth (*Ahem*) so I guess I didn't have to go through that phase even if I wanted to. Crazy, isn't it? A yearn to have braces. Haha!

Also, my cousin told me my aunt reads my blog too! Wah... now I can take the opportunity to HINT that I MISS HER 'Hokkien Char' and 'Tauhu Th'ng'. Hehehehe....

Just a short post about one of those little weird things I fancy about in life. In the meantime, have fun with those braces Fern!

P/S: Fern is a blogger too and is a very good writer at her age. Even better than me! I have a few cousins who also share the same passion in writing. Hmmm...runs in the family?

Season Greetings.

2006-12-25T12:28:00.000+08:00

I took this photo in the Fish Market, Sydney. I never realised how suitable the colours were for the season until a few minutes ago.

Best Birthday/Christmas presents from my mom and dad this year. Mom got me the complete DVD set of the Rin TinTin Adventures and a collection of the Pearls Before Swine comics. Dad got me a totally cool Prince tennis racquet. The racquet, dvd set, and one of the PBS comics are bought in Sydney! :D Also special thanks to all friends for the warm wishes and thoughtful gifts.

Anyway, just taking this short moment to wish everyone a
Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year.

Have a good one, y'all.

F*. FD. FOOD.

2006-12-23T21:19:00.000+08:00

MayaKirana asked me a question today during lunch: "How come you don't blog about food?"

For those who don't know yet, Maya is one person who is able to blog about food until she makes your mouth water and your stomach grumbling even if you just had your meal half an hour ago. Well, at least I get that every time she puts her food entries on.

It has occurred to me that every time I blog about events that happened in a restaurant or any regular "makan" place I would only mention a thing or two about the food and proceed with a whole long description about what happened and the lessons learned.

I told her I don't give specific description about the food I take - even if it was at some interesting, new place - simply because I don't think I do enough justice in my descriptions. Bottom line is; I cannot have a career as a food critic.

However, TODAY, I shall blog about food. No, not the 'texture, taste, or how something is cooked and how special it is' like the ones you see in the food programs on telly but more of the connection that exist between people and food that is more than just filling up your tummy.

Food is one of the constants in life besides death. Yeah, quite a weird comparison but it is quite the truth.

You probably don't realise it but how often do you use phrases like, "Hey, are you free? Let's do dinner.", "We should meet up and have lunch some time", "Your grandma/mom has cooked. Come home for lunch/dinner" or "I'm sorry, I have to go. I have a lunch appointment with so and so"?

Food is the main excuse people get together. Food is the main excuse people leave from a get together. Of course, either way we all hope it's all in good cause. Chinese New Year's Eve, Thanksgiving and all are a form of family reunion. What's present? Food! When visiting house to house during the festivities, what do the hosts serve? Tidbits and drinks. In general, what are they? Food!

Food provide lessons too. This probably happened to most kids and teenagers when they cannot finish their meal and then their parents/other adults telling them things like, "Do you know that people in 'some poor country' are deprived of food and this amount that you waste everyday can feed 'some large amount of people'?" It's sometimes annoying but it is true. It's just that we get this so often that we just simply disregard it. Maybe it's about time to think twice before we send leftovers into the trash.

Ah...and what about diseases caused by food? Cancer, diabetes, high cholesterol, food poisoning and probably many many more aren't exactly the presents we would like to get for Christmas. This is how people learn lessons like taking food in moderation, cure for diseases, and how to appreciate life even more after one has overcome a disease. Ok, I may be taking this a tad too far but just spare a thought for this and see if this makes any sense.

Malaysians are probably the luckiest brats in the world when it comes to food. We have varieties of them and almost in every nook and corner of the country! Best part is... they're good! It's probably one of most crucial pieces of the puzzle of unity in diversity. No kidding.

I had a wonderful lunch with Maya today at Mansion 32 and even though the food was good, the company was even better. See? This is why I can't blog about food. Give me good company anytime and food is second on the list at the moment.

"The road to a man's heart is through his stomach." Familiar?

Well, for me, I'd also say,

"Good company makes digestion a whole lot easier."

When "Legal" Means A Whole Lot More

2006-12-23T00:25:00.000+08:00

On the 22nd of December (some would call it "yesterday") this blogger turned 18.

Yes. 18. The "legal" age. Suddenly you have access to everything. Clubs, 18-PL movies, alcohol, cigarettes, etc. It's pretty tempting really. Just the other day at the Sydney airport I had this conversation with mom.

"Hey mom, you know what, I like those pretty liquor bottles so much that one day I might become an alcoholic myself."

There's a lot more where such conversations came from. For now, I'm clean. Heh.

So what has changed after 18 years?

As a friend said, "Nothing."

Yep, I'm still having a hard time growing up.

Help.

Panorama

2006-12-19T22:12:00.000+08:00

Hi all. I know I haven't updated for a while now... but here I am. :) And with photos! Yep, photos from Sydney. (WARNING: MOST photos do not contain the face of the blogger due to partial shyness and reluctance.)

This thing-y is very simply. Just adjust the speed you want at the "-" and "+" buttons and move your pointer to the photo to view the captions. :) I used this way because I didn't want to flood my page.

Some footnotes:

My dad took a video of almost every thing we did throughout the trip...which kinda explains why I didn't take many photos with us in them.
Sydney's a great place if you like shopping. And lots of walking.
I found the "For Lease" sign almost every where in the city. Judy, if only they spelled your name right - Sydney would be worshiping you.
There are a lot more of "scenic" photos, but uploading them is quite a task. Plus, I didn't want to bore you. Heh.
I got myself a returning boomerang.
Dad bought me a Prince tennis racquet (much to my surprise) as an early birthday present in one of the sports shop in the Broadway shopping mall. It got lost in the cargo. Thank God it's found now. :)
Mom and I had ice cream four days in a row.
The Borders bookshop there is....wow. But they also have a lot of other bookshops around too - me like!
All in all - I had a blast of a time! Thanks mom & dad for making this happen!
If you want any of the photos that you saw (for your desktop wallpaper or something) feel free to email me at redvern22@yahoo.com

d.i.f.f.e.r.e.n.t.

2006-12-15T18:17:00.000+08:00

Please play music to "set the mood".

Keane - Everybody's Changing

You say you wander your own land
But when I think about it
I don't see how you can

You're aching, you're breaking
And I can see the pain in your eyes
Says everybody's changing
And I don't know why.

So little time
Try to understand that I'm
Trying to make a move just to stay in the game
I try to stay awake and remember my name
But everybody's changing
And I don't feel the same.

You're gone from here
Soon you will disappear
Fading into beautiful light
'cause everybody's changing
And I don't feel right.

So little time
Try to understand that I'm
Trying to make a move just to stay in the game
I try to stay awake and remember my name
But everybody's changing
And I don't feel the same.

So little time
Try to understand that I'm
Trying to make a move just to stay in the game
I try to stay awake and remember my name
But everybody's changing
And I don't feel the same.

Ooo...
Everybody's changing
And I don't feel the same.

**************************************************

I took an evening jog outside of my house today. Yes, I'm home. It has been six months since I've done the ordinary things I do when I come home. An evening jog was one of it.

I like observing people. I don't quite remember when it was exactly that I started this little habit of mine. Put me in a shopping mall and I can sit there all day just looking at people.

It has been more than 6 years since my mom gave me the green light to go outside to the "big field to play" and I've seen toddlers grow into teenagers (like myself or even younger), people having more or less gray hair, but I never really noticed how fast the changes take place.

But today, I noticed that in six months; six short months - so much can happen.

So I plugged in my earphones, tune up the player and started my jog. On my way, I saw a familiar man jog pass me. I can recognise this person anywhere because he has been the only person who wears sunglasses all the time when he works out. I remember the first time I saw him - a few years back - I thought he was a drug addict at first because he didn't seem to take off his shades no matter how dark the sky has become. But the moment he did those chin-ups, I concluded that he was way fitter than me - or maybe he was a very, very healthy drug addict.

As I passed the basketball court I noticed that there was a different bunch of teenagers playing. The usual group was nowhere to be seen, and this group was less entertaining than the previous ones - amateurs. Oh wait. There was this kid who used to play with the previous group. He was there mingling with the new group. He sure grew about a foot taller - but his skills never moved an inch.

There was this sepak takraw court that was always abandoned whenever I pass it. But today, it was filled with 'tai chi' enthusiasts. What caught my attention was not the group of old people strutting their stuff, but the small group of kids - probably around 5 to 6 years old learning the skill itself from someone their own age! A boy was teaching them 'tai chi' with a sword and he was doing it with full of grace and skill. I slowed down my pace as I watched him.

As I moved on to the work-out station, a place where some gym equipments are provided for the public, I met this guy who used to be one of the basketball players in the old group. He was one of those players who I used to observe a lot. He's not cute - but as a basketball player, he's amazing. He has the skills, the agility, the speed and the accuracy. What surprised me was how much he has changed. From a 101% fit athlete he now looks slightly bloated and flabby. He was struggling to even do 5 chin-ups. There's one less dude to gaga about.

I proceeded to my favourite mini-mart. I didn't bring along any money, I just wanted to say hello to the shopkeeper who knows me from my days of buying junk food and stationeries from his shop. He looked old, which was quite unusual because his shop was expanding - which means business is getting better. He still knows me though, and there was the usual "how are you doing" conversation.

At last, I walked home and found several leaflets in the mailbox. Tuition advertisements. I grinned to myself - they now have "open days" and "air-conditioned centers". Back then it was about your own effort of looking for a tuition class in the neighbourhood and the smaller the class the better.

I entered the house, my dad was fixing some pipes in the bathroom - he's Mr Fix-It-All really, as usual.

It's not just today that I noticed changes have taken place. I'm just pointing out that as we move on, things will always continue to evolve.

Some things change. Some don't.

I don't know which I prefer.

G'Day from Sydney!

2006-12-10T06:11:00.000+08:00

Hi folks!

Sorry I left on such a short notice - it was quite a rush for me as well, really. As you all know, I have just returned from campus not too long ago and now I'm way away again! So it was an "unpack and pack again" thing for me. Right now I'm in Sydney, and will be here for the next four days. Left on a Thursday night and reached here on a Friday morning, Australian time. I'm writing from Comfort Inn, Victoria Road, West Ryde and it's about 9.15 in the morning now. It's my last day at this inn, we're moving to another hotel which is nearer to the city, Glebe Hotel or something like that, near Circular Quay. The inn is quite a nice place, really. From my room I get to see a very nice golf course, mostly occupied by Japanese players. If you are golf-savvy you might find this funny: I actually saw a lady hitting the ball from one bunker to another bunker over and over again! She kept missing the green in the middle and in the end she just gave up. Who hits the ball from bunker to bunker anyway????

Our journey started yesterday, really, because Friday was just about "jalan-jalan tengok-tengok" so we didn't do much. Yesterday we went on a tour to the Blue Mountains and it practically occupied us the entire day. Fed some kangaroos, took photos with the koalas, saw a couple of wombats, emus, tasmanian devils and a whole lot more though I didn't get to see the duckbill platypus. I remember there was this peacock who couldn't stop "tayang" his butt to me and turned round and round to let the tourists take his photo. What a show-off! Then we went to Leura for some nice shopping (yes, souvenirs...happy?) and then the Coal Mines before heading back to Circular Quay for dinner and...yes, more shopping. Sydney's a really busy place, compared to New Zealand which I went four years ago. I'm still getting used to that. As you might have known, I'm not much of a tourist, I just like to experience the daily life an Australian would experience. So I took loads of random photos, though mom is getting a bit annoyed the fact that I'm not in many of them. Well, I like taking photos, I just don't really like being in them that's all!

Public transport here is simply much, much better than back home. I tell you, if there was such a system back home I wouldn't be whining for a car. It's convenient, efficient, cheap and environmental friendly. Oh, the public toilets are just as bad though. Hehehe...

Alright, I guess I better go now. It's $2.00 for 15 minutes of Internet here. PLEASE DON'T CONVERT! Any holiday trip is no fun if you keep converting the money. In the end you might not just buy anything at all! Take care, and that's all for now all the way from Sydney!

Lots and lots of hugs and kisses,

Vern

One Week

2006-12-07T12:06:00.000+08:00

Vern is off to Down Under for a week! :) Toodles!

Fear Factor

2006-12-06T10:17:00.000+08:00

Are you afraid?

It has been awhile since I've written anything substantial that makes people ponder and think. Lately it has always been about homesickness, exam stress, and constant whines of missing this and that. So it was just recently that I gave some thought about something that surrounds us everyday: fear.

Fear is another four-letter F word that means a whole lot more. Fear is powerful, sometimes good, and sometimes lead to disastrous outcomes.

Let's begin with the very, very beginning of time. When Adam and Eve was still prancing around the Garden of Eden; carefree and joyful. They could have had everything they wanted and lived the "perfect" life, but they lacked something: the fear of God. Because of that they easily gave in to the serpent's temptation and ate from the Tree of Knowledge - which brings us all where we are today.

Fear makes us or prevent us from doing something; good or bad. Let's take a typical daily life situation. Almost everyone's been to school, I'm sure. And I bet we have either been late for class or for handing in our homework. Or probably a small offense that caused the prefects to be on your tail. So what do you do? The first thing that you probably did was to come up with a suitable excuse. Not a "my dog ate my homework" kind of excuse, but something more practical, like "the bus broke down" or "had an important family function (ie funeral - sad things are better excuses cos they generate sympathy)" and many more that you can think of. Here's the question: Why excuses? The answer is simple. We're afraid. We're afraid that we might be penalized for the late homework/attendance, or given demerits and punishment for our wrong doings. If we weren't scared we wouldn't have bothered to come up with any excuse at all! So fear causes us to lie (white lies, blue, green, black or red lies are still LIES) even though we know it is wrong. It's like a "two wrongs make one right" kind of thing.

Sure, you may be able to pull it off but what if you're not always as lucky? I got busted once for TRYING to lie about handing in my homework late when I was in primary school. Then, there was no simple solution like slapping you with some demerit points and be over it, so they sent me to the discipline teacher straight away. Sure, there was a long nag and I think most of what she said went in one ear and came out of the other. But what went in and stayed inside was when she said, "If you have a valid reason, there's no need to be afraid. Just explain the simple truth that you didn't have enough time to complete your work and politely request for more time. Lying doesn't make things better, as a matter of fact it makes things twice as bad. Don't be afraid to tell the truth."

One of the most common form of fear is the fear to commit. Seen those Chinese dramas on television where the guy doesn't want to marry his girlfriend cos apparently he's afraid to commit and yadda yadda yadda... Also, it was in the news that Cameron Diaz does not want to marry her pop hunk boyfriend Justin Timberlake because she was commitment-phobic. Then there are those who refuse to have a religion simply because they are afraid to such a commitment. There are all kinds of excuses, "not mature enough", "don't want to question nature", etc. When they run out of excuses, they come up with this one: "This whole big thing...is scary" See? Fear is at work again! Of course, religion is not the issue here - I'm just giving you an example of fear.

I'll list down a few things people do and people don't do and the reasons for it.

Why do you work hard to pass your exams?
Because you're afraid to fail.

Why do you abide the law?
Because you don't want to spend years with your sorry @$$ in jail.

Why do robbers cover their faces?
Because they're afraid to be recognized; though how brave they may be to rob.

Why do people lie?
Because they're afraid of the truth.

Why do people work?
Because they're afraid they or their family will starve.

Why couldn't dad hear what I was trying to ask him a minute ago?
Because I was too scared to ask him to get me a new guitar OUT LOUD - it's always scary to ask him to spend.

Get what I mean now? Fear is inevitable - but that doesn't mean we should allow it to control our lives. Certain things like working to ensure there's always food on the table is good, but to rob for the same reason is not. Fear to commit actually prevents growth. When you learn to faithfully commit into something (a relationship, religion, responsibilities) you actually grow a lot because you become more responsible and you think twice before you do something.

It's okay to be afraid. It's alright to be called a coward if you're afraid of doing something wrong or dangerous - better than to be called an IDIOT after you've done it and suffer for its consequences.

So...what are you afraid of?

Storyteller

2006-12-05T13:02:00.000+08:00

As I'm typing this my bags and stuff are all shoved in one corner as I wait for my parents to arrive. I'm beginning to wonder how I'm going to fit all my stuff into the car - I need to re-plan the things I'm going to bring next year. The theme : MINIMIZE.

Sorry I have not been updating ever since my exams finished - as a matter of fact I have been busier than usual, with packing and all the hanging out with my friends since we're going to miss each other for the next 6 weeks. Last night I spent it with a very good friend of mine Tania as we watched a movie and also Russell Peters. I think we both laughed so loud that on normal circumstances people would have been banging on the door telling us to pipe down.

I've never laughed so hard for a very long time. I think I lost my voice for a while after that.

It has been six months - six incredible, eye-opening, jaw dropping months of experience. While most of my friends are in college back in Penang and even sixth form where they can experience the joy of sleeping in their own beds anytime they want, this is the longest period I've ever been away from home for the first time. And I have four and a half years to go.

I remember being all excited the moment I saw the Chancellor's Hall and posted two long entries about the campus and getting all hyped up to start the semester. All that felt like yesterday - time sure loves playing tricks on you.

Then came the part where you are forced to be independant. No more spoon-feeding ways of studying, your mom is not going to make sure you have clothes to wear the next day, no Gurney Plaza or Starbucks every weekend. You only get shopping and frappucino once a month - if you're lucky.

As some of you might know, I've been homesick every now and then, especially during the exam season when the tension is high and you yearn for comfort. But I also know that if I were to be home during the exam week, not much revision would be done as I would be busy enjoying getting distracted by all the little little things at home, such as the TV. Ok, that's a big thing.

I learnt a lot throughout these 6 months - more than the past 17 years of my life back home in Penang. I can't list all out, there's too many and I may not be able to think about them all on the spot. Which is why I keep a blog, to store these life lessons and share them with others. I've come to know what sharing and leaning on each other is all about. Even though I'm a loner in nature I appreciate every single person I've come to know and be friends with. 6 months and we've all bonded so much. Let's give 5 years a try okay?

As much as I miss home, I'm beginning to love this place. As much as I want to go overseas, I'm being more and more appreciative of what I have here. It matters not where you are, but it's how much you grow and learn. Remember slow dancing? I'm learning new moves day by day.

One semester has gone. But you know what? I don't think anything has really begun yet. This is like a prologue of the all new novel of my life. It's a beginning to a new story. A great, big, new story with God as the editor.

And the storyteller is no one but me.

And thanks for listening.

Rumah Sakit

2006-11-29T23:25:00.000+08:00

Hahahaha! Don't get me wrong... I'm not in some sick bay or anything... but...

RUMAH SAKIT = HOMESICK*

I just got off the phone with mom and dad.

Haihz...

FIVE more days!!! Then I'm kambing home!~!

Still have Math and Physics....eee....takutnye......

:-S

*courtesy of the direct translation trend in this country

Morning Madness

2006-11-27T12:40:00.000+08:00

I know I have a killer Chemistry paper tomorrow and I know I should be studying but what happened today I must simply jot it all down because what happened today is just RARE, MEMORABLE yet STOOOPID and yes, just for the sake of letting if off my chest.

Let's start with last night. I ended my revision at midnight, checked my stationeries, prepared my clothes for tomorrow, set the alarm for 7a.m. and it was lights off for me. Yes, it's my first finals here in uni, so I am a little bit, erm, enthusiastic. To show you how keen I was I actually woke up at 2.30 a.m., thinking it was already 6. Okay, so that's also rare. But that's...that-lah. Basically that's not my point. So I faithfully woke up at 7a.m. WITHOUT having to press the "snooze" button (ok ok I get it! another rare thing I know! but that's NOT it!) washed up, read through my notes, said a prayer and left for the exam hall.

Oh, just so you know, my paper was held in the Chancellor's Hall. Those of you who read my post on the UFO building might wonder how is that possible. Well, those isles of seats can be folded SOMEHOW and compacted and stored into the wall. Erm, I'll try to get a photo of it tomorrow and you'll see ok?

OK, back to the point. So I reached the Chancellor's Hall's entrance, just to find my friends there as well, most of them with notes in their hands while all I took was my jacket and pencil case. No, it's not that I'm over confident, but I know that I will definitely screw up all my facts if I were to read my notes at the last minute. I mean LAST MINUTE. Like, if you're supposed to take your seats at 9 and you read your notes at 8.59 ok?

When the security personnels motioned for us to enter the hall, we were required to present our examination slips as the entrance ticket. As I observed others do so, I felt strange. Their examination slips are BLUE...so why is mine PINK? I followed suit anyway, and presented my oh-so-bizarre-wrong-ugly-coloured-PINK slip. Yes, it was the wrong slip, in case you missed that. Now, the distance between the hall and my room is super duper bloody far. You take an average of 15 minutes fast walk just to get there. It was already 8.55 a.m., and my paper starts at 9. The SP told me to go back and retrieve the correct nicely-coloured-BLUE slip and that I have half an hour to do so. WAH! So I ran and ran and stopped (eh tiring you know) and ran and ran again all the way. THANK GOD my BLUE slip was sitting nicely in my drawer, spared me from digging and rummaging my stuff and waste precious time that I did not have. So I did the Forrest Gump thing all the way back to the hall. Arrival time: 9.16 am. Phooyoh. Not bad. When I presented the BLUE slip to the SP, she smiled (the nerve!) and let me entered. I could sense the reaction of my friends when they see me enter the hall. Grand entrance? I don't think so.

Yes, I did however, finish my paper on time. Actually I still had half an hour more to check my paper so it wasn't so bad. And I hope the examiner won't mind my writing though. No, it's not cakar ayam, but whenever there's some adrenaline rush I tend to write in cursive - I don't know why, jangan tanya saya. But I really really thank God for giving me the speed and strength to run (I haven't done any stamina building exercises since I got here) and that 80% of the paper was doable and I was able to think clearly despite the morning madness.

Hah! That felt good. Remember kids, check EVERYTHING before going for your exam and be specially careful with PINK things ok? All the more reasons for me to dislike pink and my best friend loves it so much. Gaaahh...the irony.

Ok. I'm feeling guilty now. I'm going to revise my Chemistry, happy?

In youth we learn; in age we understand.

-Marie Ebner von Eschenbach

As A Chapter Reaches Its Peak

2006-11-25T13:18:00.000+08:00

Dedicated to all foundation year students who will be sitting for their very first finals in UTP.

As soon as we know it, it'll all be over and we'll be on our way back to our lovely beds!

In the meantime,
Gambateh-oh! Aja-aja fighting!!

It's In The Game...

2006-11-24T16:21:00.000+08:00

As I was revising my Thinking Skills subject (yes, we have such a subject), I suddenly realised how much I miss something.

Since I came to UTP, I've been actively playing this...

But what I really miss is this...

Sigh. The good ol' days.

Even though we weren't the best players in town.

Next semester, I am so gonna bring my gear to campus.

Ok. Back to revision.

Funny Headlines

2006-11-23T20:04:00.000+08:00

Grandmother of eight makes hole in one

Deaf mute gets new hearing in killing

Police begin campaign to run down jaywalkers

House passes gas tax onto senate

Stiff opposition expected to casketless funeral plan

Two convicts evade noose, jury hung

William Kelly was fed secretary

Milk drinkers are turning to powder

Safety experts say school bus passengers should be belted

Quarter of a million Chinese live on water

Farmer bill dies in house

Iraqi head seeks arms

Queen Mary having bottom scraped

Is there a ring of debris around Uranus?

Prostitutes appeal to Pope

Panda mating fails - veterinarian takes over

NJ judge to rule on nude beach

Child's stool great for use in garden

Dr. Ruth to talk about sex with newspaper editors

Soviet virgin lands short of goal again

Organ festival ends in smashing climax

Eye drops off shelf

Squad helps dog bite victim

Dealers will hear car talk at noon

Enraged cow injures farmer with ax

Lawmen from Mexico barbecue guests

Miners refuse to work after death

Two Soviet ships collide - one dies

Two sisters reunite after eighteen years at checkout counter

Never withhold herpes from loved one

Nicaragua sets goal to wipe out literacy

Drunk drivers paid $1,000 in 1984

Autos killing 110 a day, let's resolve to do better

If strike isn't settled quickly it may last a while

War dims hope for peace

Smokers are productive, but death cuts efficiency

Cold wave linked to temperatures

Child's death ruins couple's holiday

Blind woman gets new kidney from dad she hasn't seen in years

Man is fatally slain

Something went wrong in jet crash, experts say

Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery;

Hundreds Dead

Random? It's not only for the readers, it's also for the blogger who will be having finals next week.

I need to retain my sanity.

*content taken from innocentenglish.com

A Slow Dance

2006-11-21T12:54:00.000+08:00

"...if chasing our dreams, is just a distraction..." ~New American Classic; Taking Back Sunday.

I woke up pretty early this morning, washed up, put on my shoes and headed to the tennis court for some tennis. Yes, in the morning. After that, we went to the cafeteria for brunch while watching "Spongebob Squarepants". I would have called it a "perfect weekend" kind of morning if I had the papers to read at the same time. But hey, sometimes you just can't win it all right? I felt very much at home, doing things at my own pace and the fact that it was still early and I have the whole day to complete my tasks.

Before I went to bed last night, I checked my Friendster account, and ended up browsing through a profile of a senior of mine from high school. She's also a Petronas scholar, and now she's already pursuing her studies at Cambridge University. We are quite similar in our achievements back in high school, we were both national public speakers, assistant head prefects, have music backgrounds (okay, she performed internationally - while the biggest performance so far is being part of the praise and worship team in church), and we're both Petronas scholars. The only difference is that she has the chance to go overseas while mine is local-based. I browsed through her photos of the beautiful scenery through her room window and was in awe with the amazing view. Next, I hopped to Lily's page and browsed through her photos as well. Man, Russia is beautiful.

Sigh. I miss Lily so much.

I went on a page-hopping craze. I started to browse the web pages of my friends who are now overseas just to build a sense of envy within myself. I have always wanted to study abroad, the US being my number one destination. A friend once said that she thought I would become the Prime Minister of some place far far away. Though it sounded a bit far-fetched, for awhile I believed that it was possible.

It's not that I dislike Malaysia. On the contrary I love this country very much. Let's just say that if I were to be born in Australia or something I would still want to go abroad. It's just about gaining experience and trying something different. I'm not much of a tourist, and it's not about going to tourist spots and taking pretty photographs. It's more about blending in with other cultures and trying out different lifestyles just like the locals in that certain area.

Somehow, I said something to myself quietly which made me smile.

"I shall live for now. Take this slow dance and perfect my steps before doing the quick steps. Give me a few more years and I shall bring my music to other places and perform moves I've never done before. For now, I shall stick to this long, slow, beautiful dance."

Just wait for me, world. I'll dance up to you.

And I'll do it with grace and passion.

Take it to the dance floor, anyone?

Heritage Heboh Lagi!!!!!

2006-11-20T19:09:00.000+08:00

HERITAGE HEBOH LaG!

Young People’s Street Festival !!

We are back for the holidays!!

25^th November ( Saturday ) 5PM onwards

on Armenian Street !

Anak-Anak Kota ’s Heritage Heboh Lag! is back for a second round of performance and FESTIVITIES. Come watch our young people from all walks of life perform

The ‘lok-lok lambada (dance), rap about the streets of Penang (music),

see them take ‘wayang kulit’ ( shadow puppetry) to a

whole new level & much, much MORE!!!

An evening of FUN! FUN! FUN for FREE!!!

Ø Bring your own T-shirt , Print your own T-shirt

Ø Play traditional GAMES & make your own TOYS

Ø Hunt with Mr. Love Lane

Wait… We have something to show you!

Click on the link below to see us in ACTION!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVhztPMP5CY

Don’t miss us, come have fun, WE ARE WAITING FOR YOU!

Memoirs of A Student

2006-11-18T02:19:00.000+08:00

When I logged on to Friendster today, I was a bit surprised to receive a testimonial from a friend whom I haven't kept in touch for a while now. She shared her idea of starting her own blog soon and told me that our high school magazine cover looks great. And then she mentioned something about my name being mentioned in the magazine as well. The first thing that came across my mind was: What is my name doing in a 2006 school magazine when I'm no longer in there?

And the second thing was:

A ~~hell~~ lot sure happened back there.

Many people think I had it easy back in secondary school. I took part in competitions, held posts, was even a prefect, had my share of fun, and did some justice in my studies as well. I was this overachiever who had nothing much to worry about except to make sure my hair is not out-of-place.

That was what people believe. I think they still do.

This post is not about releasing some kind of 'grudge' that I have held back, instead I think many people can relate to what I have experienced. It's more like a sharing thing, because honestly, there was no grudge or any sense of resentment in the first place. :)

To most, high school is a time where "fitting in" matters. You have to be cool, you have to have a personality that people like, and you have to just...fit in.

Personally, even though I received "Hi Wei Vern", "Good morning Wei Vern" and all sorts of greetings everyday from people I know and also people I don't know, I never considered myself as one of those who really blended in the crowd. I admit, I was popular - but I never liked it. Neither did some people.

And I have no regrets in that.

I'll give you a picture of how a typical day would be like for me.

1. Go to school. Prefects duty.
2. Attends class. Checks timetable to look for "free" lessons.
3. Someone comes up to me and says "Ms/Mr So-and-so (teacher) is looking for you."
4. "Skips" class for public speaking practice. Practice = lots of pressure (the previous speaker won third place in the Nationals)
5. Says the same apology to the teachers whom I've skipped their classes.
6. Run "errands".
7. Lists down homework for the day.
8. Go home.
9. Tuition.
10. More tuition.
11. Tired and out.

On weekends I would spend my time finishing up my homework and going for basketball practice. I'd hang out with my friends once in a while for movies and "makan" - I still need a life you know?

Some people say that certain things should be left in the past. I agree, but I also think that certain things should be brought up to be turned into lessons and inspiration - even though it may not be everyone's cup of tea.

There were people who didn't quite favour my active participations in various things and even my popularity status. And some of them were people who were quite close to me, people I consider as friends. I wouldn't care if someone I didn't know were to have such feelings towards me, but when it is the people I care about - it hurt. No, it really did. The disappointment was always there every time I see those faces that turned away from me. Faces I once knew.

When not-so-nice remarks about me were made - behind my back or straight to my face, directly or indirectly- it hurt as well. People often forget how much of human I'm made of, and that it would be fun to irritate, agitate me for a while, because hey, Wei Vern never gets angry!

When I help out with the Service Unit to carry bags for teachers, I was considered to be "sucking up". Adults who really know me would know that I can chat with almost anyone, regardless of the age gap - every time I have a friendly chit-chat with teachers, I was considered to be "at it" again.

Some people think I did not deserve my "Assistant Head Prefect" post.

And at some point, I began to believe that as well. Especially when a close friend of mine told me she felt that way.

And at some point, I was miserable. I didn't like the school life I was leading. School was supposed to be fun. I remember always being enthusiastic about going to school because my friends were all there. At that time - I dreaded the 6.30 a.m. alarm that constantly reminded me I have a daily obligation to fulfill. Yes, an obligation.

So what actually picked me up from these rubbles?

Simple.

A sense of gratitude.

From the public speaking sessions that I had, I have four people to thank: Mrs Tan, Puan Sharifah, Puan Gan, and last but not least Puan Jothi. I admit, training was no fun - but it really paid off. The feeling of winning the Nationals is probably still the best feeling I can ever remember, and to be able to touch people's hearts by just mere speech is simply amazing. I realised that nothing comes without work, hard work even. Even though Mrs Tan put me through grueling sessions of training, she was probably the most considerate teachers I've ever met. Puan Sharifah, the school principle at that time gave me endless support and encouragement before every competition or anytime I needed some pep talk. I mean, how many people in the school would be able to have heart-to-heart, fruitful talks with the principle? Puan Gan and Puan Jothi are the coolest and most understanding teachers I've ever known. They are probably the only ones who really understood what I was going through.

My form teacher, Ms Leong also did a huge deal in making sure I was on the right track. Isn't it cool to have a teacher who's just as interested in Broadway as you?

And I also discovered who my true friends are. Really, all those bad remarks and teasings and rumours were blessings in disguise. Thanks ya'all, you know who you are.

One of those who really stood by me is someone called Lily. She was with me in my public speaking trainings, competitions, and always gave me a look telling me "it's okay" whenever things didn't turn out right or when sarcastic remarks were made. She made sure I was updated in my homework, and taught me the things I missed out. And for her to listen to my rants everyday (that time I didn't have a blog LOL) sure made her special. In short, she is everything I could ask for in a best friend.

And my parents. They were just there. It meant the whole world to me.

Soon, I saw everything in a different light. I knew I just had to do something. I had to be myself. Not Wei Vern the prefect, the public speaker or the perfect student. I just had to be me. As long as I knew what is the truth and what is not, I no longer paid attention to the remarks. Why should I listen to things that had nothing to do with me?

Hey, I managed to experience valuable times with some teachers, discovered who my true friends are, and most importantly, I grew up being who I am. No lies, no masks. Just me.

Gee, somewhere before puberty, I must have done something good.

You don't have to be a popular student to experience such things. This happens to almost everyone, and somewhere out there, a great bunch of teens are hurting and wanting to be heard. And at that age, sometimes it's hard to even talk to your parents.

I wrote a lot. On pieces of paper. And I threw them away as soon as I finished. But as the days went by, I wrote less and less - because I wasn't hurting anymore. And today, I'm writing this to the whole world, and I'm not throwing this post away. Simple because I've learnt a valuable lesson.

Every time you fall and you manage to pick yourself up, you'll realise that you're already far ahead of others who have always been enjoying a smooth ride.

Count your blessings, not your problems.

Good night all.

Several Posts In One

2006-11-11T01:59:00.000+08:00

1. Have Food Will Survive

After months of eating the same campus food, so far I have discovered a couple of nice places to eat, within and outside the campus.

Let's start with INSIDE the campus. A brilliant mamak finally came up with the idea of opening a roti canai stall WITHIN the campus! Yay! And the best part is that it's cheap and good!~! The roti canai man is also very generous with the "kuah", and he doesn't mind giving you extra and serves you with a smile and good English! I'm now a sucker for roti planta, and the roti planta he makes aren't as oily as the mamak stall outside of campus called Jarum Mas. And much, much CLEANER too! They serve the roti's fresh as it finishes as soon as it comes out of the big, flat pan. Here are a few snapshots of my current favourite stall in UTP..

He spreads the batter evenly...

He flips and flips...

He cracks the egg with skill and puts it on the batter with style...

He folds up the roti and flips it into the pan...

The stall only opens in the morning for breakfast and in the evening for tea. Too bad they don't sell at night, otherwise the USM cafe will be the new mamak spot instead of Jarum Mas and D'Toronto!

Also, outside of the campus, my senior/good friend/koala bear Audrey took her roommate/zebra Shan Yun, Eddy, Christon, and myself to Tanjung Tualang for some good seafood! To be deprived of "normal" food for so long, we all agreed as soon as she suggested the idea. It was supposed to be a 30-45 minute journey from our campus, but with Eddy driving, we reached our destination within 20+ minutes - not without feeling a little dizzy after the ride of course. But all was forgotten as soon as we saw our food. The garlic prawns were simply amazing, the prawns are HUGE and fresh and fried to perfection. Shan Yun introduced a drink called "Wan Tao Long" or something like that - it's a jelly-like drink with bits of sea coconut and lime - very, very refreshing. I did not manage to snap any good photographs as the lighting wasn't good enough for my basic k700i phone and I did not bring my digital camera along. The meal was a bit on the pricey side but the good company and good food mattered more.

Oh yes! I almost forgot to mention, the other day Audrey did some indoor cooking when she whipped up a simple but delicious meal for dinner. She invited me over to her place for dinner where she made some porridge with tomato tuna! One of a kind, to have porridge with tuna! She mixed some Ayam Brand Tuna (cheh, promoting) with some Prego Tomato Puree and that simple combo was fantastic. Even though we took it with the porridge, I think that paste will go nicely with bread or even served with spaggethi. Here are some photos, though Audrey isn't in it because apparently she's "camera shy".

The tuna + tomato puree mixture

Indoor cooking (oops, forgot to rotate this photo...erm.. you can see right?)

Porridge + tomato tuna = A meal that tastes so much more delicious than it looks.

Shan Yun came back to join us as well. Needless to say, her whole room smelt like tomato tuna after that. Thanks Audrey! :)

2. Broken CD cover

I love my collection of CDs. And I can be so crazy over them that I even asked a friend of mine to get some of them that cannot be found locally all the way in the UK. And what can be better than that is that that friend of mine did another crazy thing by giving me a surprise visit in campus the other day to pass me my CDs. And my brother came too! One of the albums is by a band called "Within Temptation" and I've been playing it over and over for the past few days. I lent the CD to Christon the other day and if you have read his blog you would know that he has been feeling very guilty over something he did to someone. And that person was me. And the thing he did was that he accidentally broke my CD cover after he dropped it. When he told me that I was more amused than angry. Of course, there was a little "ouch" when I saw what happened to the cover but then again, the CD was very much intact and well taken care of. I told him it was okay but he couldn't help but feel bad about it. This is because he is just as concern over his CDs as much as I am over mine.

This led me to think. This situation actually brings out the saying "What matter is on the inside". Because I can replace the cover easily and pretend nothing has happened, but if it was the CD itself that broke - then that would generate a different story altogether. It was very admirable of Christon to come clean like that when he could have just replaced the cover. See? What matters is on the inside. :)

3. Flushed Away.

Once upon a time, three teenagers named Eddy, Christon and Vern went to the movies to catch this animation called "Flushed Away". They strongly recommend this movie to those who love pure cuteness, British humour and singing slugs.

Really, go watch it. You can't find any other animation with the line "England is winning the World Cup, anything can happen!"

************************************

These are the few interesting things that have happened over the past few days and some lessons learnt. My exams are around the corner which means I'm going to be busier than ever, now that I know there are a lot of potholes that I need to mend after the scare from the tests last week. This blog will still be updated, but do forgive me if posts aren't as long as usual.

Alrighty, time for some homework now. Cheers!

Discharged

2006-11-10T07:46:00.000+08:00

Yes. Tanjung Rambutan gave the blogger the green light.

The past few days have been crazy! Madness! Yes, partly it was because I was having my tests, and I was also mourning over the "loss" of my previous blog template which I had carefully, painstakingly designed for several days. But life goes on right? So, after a trial of losing marks due to careless mistakes done in the tests I finally had some time to revive this blog of mine. Nothing "canggih", but it works enough for me. At least I won't feel that bad the next time my itchy fingers kill my template once more. And also due to comments from Judy, Wonda, and even mom that the fonts here are easier to read for people like "them" (kekekeke), I've decided to use the current template as its backbone.

The usual things are back up - the chatbox, music player, my face (hah!) and as usual, things will add up over time. I have also updated the list of the blog links on the right hand side, which include Christon's, Edgar's, Philip's, Khian's, and Charles' - all fellow UTPians' blogs and also Alice's that I have discovered lately.

I shall write a more substantial post later on, as I have to get ready for class now. Thanks to all who stuck around! :-)

Hibernate

2006-11-07T08:17:00.000+08:00

Blog on temporary hiatus.

Blogger is being warded to asylum for a short period of time for appropriate treatment.

...Akan kembali.

Tertekan

2006-11-07T02:15:00.000+08:00

OH NO... me and my itchy fingers.......

....my previous blog template is....gone.

My BOOOTIFFOOOOL TEMPLATE IS GONE!!!!!

GAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*going bonkers*

Note to self: Vern, pergi tidor je lah Vern.... jangan buat bising lagi!!~!!

Just Another "My Time"

2006-11-06T10:33:00.000+08:00

You sit down, take off your shoes, your socks (if you wear any) and start staring into space while the familiar tune plays in your ear.

It’s raining outside, as you hear the pitter-patters of the raindrops.

You have a roommate, but you still feel alone, like you’re the only one in the room at the moment – nothing else matters.

You reflect what you have done for the day – work, work and more work.

You’re all sweaty now even though it’s cold outside because you just came back from some great exercise; be it gym, night sports, or a dance class.

Your body just wants to relax and you see a pile of books – work – waiting for you. Waiting for you to wash up, put on your pyjamas, get comfortable, make a hot cup of your favourite snack drink, put on your glasses, and let you examine their every word and sentence – because they know they are the only ones that can guarantee you a good future. Well, a more stable one, to say the least.

Procrastination.

It stops you from obeying your conscience and just be one with your inner-self.

You turn on the screen, and your finger gets itchy. You wait for the network to be connected – it doesn’t. Limited connectivity.

You open a Word document to type this in, telling yourself you’ll post whatever you’re going to write on the Net when you can.

You stop for awhile, and you stare at the pile of books again.

Then you shift your focus to your novels.

You remember how much you hate to make decisions like these, because you know you can’t win.

You can, but you can’t. Get it?

The song is over now.

You look at your books again.

You save this document.

You grab your towel.

You had your time.

Now you have to give it back.

It's a Blog-Blog World

2006-11-02T16:12:00.000+08:00

"YOUR MOM READS YOUR BLOG?!"

That's the expression I get from almost everyone when I tell them that yes, my lovely mom visits my blog from time to time because she just wants to know what her daughter has been up to. Especially from my peers, their expressions are priceless. Jaws dropping, eyes widening and all sorts take place along with this question.

"WHY DO YOU EVEN LET HER KNOW YOU HAVE A BLOG?"

Why not? Why should the one person who gave birth to you, loves you, fed you, bought you your expensive gadgets and make ups, accepts you and your baby fat, tolerates your nonsense (and father) by not disowning you is denied to privilege to know what's going on in the mind of the person she brought into this world?

"I WILL NEVER LET HER READ MY BLOG. WE WILL DEFINITELY ARGUE MORE. WE NEVER AGREE ON ANYTHING COS SHE NEVER UNDERSTANDS."

Letting my mom read my blog does not mean she agrees with everything I say. From time to time she would give me a call and sometimes tell me that certain things I write are not appropriate or that she has other opinions on the certain topics I come up with. But she respects what I write, and that's what's important. If I decide not to delete a particular post because I have reasonable reasons to let it stay, she doesn't mind. I think this is one of the ways my mom gets to understand me more. I suck when it comes to confrontations and closure, but when I write, I write my heart out (with some sensibility of course). And since I'm living in a different place, this is one of the best ways for her to know about things that sometimes I may forget to bring up during our phone conversations.

"BUT WHAT ABOUT YOUR SECRETS?"

If you really have a secret that NO ONE including your dear mother cannot know, why would you want to post it on the World Wide Web for the Whole Wide World to see?

Hey, if my dad reads blogs, I wouldn't mind letting him read mine too.

***************

Everytime I think about the expressions and reactions shown to me regarding the matter above I am always amused. I think when you post your thoughts online you should know that the whole world has access to it. I like blogging and I like reading blogs. Those links on my sidebar are the few blogs that I go to everytime I log on. Even daily rantings of others can give me something to think about. It's always nice to see honest opinions and thoughts and people giving feedback and their thoughts as well in an ordinary day-to-day post. On rare occasions (for me at least), fellow bloggers eventually become offline, close friends.

My mom's cool about this whole blogging thing. At first she was a bit weary, but I guess she now knows this is a part of growing up in the 21st century. She sometimes compliments some of my posts and til today she cannot understand why I wouldn't want to publish some of them in the papers to earn some cash. Haha! Don't know why but I like the feeling of having my own little space to share my thoughts with others anytime I want and about anything I like. Or maybe I also think that my posts are not yet "up-to-par" to be printed out black-and-white in the local papers.

Well, it's time for class now. So am going to stop here. Oh, before I go, do drop by my dear friend Christon's brand new blog. He might also give you a thing or two to reflect on or just let you read his daily rantings as a growing youth. :)

Okay, signing off now, ciao!

You Call Yourself Eighteen?

2006-10-31T13:11:00.000+08:00

After the past few days of being sick and feeling like a vegetable, today is the day I regained (I think) 100% of my energy and silliness back (yes, silliness comes in the package). I actually woke up without having to press on the "Snooze" button on my alarm clock! I washed up, had breakfast, and got ready for class as though it was my first day. I marched on to the lecture hall, went into the air-conditioned cinema-like room, sat down, took out my notes, my notepad, my trustworthy blue pen and was ready to take in whatever there was to be offered today (even though my first lesson was E-Math, hah!). Class went on as usual, three lectures in a row on Tuesdays, and I couldn't wait for Physics to begin because it was the last lecture of the morning.

Okay. If I don't have anything nice to say about a particular person, I will not post it online. But I do. So I will post something on the nicer side about my Physics lecturer. Ok-lah... I won't put his name. Fair enough?

Anyway, our Physics lecturer is probably one of the most serious-looking people I've seen here in UTP. But he doesn't bite. He tells jokes, sometimes tries to, but when it comes to Physics - he's the master at it. He goes into details, derives each and every equation for you to see so that it makes sense; other than just memorizing and not knowing what in the world you just heard or saw. From the way he teaches and explains, I could tell that he's a very patient man who cares a lot about details. So in short, we are lucky to have him as a lecturer.

But some people just don't appreciate what they have.

The lecture theatre is big, and my class consist of over a hundred students. As he was giving an important lecture on one of the most important (aiya, repeating) chapters, two groups of monkeys just had to throw in their bananas. [Note: I seldom label others unless for the fun of it, like among my friends but now I use monkeys cos they're just like humans - just different kind of mentality.] Knowing nothing about the chapter, these people made the most noise. I guess you can use the saying "Empty barrels make the most noise" here. Yes, our Physics lecturer has a different kind of accent because he's not from around here but that doesn't mean they have to ridicule every word he said, out loud even. When we were posed a question they gave answers that made no sense. Yes, out loud. The whole hall was like a market because of these people and soon enough our lecturer just gave us the ultimatum.

He will not be continuing with the chapter anymore.

But he was only starting! And it's a freaking long chapter! And we have a bloody test next week!

Can you believe that these people are eighteen years of age? But they act as though they have never grown up since the last ten! Where is their show of respect? And their actions have brought consequences on OUR expense! It's not that the lecturer did not do his job, he does it pretty well as a matter of fact. Can't they just toss their bananas outside the lecture hall? What do their scholarships mean to them anyway? A free ticket to Timbuktu? Yes, their actions have pretty much ruined my "study mood" for the afternoon. Even my friends are all pissed by them.

Oh, and know what the best part is?

They don't even bother to apologize.

Talk about monkey business.

Domo Arigato!

2006-10-30T08:07:00.000+08:00

Hello people! Yes, the weekend had been quite a scare for me, especially when I had to return to campus! Thanks to my fellow bloggers and non-bloggers out there for your kind wishes - with great and caring people like you it's hard not to get better. :P

Will come back soon with a longer post, as soon as my tasks are done. As usual-lah, coming back always means more work.

So once more,

TENGKIU

TENGKIU

TENGKIU !!!

Sick

2006-10-28T13:49:00.000+08:00

Vomit, puke, throw up... you name it.

Just found out that my doctor is my high school Biology teacher's husband.

What a small world.

Feel like crap now.

I'm gonna go lie down a bit...

Sorry, no cheery posts for now...

:)

2006-10-26T20:18:00.000+08:00

Home Sweet Home

2006-10-23T22:41:00.000+08:00

YES! I'm back home again for the Raya break! See? This is another reason why living in a multi-ethnical country is soooo good! I didn't go home directly this time, my parents actually took me to KL first, where Jia Lin and Christon followed since they live there. So as soon as we reached the hotel (our usual bunk would be at Cititel cos it's more convenient despite the crazy jam caused by the lousy carpark system) Christon and I caught the long-awaited movie "The Devil Wears Prada". I can only say one thing - Meryl Streep rocks, and always will. I have seen her in different roles and this one of the rare times where we get to see her with that "air" and posh-ness and best of all - the mean side of her. She's mean, but she does it with style.

After the movie, Christon kindly brought me along to his cell group, and it's just a scene where you can easily picture - a group of young people in one place, fun, laughters, and of course our self-discovery in finding answers according to the Word. It was a very fruitful discussion, although I couldn't stay for the whole meeting, it was very refreshing. It's always nice to see young people raise questions, getting confused, trying to answer, getting confused even more, a long silence, a lot of thought, more attempts to answer, and in the end finally grasping the idea. Nothing beats learning than being in the process yourself. Your pastor/teacher can explain to you what a particular scripture/text mean, but it's most effective when you discover it yourself after the whole twirl of confussion and sharing. I think I kinda grinned to myself when the discussion was held, it was good to see young people learn - with enthusiasm - and along the way, grow up. I wonder how it would be like if this zest to possess knowledge and to learn was instilled amongst EVERY single youth in the world?

Of course, the next day I spent it with my family. We did some shopping (okay, maybe a little more than before) and the best part would be that I managed to get myself more books!

Clockwise from top left: False Impression (J. Archer), Teacher Man (F.McCourt), After the Quake (H. Murakami) and The Curious Incident of The Dog in The Night-Time (M. Haddon)

I wanted to get Paulo Coelho and Mitch Albom's latest but I guess I'll save it for another time. Albom's book is still in hard cover, so I'm gonna wait for the paperback version, it's much cheaper. Has anyone tried Alice Hoffman? I saw her books and I thought they might be good after reading their summaries... but they're rather pricey, about RM50+ for a book. So was wondering if anyone has tried it so I can see if it's worth it to buy em or should I resort to the second hand book store...

Oh, and ever since I've been to KL all I ever did was eat, eat and EAT! Yes! Of all places! Thanks to my dad because he met up with his friends and you know-lah, they must have dinner and GOOD dinner even, so we tried several places like Robson's Heights (seafood), Sans Francisco Steakhouse, my brother took me to this place called Marche at The Curve, and I quite like that place, it has a very nice concept and the food is good, if you don't mind eating next to raw fish and meat, that is. As usual, KL food also means pricey food. So as we emptied dad's wallet, we filled up our tummies... which in a way, is not so good. =P And for the first time in my life, I saw my dad taking Coffee Bean two days in a row!!! Even him going once is not a usual sight... Cos my dad's the type that believes that nothing beats the good "kopi O" in the hawkers...Haha, the next time we stay at Cititel I'll make sure his friends come more often...hehehehhe....

So after 4 days of fun, here I am, back home and was in for a surprise. Mom upgraded my room to my brother's room which is bigger and she refurbished the (almost) whole thing! And I like it very much! Although I may consider giving my room a darker colour for its walls, cos now everything is white, and I feel like I'm in snowland or something haha!

Actually as you can see I don't have anything specific to blog about, just lots of things in general because so much has happened in such a short time! And I've got Hari Raya open houses to go to tomorrow and lots to study cos my test is right after the break! See? SO much to do! So little time!!! But I'm enjoying every bit of it! =D

Okay dokie, have to get back to homework now. Selamat Hari Raya peeps!

Progress and Satisfaction

2006-10-17T12:05:00.000+08:00

This post is going to focus more on my personal log. I guess it's good to insert some of these from time to time. Something random.

A lot has happened over the week. For one, we obtained our Physics test marks. Although I didn't get full marks or as much as I anticipated, I am already grateful for what I have. I just don't get the hype of getting a 4-flat. I mean, yes, it's great to be able to get it but is it worth it when you're as inactive as a hermit and having a huge air of "kaisu"ness around you? It's quite sad to see how much they're missing out on the outside world. You want an example? Well, some of those have not played any computer games in their entire life! Once they are introduced to it (which was recently) they get addicted and make a big fuss about it as though it was some kind of game of the century. Please-lah, Counter Strike has been going on for AGES. And before any tests or quiz, they are the ones that will go round everyone asking, "You study already ka?" "How many chapters have you covered?" "Oh dear, he's faster than me" or "Ah....at least I'm faster than you." I wouldn't mind if those were girls (the female species are soon-to-be mothers so it's normal) but guys??? Then there are those who would write exceptionally well essays with words that I can't even understand but when they converse, you just want to "geleng kepala" (shake head). It was not long before I realise that these people do not even know 70 percent of the bombastic words they're using. They're those cases where they tend to use BIG words at the WRONG place simply because they don't know what they mean.

I'm quite thankful for the fact that the MEchi coursemates are not like that. Somehow my pals in the mechanical engineering course are more laid-back and aware of what is happening in places further than Tronoh. That does not mean that they slack in their studies - they just know how to have fun. And when either one of us is having any sort of difficulty, we've got each others' back. I feel sorry for a female friend of mine who is doing another course and she simply cannot stand the kiasu-ness among her coursemates.

Enough of studies. Lately I have also been very active in the International Culture Club and was involved in two projects - the Egyptian Celebration and The UTP Grandmasters Chess Tournament. I was placed to be in-charge of organizing a friendly futsal match in conjunction with the Egyptian Celebration day and since I had no experience in this, everything was a first time for me. Typing letters, rushing to and from the Sports Complex, getting all the equipments, etc. At the end of the day, it was a success. Everyone had fun and to those futsal enthusiasts out there, the Turkmenistan team won the tournament. The local team won first placing from behind. :P

Then it was back to the Promotions part for the chess tournament. Designed posters and had them all stuck up all over the place. I learnt how to get photocopying done for free!! Shhh... But seriously, there are a lot of services that are under-utilized in UTP...

For the next semester I will be involved in an event called the Euphonious. It's like Battle of The Bands at the university level. I hope everything will turn out smoothly. I'm keen to learn.

That is work. Now, to the church side. The worship team is coming together slowly as we did our second performance during last week's service. One of the church members recorded our first performance but I can't download it here! I'll get it once I get home, cos home also means faster net connection. My left finger tips are all numb now, as I think the guitarists would have. Thanks to Christon and Teck Keong I've learnt new chords and techniques of strumming. :) Eddy's making improvement with the drums too! It's quite amazing really, when we first came to this church all they had was a guitarist, who sometimes isn't even a member of the Ipoh church. Now, God has heard our prayers. And He has answered them. :)

To sum it all, I've been having B U S Y days. But I like them. At least I know university life isn't all about burying my head in books. Or maybe it's also because I'm only in my foundation year. I get satisfactory test results (so far), pass up my assignments on time, take my quizzes, meet deadlines in projects, did my part in my spiritual life and last but not least I'm having fun. And some people cannot attend Sunday services because they have too much assignments.

I still don't understand where all their time go to.

I'll be heading home soon for the Raya holidays, and I can't wait! From all these madness I need a break and be close to my family. Of course, good ol' catching up with friends is always part of the deal. :) Will go straight to KL first to see my big bro and possibly shop for some good cd's.

Okay, I better go do my laundry now that the sun is shining. Ciao!

The Importance of Being Ernest

2006-10-16T15:43:00.000+08:00

When I first joined the Hope Church Ipoh, I met a man called Ernest. Ernest is not your ordinary kind guy-next-door. As a matter of fact, those who do not really know him might have a wrong perception towards him. Dressed smartly every Sunday, he happily greets everyone that enters for the service with a nice and warm handshake. With always nice things to say, he's everybody's best friend.

Yet, I am ashamed to admit that was not my first impression towards him.

When Ernest was in primary school, he was struck by a severe fever and was not given proper medical attention. Hence, today he appears slightly more "fidgety" than everyone else. The first time I met him I wasn't too comfortable of befriending a person who seemed "spastic", and my cruel mind even spelt out the word"abnormal". When he held out his open palm for me to shake, I was a bit reluctant, but I shook it anyway - I was brought up that way.

When Ernest took the mic, I began to see the different side of things. He spoke words that are so meaningful and sincere - something a retarded person would have a hard time to do - and with every word he spoke, he humbled me. Although his speech was not smooth, due to the vigourous movements his body makes, I could see that he was trying very hard, as beads of sweat started to form - a sign of perseverance and faithfulness, maybe? When he was done, he sits down next to me to listen to the sermon. As he took down notes in his little notebook, my heart melted. Imagine yourself shivering from extreme cold and trying very hard to write with a steady hand, slowly and painfully. Ernest did just that. Even gripping the pen firmly was difficult, yet he wrote down each and every word that was being said by the preacher.

I didn't even bring my pen. Or a notebook.

We began to have more and more conversations since then, and I know that Ernest is no different from you and I when it comes to functions of the brain. What differs him from the rest of us is his ability to see the good in others and the steadfast love he has for his God. In spite of his minor disability, he has a wide knowledge of general things and always has en eagerness to learn something new. I remember the enthusiasm he showed the day the church received our first drum set.

I'm sorry, Ernest, for my careless, and spiteful pre-judgement towards you. Who am I to judge one's character anyway? See? You don't do that, why should I?

You know what Ernest? God definitely has special plans for you. BIG ones.

Thanks for being my source of inspiration. :-)

Along with this, this is the song that I listened to when I was writing this. I can imagine Ernest singing this with all his heart and soul. For non-Christians, it doesn't hurt to look for this song, very soothing. :)

Let Me Be - Caedmon's Call

Lord, You are the maker of my heart
The framer and reshaper of my soul
Master and Creator
Healer and Sustainer
I will put my trust in You alone

Teach me to be faithful to confess
In this way my spirit will be blessed
Though my sins are daily,
You have loved me greatly
Removing them as far as East from West

Let me be open
Let me be humble
Let me find the joy of my salvation in Your cross
Let me be broken
Whenever I stumble
Let me remember the great mercy of my God

Give me the full measure of Your grace
As it is reflected in the Word
Faith and reassurance
Mercy and endurance
Carry these to those who haven’t heard

So let me be open
Let me be humble
Let me find the joy of my salvation in your cross
Let me be broken
Whenever I stumble
Let me remember the great mercy of my God

All I have needed is laid at your table
All my achievements, I lay at your feet
Alive in your spirit, I’m willing and able
You make my joy complete

Let me be open
Let me be humble
Let me find the joy of my salvation in your cross
Let me be broken whenever I stumble
Let me remember the great mercy

Make my joy complete

Priceless

2006-10-13T08:07:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, I had an unusual conversation with someone.

Someone: Hey, how many zeroes are there in one million?

Me: Six.

Someone: Oh okay. Thanks. I tend to forget these little things.

Me: Haha, no prob. It happens.

Someone: Yeah. Oh, what about two million?

Uh.... x.x

Buai Laju-laju

2006-10-08T22:54:00.000+08:00

I haven't been writing much lately, but that doesn't mean I haven't been blog-hopping to read the current issues that are being discussed in some of the blogs I normally read. A few posts had some things in common. Marsha Maung's post "I'm Not A Foe" and Azhan's "Havoc? Chaos? Controversy?" for instance, shared the same concept that not everyone has the same understanding as ourselves. Sometimes the differences allow us to learn something new, but sometimes, the differences can hurt.

This post may be a little similar to one of my previous posts, but I'm purposely writing this because a dear Azhan has been harrased recently regarding his belief on being colourless and neutral towards races and culture. This may sound like a little tribute to him, maybe it is - it's about time some people know how sincere this guy is.

I met Azhan at the late of year 2004, we were both involved in a project called E-Culture X-Change that was organized by Arts-Ed back in Penang. It was basically a bunch of teenagers of all races and religion thrown into groups and we just had to work together to come up with videos and websites about our research on the Living Heritage Treasures of Penang. Azhan, or more affectionately known as Muffin, was open-minded and always ready for a new experience. He held no grudges or prejudice towards the kids of other races and was always eager to dwell into other people's culture. When it comes to Azhan, what you see is what you get. As a matter of fact, I often wish that I could be as adventurous as he is. You seldom come across a young person who goes all out to gain new experiences, (out of the country even!) and he is my constant reminder of the phrase "Carpe Diem!"

Yet, an enthusiastic and sincere young man like him gets annoying, biased and hurtful messages from an unknown person.

I have one question to that person,

"WHAT THE *&^%#$ IS YOUR FREAKING PROBLEM?"

And I have a few things to say to him/her,

"I pity you. I really do. Obviously you live in a world that comes in black and white. Really. You do not know the true meaning of colours. Whereas my friend, Azhan, does. And you're just jealous because you lack so many things compared to him. You lack the ability to see things the way he does, you lack the experiences he has gained, you lack the open-mindedness that he has, you lack the understanding that has motivated 'colourless' people to come together. But I'll tell you what you have. You have prejudice, shallow-mindedness, and just plain ignorance. I can only hope and pray that you will one day come to understand the pure intentions that some of us have (that you don't) and will be able to see this colourful world one day. I do not hate you, nor despise you for I believe that you will be able to regain the ability to see things the way you did the first time you opened your eyes to the world.

Oh, and leave my friend alone. Unless you're willing to take a lesson or two from him."

It's difficult, isn't it? When others cannot see certain things the way you do. And sometimes, it even hurts. If you have an opinion that is bound to offend someone, why can't you just keep it to yourself? It's not a question of right or wrong. But what is acceptable to others. And to what extend. It's okay to share opinions, but it's definitely NOT okay when it involves insulting someone's belief and culture. You're not doing anybody a favour.

A personal note to Marsha and Azhan: Differences are always there. Apa boleh buat? Hope that your week continues to get better - despite the haze, of course. :)

It Happened.

2006-10-05T13:42:00.000+08:00

The tagboard stays.

I like it already because it constantly reminds me that I'm human.

There are always events in life that leave a mark or significance in the present, or the future. Like this tagboard - it marks imperfection, and yes, it's a part me that I cannot ignore.

I remember the time I first told a lie to my mom. I can't really remember what the lie was but I do remember that I got a good lecture from her in front of a friend. It was a harmless lie, but my mother hates lies. I think everybody hates lies. I can't say that I haven't told a single lie since then, because certain little white lies are inevitable - but since then I knew it was something that would break my mother's heart - and others too.

Then when I was six I fell off a monkey bar. You know those things kids like to hang onto with their arms while their feet are dangling in the air? I dislocated my left elbow and my right wrist. The therapy (Chinese sifu) was hell. It was my first major accident that I can remember (my mother told me that I was once bitten by a dog near the eye but I don't quite remember or even the time I was hospitalized for gastroenthritis...all before I was even 5 years old) and it has taught me a thing or two about physical pain. Since then I played different kinds of sports and have sustained various kinds of injuries but it didn't hurt as much as my first time. That was when I learnt: No pain, no gain.

My big brother and I didn't exactly have what you call "love at first sight". Just like how we would react should mom (heaven forbid) bring in a newborn into the household, for at least the first 7 years of my life we enjoyed torturing each other. We would fight, wrestle, and I was his constant "punching bag" when he was into the "Karate Kid" season. I also remember caning him once with a balloon stick, you know those sticks they use to tie the balloon to so that we can hold them like a giant lollipop? Yeah, those. He ended up on the floor wincing in pain so much so that I started to feel really guilty. My good vocals is the result of endless crying and screaming during my younger days. My neighbours got so used to it that when I didn't cry nor scream, they could tell that either my brother or myself was not at home. There are so many more incidents that happened but I will just keep it to myself for now. They were traumatising. Now, they're more to amusing. So anyway, when we shifted to a new house in a new neighbourhood, there was this kid name Eric who would bully my friends and I. My brother got so pissed at one time that he went to Eric, and ruined the alignment of his bicycle. It was immature, and since we have parents who believe that we should always remain our cool and forgive others, he got a good scolding for his actions.

But I was touched. My brother stood up for me. Of course my ever-so-fair parents also gave him a bit of credit for what he'd done. At that point, I learnt something - I have a big brother who cares for me. Fighting and quarrelling comes with the package. Now, we're tight. I don't know if he knows this, but he has unconsciously taught me a lot about life. Thanks bro.

I got second place for a nursery rhyme competition when I was in Standard Two. People thought I was a natural on stage. However, when I was in Standard Six, I suffered one of the biggest stage embarrassment in my life. I joined a storytelling competition and I was totally unprepared. Being the person with big ego and pride, fumbling my way on stage and going blank while enduring the countless stares at me was a nightmare. Since then I developed the thing people call "stage fright". I didn't mind Choral Speaking though, because it was done in a group and people hardly notice each and every speaker. Then in Form Two, I had to enter another story telling competition. I declined, strongly even, but my friends and my teacher showed great faith in me. I began to look at things differently; if they were to put so much faith in me surely there's something that I have missed. I was right. All that was left was to have faith in myself. Eventually I won the competition and speaking in public soon became a big part of my life in school and even til now.

The past is not just a scribble on a piece of paper that can be easily erased. The fall off the monkey bar, the scolding I got for lying to mom, the feud I had with my brother (and sometimes still do), the embarrassment on stage, and yes, even the tagboard and many more events are like permanent ink that can never be removed. Though they may not be the sweetest moments in my life, I'm glad they all happened.

Tag, You're It.

2006-10-03T15:21:00.000+08:00

Okay. I finally have a tag board.

I succumbed to the endless requests ("hey put a tag board!" "why you don't have tag board one?" "Vern....I can't tag you..." "You need a tagboard!!" etc.).

I succumbed to technology.

I succumbed to peer pressure.

You win.

I lose.

Have fun.

Of Sleepiness, Horny-Looking Old Man, and Coins.

2006-10-02T19:53:00.000+08:00

Ever had those days where no matter how hard you try to lift your eyelids they always seem to find their way back down? And the weird thing is, you had enough sleep! My mom even called up last night to remind me,"Have an early night ah..." 8 full hours of sleep was what I had last night and I found myself dozing off in my Physics lecture. I ran out of Mentos to chew on and to keep me awake, which made it even more of a struggle to grasp whatever my lecturer was saying. Luckily, that chapter was already taught before, just a little bit of add-ons that I will have to read up myself later.

As I fought on to stay awake for the rest of the day it was my english tutorial group's turn to do a drama presentation. It was an alternate version of the famous Phillipine short story "All Over The World" where I took on the role as Mang Lucio, the main character's uncle. If you're wondering why I took on a guy's role it's because there weren't enough males to in the group to take that character. Thinking it would be nice to take on a cross-gender role, I took up the challenge. To look old, lots of powder was applied onto my hair and soon it looked pretty convincing. Mei Le used an eyeliner to draw a moustache for me. In the story, the uncle was a sombre, moody man with a few words. However, since this was OUR version, we turned this supposed-to-be no nonsense man into the pioneer of hip hop. Since it was staged during the World War, we weren't sure if the hip hop trend started yet. It's ironic, really, we try to fit into the era as much as possible and there I was, wearing a 2006 World Cup Adidas T-shirt. As I looked into the mirror, I thought I looked like a "ham sap" or horny old man who's not ready to be old and on the look out for younger girls. Something like this...oh, and this was before the moustache was drawn.

Mang "M&M" Lucio

The whole thing went smoothly, and we're ever so glad it's all over. I want to post Jin Ming's picture here as the dorky-looking Felix, but he'll slaughter me if he knew. I like AU's (Alternate Universe) like these, I remember there was once in school where we did OUR own version of the sequel to Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. With blankets as capes and walking on our knees and Eminem's song in between it was simply fantastic! I played one of the dwarves', I'm not sure which one, but I think it was Dopey, the dumbest, cutest(ahem) one. Ah...the good ol' days.

Anyway, after a long day and a long bath, I decided to count the coins that I have accumulated for the past couple of months. I like counting coins, mine of course, I find it very therapeautic - I was getting fed up at the number of coins lying around anywhere as well. I hardly use coins because my wallet doesn't have the coin compartment in it. So usually I'd place all the coins I have (from the loose change of my purchases) into this little basket everytime I come back. After counting...this is what I got:

Waaah.. it's both comforting and shocking. Each stack of coins are worth RM1.00, so altogether I have collected RM21.00!! Imagine that! This amount of coins is enough for me to have 4 fulfilling meals! It's odd yet it's nice to know there's some back-up when I need any. My mom is an expert in coin-collecting. She will remove our (my dad, bro and I) coins from our pockets everytime she does laundry and she won't give it back to us unless they're ringgit notes and she'll place them into this woven-container everyday. Today, that container is heavy enough for you to do some minor weight-lifting exercises. We don't claim them back either, maybe it's just nice to see money "grow" unconsciously.

I'm now finding a way to get rid of these coins. I'll exchange the 50 cent ones with Eddy because the guys need those to do their laundry (RM2.00 per wash). I might have to start bringing a bit of coins out in my pocket so that I can use them when I need some lose change. Since I hardly go for carbonated drinks the vending machine is practically useless to me.

Okay, gotta go "buka puasa" now. So long!

“We could learn a lot from crayons; some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, while others bright, some have weird names, but they all have learned to live together in the same box.”

-anonymous

Sleeeeeeeepppyyyyyyyyy

2006-10-02T10:41:00.000+08:00

It's That Time Of the Year Again

2006-09-30T12:03:00.000+08:00

Yes, as soon as September creeps in everyone is busy, busy, busy. September, October, November and early December are the 'peak' seasons for high school and varsity students. Trials, exams and finishing up assignments - we all beg for time. It's ironic isn't it? We ask for more time and yet we can't wait for this torment to end. Personally, I like AND dislike this time of the year.

Why do I dislike it? Nothing beats the crappy mood I get after I've faced a horrible, man-eating, soul-sucking, blood-vomitting paper. I feel like I wasn't prepared for it, or that I'm simply not smart enough. And when my "smarter" friends start to compare their answers, it chucks me right into the sewer. My once high self-esteem drops rapidly like the share market. So, I resort to the next thing: study more for the next paper. And it's more stressful that time because I feel very much pressured to do better in the next paper. And the deprivation of tennis, Nick Hornby, Alias and Dungeon Siege II? It's inhumane.

So now that I have described this time of the year in the most depressing way I can, what is there to like about it? I like the fact that it keeps me busy. Yes, you rush to meet deadlines and you're always on the go. It keeps you more alert towards the things happening around you. You tend to flip the pages of your textbooks more simply because you have to. And it's good. Because after every exam I feel more ready than ever to start a new chapter, knowing that I have understood the previous ones. And back in secondary school exam season simply means carrying less books to school (the teachers are already 'retired' by now) and no more being bossed around by the teachers asking me to do this and that (I'm also 'retired' by now) and I just have the freedom to do anything I want during school hours.

I had my first scare in my first Chemistry paper here in Uni, as I've written in one of my posts. Since then I've been getting the hang of it for the other papers. Preparation is the key; whether you're a consistent learner or not (let's face the fact here, not everyone is consistent even though they're supposed to be - it's easier said than done.) and it's not how much you prepare, but more like what you're supposed to prepare. Friends who know me would know that I am no exam expert, and with all the tasks I have, they often wonder how I cope with my studies.

Let's just say that no one arranges your study time for you. You may have friends who like to study 24 hours a day, some like to study early in the morning, and some at night. It's normal to feel pressured when you see others turning the pages of the book vigorously while you're sitting at that corner reading the newspaper. Sometimes we lose to the pressure and we force ourselves to study like them as well. And one can't help but feel a tinge of guilt when asked, "Eh, you study already? Which chapter are you in now?" or "I see that you don't spend much time on your studies...."

There's no point burying your face in the book for 10 hours when you're dreaming 9 hours away. Sometimes we just get too caught up with the tasks we have that we can't just immediately switch our minds to absorbing facts and figures at one go. Experiment the different types of studying and see what suits you. The time of day is also important. I'm an owl. I like studying at night and when I feel like I've had enough, I go to bed. For me, there's just something calming about the night that allows me to concentrate even more. My roommate is different. She would wake up wee hours in the morning and start to dab into Physics and Chemistry for breakfast.

For a lazy learner like me, I like taking shortcuts. Mind-mapping is very,very useful. You can cramp from one chapter to one subject onto one piece of A4 paper. And whenever you're free you just take them out and read that colourful page. But the real part of absorbing what you've learnt through mind-mapping is when you're drawing it. Because mind-mapping requires a lot of sumarization, keywords, etc. It's natural that before you sumarize something or determine which is important you have to first understand what you're reading. So the effort of finding the correct keywords enables you to understand that particular text or chapter even better. The mind-maps are simply reminders. It's fun to make them too! But as I have said, each has his or her own preferences. I have seen those who like memorizing straight from the book, those who scribble loads of footnotes and etc.

I think what inspired me to write this are my fellow friends like Yu Jean, Azhan, and many more who are caught up in this exam hype. My own schedule is no less busy, with tasks that occupy me from now and even until the next semester!

And I'm not even anywhere near the working world yet...

No Roti Canai For Our Astronaut Trainees

2006-09-27T10:53:00.000+08:00

WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

Wait.....serious....?

Rain, Rain Go Away

2006-09-26T12:23:00.000+08:00

I've been doing a lot of thinking. No, more than usual. And I hate to think about the future. But it's probably the thing I think about most. Or maybe it's the rain. Yeah, I think it's the rain. The difference is, gloomy weather gives you gloomy thoughts. Well, actually, a bloody hot weather also gives you gloomy thoughts. I don't know. Then yesterday our English tutor introduced to us something called freewriting. It's a form of writing where you just write whatever that comes to your mind, as much as you can, as fast as you can, without worrying about grammatical errors and stuff. EVERYTHING that comes to your mind. Yeah, like if your mind goes blank, you write "My mind is blank" or something like that.

The topic?

Your plans for the future.

Purrrr-fect.

I started my essay with a sigh. And then I wrote:

I have plans for the future. Wait. I used to have plans for the future. When I was five I wanted to be a lawyer. When I was ten I thought I'd be a teacher. At the age of fifteen I had a crazy idea of becoming a graphics designer. Just few months back I told myself I wanted to be involve in the arts field, be it Creative Writing, Journalism, or even something noble like Speech Therapy.

Now, I'm in an engineering school, paving my way to become a mechanical engineeer.

This is quite an unexpected route but nevertheless I like Math and Physics. Perhaps something might work out from this. Something HAS to work out from this. I'll be bonded to the Petronas company for the next 15 years of my life and that's no joke. I feel like a hypocrite, I'm all against the usage of petrol and yet I'm receiving a sponsorship from the nation's largest petroleum company. Oh well, this is God's little cunning plan for me I suppose. I'm still determined to become a speech pathologist in the future, helping others regain the ability to talk. Perhaps after this whole engineering journey I'll be financially stable enough to support myself to pursue my interest in those various fields. I do hope I have time, I mean, anything can happen in 15 years right? Touch wood, but hey, that's the truth. Right now my writing looks awful and I'm running out of space to write. All messy and crammed up. I hope that's not how my future is going to be. Perhaps if I start revising my Physics for this week's test it could be a motivating start towards a promising career, Okay, really running out of space now. All in all, all I want to do is to make my parents proud and the people I care about happy. Okay, my mind is shutting down and why isn't Mr Krishnan stopping us yet? Hello, no more space to write! This is going to be the messiest page of all. I might tear it up and paste it on my wall. Did I mention that I'm very random? Yeah, random.

That was it. 5 minutes uneditted thoughts from yours truly. Seriously that particular page looks blue, blue as in color blue because of all the ink filling it up with my "tau geh" handwriting.

But that didn't stop me from thinking about the future.

It's still raining.

And I still don't like that topic.

I'm gonna go and try to get some food. Apparently the non-Muslims have to fast as well as the stalls are closed during lunch time.

Oh well, Selamat Berpuasa.

A Quote

2006-09-26T08:58:00.000+08:00

'The supreme irony of life is that

hardly anyone gets out of it alive.'

~Robert Heinlein

Grace And Love

2006-09-23T21:25:00.000+08:00

Once upon a time, I got to know a special person. Her name is Lily.

We are best friends now.

Today, she left for Russia.

I can't wait for summer to come.

MYOM - Mind Your Own Music

2006-09-19T20:38:00.000+08:00

As I was typing away on my keyboard this evening I heard a familiar tune. My all-time favourite song "Iris" was playing on MTV. Even though the tune sounded familiar, the voice was different. As a matter of fact, it was horrible. I tried to imagine who would have the guts to do a rendition of this famous one-and-only-famous song from the movie "City of Angels"? I thought hard, and suddenly the familiar voice hit me - it can't be. I stepped out of my room and took a peek at the telly. I was right.

Ronan Keating was doing his rendition of "Iris".

Yes, if you're going "What the.. %$#@^&%$*#$%@#$%??!!!!" in front of your computer screen now, that was how I reacted when I confirmed my suspicions. What is a has-been member of a now defunct boyband singing an all-time, BIG time, even, rock song? Why can't people just stick to their own genre? These people did not sell million of copies of pop albums for nothing, they sold them because pop was their thing! Not rock!

Which reminds me, one of my friend actually thought "Mandy" was a new song done by Westlife.

However, there are some cover versions that have a gist of creativity added into it, making it rather catchy and noteworthy, just like The Postal Service's version of "Against All Odds" or yes, NSync's SPANISH version of "This I Promise You". Robbie William's concert in Royal Albert Hall on his album "Swing When You Are Winning" is one of the best cover versions of the great oldies ever.

That's because they did it THEIR way. Mr. Keating was just TRYING to sing exactly like the Goo Goo Dolls. He was trying awfully hard indeed.

Why can't they just leave other people's music alone and do their own music? And they're trying to persuade us to buy original CD's. How ironic.

See the reason why I never watch MTV?

Of Lousy Drivers, Mixed Blood, and a Farewell.

2006-09-18T20:57:00.000+08:00

Yes, I know the issue of Penang drivers is no longer new and in fact considered an incurable disease. But WHY?! Today I had my first run with the new *ahem* car my parents bought and although I was travelling at a speed I would normally curse those who do ~~cos mom was sitting next to me~~ there were still some crazy buggers who swept the corners as though I did not exist! I may be slow but not THAT slow that you couldn't even "feel" I was coming and there they were - gambling MY life away. You imagine the force I'm gonna get from all that angular acceleration (okay, okay, enough Physics) - but there ya go.

And when we were on our way for dinner, some car just came from an entrance that had a "NO ENTRY" sign clearly posted in front and took our parking space. Another idiot parked his car in the middle of the parking space and made it difficult for the others to move their cars.

WHAT IS THIS NONSENSE?!?!

(regains composure)

Okay, despite those crazy, insensible, untolerable and unethical events Yu Jean (who unfailingly had her ciplak sunglasses on her head - it was already 7 in the evening) and I made it to see Muna at the airport eventually. We had a long chat, snapped some photos (erm, don't think I will post them here otherwise this whole blog will be Muna-fied and that girl's hidung and punggung semua will kembang. No-lah, actually I forgot to bring my cable back from campus so I can't upload my photos here) and I found out from mom (Yes, she's friends with my friends - and sometimes my friends prefer her to me. Sad, I know.) that I have some Thai and Burmese blood in me as well. Wah. I already cannot handle the Chinese side of me and now she wants to "ka liu"? (In Hokkien they'll put it as "keh liao" or in Malay "tambah rasa" which means 'to add ingredients/additional factors etc.)

Muna's farewell was a typical Malay affair. Her father's side (which consists of 10 siblings, I think), and I think majority of them, made it to send her off. Wah, macam rombongan.

JANET, WHERE ARE YOU? BUAT APE KAT JEPUN TU? IF YOU'RE READING THIS, WE HAVE FOUND PHOTOS THAT CAN BE USED AGAINST YOU! WAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!

(regains composure)

There wasn't a teary goodbye or that sort eventhough I think somewhere inside us were bawling away, but all in all I'm sure going to miss that girl. She should be on the plane by now, making her way to KL and then all the way to good ol' UK.

Sigh. The Airhead Travels are now officially scattered all over.

I think I'll just crawl underneath the sheets and read my Chemistry.

One more farewell to go.

Jellybean is home.

2006-09-17T17:46:00.000+08:00

I know I've been home two days already but nevertheless, it's never too late to blog about it. Sorry to those who weren't informed about the "kepulangan Dato' Vern" (ok, get a bucket) but it feels really good to be back. The familiar bed, the familiar smell, the familiar red chair, the familiar TV, and last but not least, the familiar two faces that brought me into this world.

Called Natasha and Muna up and we agreed to meet today. Had lunch at The Loft in Gurney Plaza and it was easy to sum up what it had to offer: pricey and mediocre food. Nuf said. At least I managed to buy myself a Mae album and also add a member to my Nick Hornby's collection. I was so deprived of music and books in uni.

But meeting up with the girls was what made the afternoon great. It's been so long since we've met and I've missed them terribly ever since I left for uni. Muna will be heading to UK tomorrow to pursue her education in Chemical Engineering and I really hope I can be at the airport to send her off. Since we're both in the engineering line we thought we might be able to work together in the future, gawd knows what hevoc we will create - we'll probably invent edible styrofoam and things like that. Natasha was so sweet to capture some video moments, never mind even if it was in the cold storage just to find out that the memory card was full when she wanted to capture a video of herself. Sorry Nat, I'll make it up to you another time ok?

Met up with my bestie earlier this morning for Sunday service - it was probably the most moving service we ever had. Several people prayed for us, mostly for Lily because she will be leaving for Russia this Saturday to pursue medicine, and I must say, it was a really touching gesture. Lil, enjoy your dinner tonight with 'the parents' - bet you'll enjoy the surprise that's coming out from that. :-)

What is it about growing up and going away? I think I'm fine with the 'going away' part, but I just hope it will not turn to 'growing apart'. There are already so many people I know whom started out as close friends and became just mere acquaintance. Sigh.

This is going to be a week of goodbyes.

Muna, this is for you:

When was it that we met? Oh yes! Just last year when we were involved in the UNESCO project - and you know what? I feel like I've known you forever! I have a few things to say to you...

1. I like your sarcasm.

2. I like you for being genuine.

3. I don't mind you being super-thin and having super-high metabolism, but I envy you anyways.

4. I like the fact that you never bow down to peer pressure.

5. I like the way you proved me wrong about you the first time I saw you.

6. I like the time you blew your nose into Janet's ear.

7. I like the fact that you wear Birkenstocks - okay, that was random.

8. I still think you're gonna get a 'mat salleh' boyfriend when you're there - no matter how anti-mat salleh you might be.

9. I like it when we annoy Natasha - I know she likes it too. :-)

10.I still think that the last-minute black sleeveless top you got during the UNESCO project is cool.

11.I prefer your rendition of "Beautiful" to Aguilera's anytime.

12.I enjoyed every walk we had in the inner city - it will always be our favourite 'lepak' place.

13.I still dislike the way your boney butt tickles my lap!

14.Thanks for being such a special individual - though weird at times.

15.Thanks for introducing me to Gulam Jamun, although it was too sweet to my liking.

16.Thanks for introducing me to Margarita.

17.Thanks for introducing me to you.

I'm not writing this to make you cry. I'm writing this to make you know how much you mean to this blogger right here. Thanks for all those 'heboh', 'kecoh', and wonderful moments we've been through together. Hey, remember to spread the magic of Penang when you're there ok?

Take care, and buzz me whenever you're back in town.

New Face, Same Ol' Blogger.

2006-09-16T16:28:00.000+08:00

Yes, the new 'look' is officially up. It probably looks darker (it IS darker) than the previous beige-classy theme I had and the font and all is smaller than before. Actually I think it's just right. The previous one was slightly too big, and since I tend to write long posts from time to time, it felt a bit lengthy. I tried to view my blog (the one with the old look) with the house computer (it has quite a large screen compared to my laptop) and I went, "maigawd...this feels like kindergarten."

I will add more stuff, but not so soon, I like to design my stuff slow and steady - details are very important to me. Oh, feel free to play the song that I'm currently listening to. It varies according to the mood, of course.

Actually, I wanted to change the photo of the header. This one was taken during my last trip to Beijing, and I've been searching high-and-low for it ever since. I found it in my back-up cd (this time I went, "tenkgawd....") and immediately got to work. I like the photo because it says a lot about life. If you notice, there is a clear path between the trees that leads to something unknown. And then there's another pavement that leads to the left, sort of like a diversion from the original route. Says a lot, doesn' t it?

There is more than one route in life, and sometimes we are forced to take other alternatives than the straight-forward one.

I'm sure most of us have gone through this sort of thing when things don't always go as planned, and just like this blog, the posts vary from different topics, and most of them portray the things that I've been through on the "routes" I've taken.

Yep, there's a long journey ahead so there will be a lot of thoughts and reflections as I go along.

Oh, it also reminds me of Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken".

Why black?

Simple: It does look nicer, doesn't it? A bit more funky, must not reveal too much of the "old soul" inside of me.

Adoi...I'm only seventeen. Gimme a break.

Jop!

2006-09-15T14:15:00.000+08:00

Be Back Soon.

I'm Colourless.

2006-09-12T21:13:00.000+08:00

What’s an experience if you don’t share it with others? Something my Malay lecturer said in our Moral Studies class today made me recall something. But before I get into that, this was what he said:

“My youngest son, who at that time was about 3 years old did something that made me think. You see, that time I bought him a Mat Kool ice-cream (remember the cool monkey with sunglasses?) and he was talking to his Chinese friend. They were whispering and chatting about something-lah, you know kids, and then suddenly he just broke his ice-cream into two and the both of them began to lick their halves away. Well, at first for me I thought he should just give him the ice-cream-lah, you know what I mean? If you want to give someone something might as well give the whole thing right? But anyway, that wasn’t the point. What occurred to me is that these were kids. In their world, coloured people were, well, colourless. They don’t see the difference. But for us adults, as we begin to learn about our surroundings, and so-called understand the things that are happening around us, we tend to draw a line. But, why? It’s just something I want you all to think about.”

Oh yes, it made me think alright, well, at least after the 20-minute Moral test which he gave after his lecture. I started to recall about my personal experience that happened not too long ago, sometime early this year, before I went for my National Service stint. It was a truly valuable experience, but I never actually shared it unless someone asked, “So what were you doing while waiting for your SPM results ha?” They were intrigued when I told them what I’ve been through, and hopefully what I’m about to share will inspire others to see things just like how children see it.

A German company started a little project in Penang called the Global Ethics Project. I think some may have read that it has been stopped and since I myself am not sure of what the reason is, I do not want to dwell into that subject. But I must say that I’ve been very fortunate to be able to be apart of this program while it lasted.

The purpose of this project is to promote the “Golden Rule” that existed in most of the major religions in the world – Judaism, Taoism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and lots more. The rule was simple: Do to others what you want others to do unto you. So how did I get involved in this project? As I have mentioned in my previous posts, a group of young people including myself was active in heritage projects organized by local organizations like Penang Heritage Trust, and Arts-Ed. We were asked or also hired to become amateur guides that will take young people (students of upper primary and lower secondary) along the Street of Harmony. Did I hear you say Street of what?

The Street of Harmony. Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling. Pitt Street. In the heart of Penang. Why do they call it the street of harmony? Believe it or not, non-Penangites and even Penangites out there, Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling or Pitt Street actually houses four worship places of different religions. That’s right, there is the Masjid Kapitan Keling, Goddess of Mercy Temple, St. George Church and the Sri Mariamman Temple all located in one, straight, street. Our purpose was to expose these young people to the different religions in Penang yet at the same time explaining the similarities these four religions have. Yes, we do have some in common, and it’s a pity we do not realize that. Did you know that Hinduism and Buddhism come from the same place? Or how Buddhism was actually generated from Hinduism? They both believe in karma, you know. Or how about the fact that Judaism, Christianity and Islam are actually somehow linked to one another?

The Young Amateur Guides a.k.a The Airhead Travels. I miss you guys.

Before the walk, the students are required to play some warm-up games. We designed the games to make the students realize how confused they are about their religion. Most of them think that Hinduism is a race, not a religion. And some do not even know that even though they are called Buddhists, the place of worship they have been going is actually a Taoist temple? Then, we distribute cards comprising of four colours, red for Taoism, green for Islam, white for Christianity and yellow for Hinduism. Suppose you are a Christian, you can pick any card except the white ones. And on the front cover of their cards, they will have to write their names in any of the four languages except for the ones they know. Like, if you’re an Indian, you can only write your name in Chinese or Arabic calligraphy. So how do these kids get their names written? Simple. They ask their friends or the people they meet in the religious places we bring them to do it for them. That way, they interact with those other than their “kind” and learn that the world does not only revolve around themselves. The card is then divided into two, a feedback section for Before and After the walk. It’s amazing to see the differences about how much they know before and after the walk. We emphasized on one thing: pure honesty. We encouraged to kids to write whatever they know, think or feel about the religion that they picked (according to the colour of their cards), no lawsuits or any sort of charges will be filed against them. Because we feel that the only way to tackle a particular problem is to know THE problem, not what the problem is SUPPOSED to be.

There are a couple of occasions that opened our eyes throughout the walks that we conducted. One was a group of students from a religious Islamic school. We were quite weary if they might have some ‘pantang-larang’ or prohibition to take part in certain parts of the walk. We were proven wrong. When they entered the church, they exclaimed at how beautiful the churches were (we took them to two churches, St George and The Church of Assumption) and how unique the two temples were as well. Even the mosque captivated their attention as they had never been there before, and it was probably one of the biggest in Penang. The “Terima Kasih”, “Best-lah!” and “Nak lagi (We want more)!” summed it all up: They loved it. We were ashamed of ourselves at their enthusiasm, what more our perception on how stereotyped they might be, when the stereotyped ones are us.

The other was a French teacher from an international school that posed a question that made everyone think. When we were in the church, she actually asked her students and the guides, “Are people in Jerusalem Caucasians? Do they all have blue eyes and blonde hair? If no, then why is it at times that Jesus Christ, who was from Jerusalem portrayed with blonde hair and blue eyes? Why not a Chinese then? Just ponder.” And ponder, we did.

Many a times we are brought up with certain perceptions towards people of other race or religions. Sometimes we may have our personal opinions but let’s just leave it at that – leave it to ourselves. Sure, we may be dissatisfied with certain things, but that's what tolerance is all about. But sometimes things aren’t what they seem. We are more alike than we think. If we think that people of different race or religions are “failed experiments” by God, then chances are, so are we in others’ eyes.

Why can’t we see things like children do? If they can view each other as colourless, why can’t we? It’s the basic isn’t it? Why did we lose that ability when we grow up?

Try seeing people as colourless, and the things around you will be more colourful than you think it is.

The Day That Changed The Days After

2006-09-11T11:41:00.000+08:00

September 11, 2001.

I began my breakfast by saying a prayer for the September 11 victims. When I say "victims" it doesn't mean those who are dead, it is those that are still alive who are the real victims.

Them, you and me.

Didn't someone remind him that "Violence begets violence"?

This applies to both of them - him and him.

For those who lost their loved ones, for those whose hearts have perished along with the towers, my thoughts and prayers are with you. Not all is lost, for what we gain is strength amidst the fog and rubbles. You made it. And it was for a reason.

You made it to live.

*picture taken from some website .

Pick It Up

2006-09-09T10:53:00.000+08:00

Call me fickle-minded, undecisive, whatever. Yes, it took me three times to change my mind before Yoke Mun came into my room, stopped me from playing my Dungeon Siege II game and made me feel guilty by her sincerity. I never looked back since.

Although I'm not a huge fan of the reknowned Australian rock worship team PlanetShakers (Haha! I could hear Choon Lin 's version :Penggoncang Dunia - Rentap- for those who still remember their Sejarah. :) And also my tennis "kaki" wanted to go as well, so which meant I'd be stuck in my room the entire night if I didn't go. Another plus point? It's free.

So Phillip drove us there, not before we had our dinner at McD's - we were all craving for fastfood - and snapped some crazy photos with Han Pin's cameraphone (need to get the photos from him) and we were then on our way to the show.

Phillip, Yoke Mun and myself in the car (the others were still dragging their heavy bellies along from McD's)

It was very crowded, when we arrived, mostly people our age and some parents who probably played chaperone to their kids.

After about half an hour's wait, were made our way in. And we saw....

I'm showing you the backdrop first because that was how it was last night when the band performed. I took photos of their performance in a different mode otherwise the images would've been blur.

Of course, we also had our own photography session...
Phil, Mun, Brother Han Pin and Edgar...

Myself and Chrise (my tennis "kaki" and very good friend)
Phil, Mun, Sis Maggie, myself and Edgar (a bunch of posers! okay, except for poor Phil..)

Then the announcement came "The concert will begin in 5 minutes!" And the crowd went wild! Why? I don't know, but I do remember telling myself that there will be loads of screaming and shouting done tonight. And then....

Let the show beginnnnnnnnn!!!!

Pastor Ben doing what he does best : Getting the feeling into the crowd!

Pastor Ben: Who wants to shut the mouth of the lion?! (the lion here is the devil, refering to the story Daniel the Lion Tamer)

"Malaysia! Malaysia! Malaysia is on fire! We don't need the devil cos the devil is a liar!"
The reason why I didn't want to take the photo in the previous mode before the performance began....
The cute and stylo-Milo guitarist!

It wasn't just about singing. In the middle of the show Pastor Ben preached about the story of Daniel the Lion Tamer, for those who do not know the story, it's about a boy named Daniel who refused to obey the law of worshipping the king, but instead chose to stand by and worship God. This resulted him to be thrown into the lion's den, but Daniel showed no fear, for God sent his angel to guard him, and the "mouth" of the lion was "shut". That's the most simplified version I can give. If you want a detailed story, then simply open the Bible and see it for yourself in the book of Daniel, Chapter 6.

He really got the crowd going when he told us that the "lion" was amongst us that night, and asked "WHO WANTS TO SHUT THE LION'S MOUTH?!" Needless to say, hundreds of "YEAH!" "AMEN!" "ME!" went up in the air. Then there was a prayer session where some became emotional, probably touched by the Holy Spirit, or were simply tired with what they were going through. The show continued not long after, and soon it was "autograph time". I bought their latest CD, "Pick It Up" and made my way to the counter where I did this...

...and this....

With Pastor Ben...

...and the cute guitarist and the bassist!

My autographed-CD.

On our way back from the show, we stopped by a filming set where Ang Lee was shooting his new movie and apparently Wang Lee Hom was there. If you're wondering why there aren't any photos that's because we couldn't see a thing! It was pretty closed-up and there were too many people crowding around. For Tony Leong Chiu Wai fans out there, he will be in Penang this Sunday (tomorrow) for the filming. Catch him if you can.

All in all, it was a fantastic night. For those who missed this performance, do not fret, for the PlanetShakers annual conference will be held in KL on the 15th of December this year. I think you have to pay for this though, for it is going to be a bigger show compared to the one I went last night. The whole band will be there that night and it's going to be even wild!

I was blind, now I see
Love has got a hold of me
Now I sing, cos I am free

So I'm laying down my life,
And I'm taking up my cross.

I'm taking up my cross,
Laying down my life,
All for the Glory of Your Name.

I'm living my whole life,
All for You Jesus
Taking up my cross everyday
Pick it up!

I was lost, now I'm found,
Put my feet on solid ground
Now I sing cos I am free

I choose to stand for my generation.
I choose to stand for my generation.

~PlanetShakers - Pick It Up - Album: Pick It Up

Eat!

2006-09-07T22:00:00.000+08:00

First, it was the ICC (International Culture Club) selling mooncakes and lanterns two months early. Then, someone decided to puasa one month ahead. As Malaysians would know, the puasa month is one of the most popular fasting months in this country (Hindus and Christians fast too, but since they don’t receive any red/green/yellow/blue/purple packets after they fast, not many people notice it). If I’m not mistaken, the puasa season will start after the mid-semester break, don’t ask me what date exactly, because nowadays everything is linked to before/during/after/somewhere around the mid-semester break. Okay, after the 24^th, that’s the most specific timeline I can give.

We were all getting ready for our Thinking Skills lecture – yes, we have Thinking Skills as a subject, which is pretty good actually as we don’t do it quite often – and suddenly one of my course mates started to tremble. At first we thought it was a minor I’m-going-to-faint attack, so our lecturer went to her to see what was the problem. Apparently she hasn’t been eating regularly and so she was…starving? Anyway, our lecturer then asked her friends to get her some food from the cafeteria to replenish her hungry soul. Her friends came back with food, but what caught my attention was they actually bought a packet of iced-Nescafe for her. It’s bad enough to have coffee when you’re hungry, and ICED!

She went totally weak on her knees a few moments later. That was when the rest of us stood up, for different reasons. Some left the lecture hall while others simply wanted to help. First problem: So many wanted to help that poor girl. Second problem: No one knew what to do! I mean, she didn’t have a number plate around (okay, maybe she had her matrics ID) and staring at her and telling each other how pitiful she was wasn’t going to help. Then Used-to-be Red Crescent Instructor aka Soon-to-be Engineer Barney yelled from the distance, “Give her some air and raise her legs a bit!” Everyone continued to look dumbfounded until I threw my bag pack into the scene and told the girls to rest her legs on it. Not high enough. So I jumped into the scene (wah, like action movie) and put her legs on my lap instead. The boys continued to tell the girls to give her space. It worked eventually.

Arjun then kindly offered to drive the girl to the campus clinic as we huffed and puffed to carry the girl into the car. Eh, it’s not easy to carry someone completely rested, not knowing what the heck is happening around her and down the steps some more ok? The drama ended as they drove her to the clinic and class was resumed.

So what is this about puasa? No, not the official one-month puasa but the unofficial all year round fasting. Or more like, dieting. Maybe that girl skipped her meal because she had no time. But this incident reminded me of my secondary school Add Math teacher who gave us a very interesting lesson on our first day: The Importance of Breakfast.

Breakfast is what kick-starts your drowsy-groggy-blur mind every morning. It provides the energy you need to begin your day. As a matter of fact, breakfast is considered the most important meal. You may skip lunch, or dinner but never skip breakfast. Breakfast is the time where your body refills the glucose levels after a long period of time without food. Why else do you think it’s called breakfast? It means break-the-fast of not eating for the past 8-12 hours.

I know, most of us want to make full use of our sleeping time and therefore we prefer to use the time to prepare our breakfast to get a few extra snoozes. Does it take that long to prepare breakfast? For me, it’s either a cup of oats in the morning or just a cup of Milo/Nescafe with biscuits/bread. It takes less than 5 minutes to boil the water (or if you have a flask, you can boil and store it the night before) and to open the sachet, pour it in, pour some water, stir – all less than 15 minutes. Drink up, and you can eat the biscuits or bread on your way to class (I’m using the term class because it’s a situation I’m more familiar to). No biggie right?

The girl’s okay now, at least that’s what my lecturer said. And hopefully what happened this afternoon will become a lesson to those who wants to ‘jaga badan’. You want to keep fit? Sure! Get regular meals and regular exercise! Asa matter of fact, a healthy breakfast helps you to lose weight as you consume less calories throughout the day.

Okay, time to continue with my Physics tutorial sheet now.

I miss Daddy’s Sunday breakfast: Half-boiled eggs with ‘roti bakar + kaya’.

What's your ideal breakfast?

Links to articles on the Importance of Breakfast

Link One

Link Two

Link Three

Another Lesson

2006-09-06T21:47:00.000+08:00

Hari ini dalam UTP:-

Weather report: Raining kucing dan anjing.
Top news: A motorcyclist rammed into an opened car door just outside the V2 cafeteria, where we were having lunch. The window was broken, the door crooked. I don’t think the motorcyclist was that blind though, the person who opened the car door probably didn’t see that incoming vehicle. No one took the numbers. Aiya. That’s why, Daddy always says, “Look first before you open the door.” Yes, Daddy.

Yesterday sucked. But I also learnt something new. Usually bad days provide more meaningful lessons and yesterday was one of them. If you’re wondering why I’m posting yesterday’s news it’s because usually the realization part comes a bit later – especially if sulking is involved. I sat for my first test and of all subjects it had to be Chemistry. The nights before I was sucked into the Chemistry zone, practicing questions and even reading up theories most people won’t bother to even look at. As I took the test, I chickened out. It felt like all the effort that has been put in nights before just went straight into the rubbish dump. In short, I think I failed it.

I wasn’t angry at the “difficult” paper, but I was more disappointed in myself. You see, back in secondary school I never really excelled in my Sciences. Just as I disappoint my teachers every time I get my results, I am no more than disappointed in myself. I thought things would be different as I enter this new place, with a new aim, and new motivation. I had it.

I thought I had it.

Don’t worry, I’m okay now, cause if I wasn’t I wouldn’t be sharing this anyway. I’d brood and sulk over it, okay I did it yesterday – my course mates told me they could see a dark cloud hovering my head everywhere I went in the morning. I called mom, and calling her always makes me feel better. I also spoke to a couple of good friends about it as well, thanks to them (you know who you are) I felt better at the later part of the day.

Then came the English lecture. The lecturer decided to hold a quiz – guys vs girls – to which I had to move over to the girls’ side and fight for Venus. The leader picked five people from each group to represent each gender, and I was one of the victims. But it wasn’t so bad, the quiz was mainly about a short story – one which I rewrote the script for a drama that will be held later on this month. So, basically I knew the story pretty well. Here’s the thing, not many have read the story yet, and those who were chosen to represent their teams (except for yours truly) were clueless on what it was all about. Needless to say, I pretty much answered most of the questions. Not that I am trying to boast my ability since I practically flunk my Chemistry, but this was where I learnt my lesson. As I answered the questions the guys were booing and taunting me (because they were losing, that was the best they could do to gain ‘face’) but the girls won anyway. There weren’t any boo’s anymore, but that all transformed into a clap. Have I been intimidated by their shouts and hoots I may not have been able to focus and the whole game might turn out the other way round.

I thought of Chemistry.

Maybe I was too concerned about what others were doing. I know I’m one who rarely succumb to peer pressure, but it’s there. The people are there. People with books, people who can handle tough questions even by closing one eye, and people who were just around me. So what am I to do? Take my test in a secluded room alone? Do they give in to these sort of requests? Would it really work even? The reason I did well in the English quiz was because I had fun. I had fun because I knew I was good at it and because it was just a quiz – done today, forgotten tomorrow. I gave it all I got. So why was I holding back while I was doing my test? Why was I so concerned on how people would look at me and my achievements? It could also be a “done today, forgotten tomorrow” thing – if only I made myself believe that. I shouldn’t look back so much on how badly I did during my secondary school days and instead focus on what is happening now. Studying and challenging yourself is fun, really it is. I just need to enjoy it.

Oh, and I did some spring cleaning to my room today. Need to chase all the “bad luck” away. Haha. Okay, no such thing, just that the dust were starting to annoy me and my nose.

It was a dark and...

2006-09-04T15:40:00.000+08:00

...rainy day.

The area of my pants below my knees are wet. Soaking wet. Oh, my shoes as well. And I used the umbrella. I did. And sitting in this library, I'm freezing.

My day started out on a not-so-good note. Plugged my laptop in and found out that the Internet connection has decided to sleep-in. Dang. Had some fried beehoon for breakfast that turned out to be too spicy for a breakfast meal. At least the coffee was good.

Learnt a new formula in Physics today. Yay.

Found out that we don't use "work functions" when explaining the photoelectric effect in Chemistry, we only use that term in Physics. I wonder why it was used (and in italics too) in my Chemistry textbook.

Received a message saying the audition for the elocution contest has been brought forward today. Just as I was about to get ready for my long journey to the new academic complex for the audition, mother nature cried. Found it a bit insulting at first, so I decided to believe that she peed. Wait, isn't that worse?

Four lecturers sat in front of me as I spoke (wah, like Malaysian Idol), the topic was "Patriotisme among youngsters nowadays is on a decline". Easy topic, too much to say, too little time. Yes, the lecturer showed me the "time's up" sign before I could finish. Being a person who finishes whatever she starts, I finished anyway. I exceeded by a few seconds, I was told. Bah.

As I left the office I made my way to the library. Somehow, getting wet was easier than when I was on the outside. As I entered the air-conditioned building, I shivered. Cold-mah. And here I am, typing this as Chrise is smiling to himself in front of another PC. At least there's someone familiar.

At 5p.m. I will be having my reading test for English. Venue changed to block 14. So bloody far. Better leave at 4.30 if I want to be early.

I think I saw Jia Lin's bag when I came in. I'm gonna go find her. I'm in need for a friendly face.

Ciao.

After 17 years of Get-To-Know

2006-08-30T19:24:00.000+08:00

When I was about 3 years old I used to like to think that I'm some 'kwai loh' or 'mat salleh'. And because I spoke English so frequently with everyone with the convincing American twang (yes, my habit in talking began at avery early stage), I never regarded myself as a Malaysian, or even a Chinese. The best part is, I even tried to make my mother believe that the both of us were...different.

Then I started primary school, which was the centre of communication. I soon picked up Manglish, all for the sake of fitting into the crowd. It didn't work in the early stages though, because my Chinese had a funny twist in it, and the fact that the language has 4 tone variations for each syllable, I always ended up saying things I didn't mean to say.

Even though as time went by I started to make more friends and learnt a little bit more about what this whole country is all about (when you have subjects like Kajian Tempatan that tells you where the tin mines and gold mines are, you can't help but be reminded you're living in Malaysia), shouting "Merdeka" on the 31st of August every year was nothing more than an act of joining in the fun and hype. It's a celebration, so, why not celebrate? I used to dread singing the National Anthem and reciting the oath every Monday morning, and at that time I still wished that Penang was still under the British, when it was used to be called "The Prince of Wales Island". Perhaps we would all have the unique British accent and become proud British citizens. We would be using Sterling Pounds instead of Ringgit Malaysia and boy, will we prosper! What's with Manglish anyway? Can't we speak proper English? I even used to dream that my prince in shining armour would be one with blonde hair and blue eyes. Friends would call me "Orang Cina bukan Cina" or in short OCBC because I couldn't read or write or even speak Chinese very well, being one. I listened to foreign bands because the local ones were 'uncool'.

So you see, I was one very confused teenager. I was like any other teenager.

My dad became concerned when his daughter couldn't speak much Chinese. Mom, on the other hand, wasn't so concerned about it because as long as her daughter was doing fine, not getting into any trouble and was polite to everyone it was alright. So dad started to converse in Cantonese with me from time to time. And he would tease me for my inability to speak the mother tongue in front of other relatives (I used to take it as an insult, but now it was more like a prompt for me to improve - he knows how egoistic and prideful I can be, it runs in the family). The Chinese part of me started to grow as I stopped requesting for fork and spoons in Chinese restaurants and took pride in eating with the "chopsticks and bowl" method. Helping mom to fill in the red packets for Chinese New Year became more meaningful and enjoyable.

Then came along a specimen named Janet Pillai. She's mean, she's lean, and she's Malaysian. I started to join her program called e-Culture x-Change (ECXC) in late 2004 not knowing what a journey of culture I was about to go through. Then came the UNESCO "Seeing With Young Eyes" workshop, heritage walks for the japanese group, the Global Ethics Program in Penang, and the latest, DiGi's Heritage Heboh showcase. These programs were enough to make its participants see the wonders of the local scene, and to love it. But Janet had to go to the extreme, don't let her catch you with McDonalds or Starbucks or anything like that or you'll get a woman with grey hair going berserk. To me, her stand was rather ridiculous, until she showed us good local food in weird places and good kopi 'o' in the heart of Penang. We respected her ways, but at the same time we also enjoyed driving her crazy with our occasional orders of Domino's and McDonalds delivery during work - we still do. I started to appreciate the local music scene with the likes of Jason Lo, Double Take, Shelley Loeng, Pete Teo and lots more (my interest in indie-rock, emo-rock, oldies and musicals is another story).

Manglish, hawker food, crazy drivers, the Negaraku, the oath, our Ringgit Malaysia, the Milo tin local cars, the way the ah pek's sit with one leg up on the stool while sipping their kopi 'o' on saucers watching the English Premier League or the Thomas Cup are the essentials of what makes this country one of a kind. Okay, I may not be one of those who hang the Malaysian flag a month or a day before or even during Independance Day, but that does not change the pride and love I have for this country today. No country is perfect, yet this one grows on me. International brands like Adidas, Nike and all that may still own a space in my wardrobe, and Starbucks and McD may have a slot in my digestive system, but this country that will become 49 years old tomorrow will always hold a special place in my heart. As they say, "Tak kenal maka tak cinta!"

I'm proud to be Malaysian.

Happy birthday, girl, and may all your public toilets experience some true hygiene in the future.

*photo from www.miksovsky.com

ConvoCraze

2006-08-28T16:22:00.000+08:00

Taking a break from my Physics revision. Will be having a test next week. Getting mixed up with linear and angular displacement already. Can't help but think about the events that have happened over the weekend.

First, there was the Convofair, and event held every year in conjuction with the convocation. It's like a big fun fair, without the rides, but with lots of food and fun. Being a member of the ICC (International Culture Club) I had to help out at the booth by promoting the products we were selling. So it was all "ICE KACANG! CENDOL! LANTERNS! BANANA SPLIT (with EXTRA BANANAS!) ! MOON CAKES!!" for the past three days for me. It was fun though, the bunch of us trying various ways to get people to buy our products. My Head of Department, Dean, agreed that maybe we should consider venturing into slaes instead of engineering. Heh. The cendol, however, was exceptionally good (sorry to the banana splitters) because the man who made it adds pulut into the cendol and there's just something about the gula melaka he adds...

The first night of the fair was rather messy. It rained heavily that night and the grounds were muddy, no thanks to those people who laid sand on the ground BEFORE the rain. This is the first time I have washed my shoes twice in a week. The next day, and the next, I wore slippers. I didn't bring my camera with me, so all I had was my phone to do the job...and since it was at night, there weren't any good pictures... but this was how the ground looked like on the first night...

Mud bath, anyone?

Sunday was the convocation day, and one of our seniors was graduating. After church, we went to the Chancellor's Hall to greet her. And then I saw...

Wah....

Awww...

Double Aww....

I stared at the beautiful CH's roof that looks through to the sky and realized something:

5 years to go.

Anyway, later in the evening that day was also the last day of the Convofair. Which means we have to sell as much of our products as possible. It rained again, but nothing could drench our spirits of selling two hundred banana splits! So, at the top of our lungs, we yelled "BANANA SPLITS WITH EXTRA BANANAS! SAME PRICE!!!" over and over again. In case you're wondering what's with the extra bananas, we had excess supply. So we had to get rid of them as well. We couldn't consume anymore bananas because we have already gone bananas ourselves. There was a point where we reached no. 198...2 more to go! So this time, we hunt table to table asking the students if they wanted any banana(x2)splits. When one of them agreed, without hesitation we asked "Dua ya???" When she nodded, we were overjoyed! Finally! We did it! When I think back it's quite crazy to go all out just to sell ice cream with bananas but then again, it was for pure fun! At the end of the day us comittee members decided to treat ourselves with free banana splits, but I didn't stay on because I was all tired and drenched. I just wanted a good bath, let my hair dry and go to sleep.

But I'm sure the banana split was good though.

It had to be.

Lost and Found.

2006-08-20T23:47:00.000+08:00

I forgot to update. My "missing" t-shirt is back. On a different hanger. And I think it shrunk a little. Or maybe I got fatter. Don't know-lah.

Rock4HOPE

2006-08-19T10:47:00.000+08:00

Has anyone heard of Yvonne Foong? This aspiring young writer has been featured in the papers for a number of times and she often contribute articles as well. What makes her so special is her extremely positive outlook on life. For those who do not know who she really is, Yvonne Foong is actually a 20 year old who is diagnosed with a genetic disorder that causes tumors to grow in her brain, spine and and along peripheral nerves (saraf peri-peri).

Rock4HOPE is a charity concert to raise funds so that she would be able to remove a particular tumor in her brain that causes deafness, something Yvonne is currently experiencing.

This young lady's zest for life is soooo inspiring that I can't help but promote her charity concert in here. Really, how many 20 year olds do you see that would fight so hard for life (and in such a positive manner too!) ? Young people nowadays think about suicide, dab in drugs, alcohol, end up falling into depression...the list goes on. If you have a minute or two, just visit Yvonne Foong's blog and see what she does with the time she has and fights for. I was quite ashamed of myself when I read about her.

Oh, more importantly, drop by the Rock4HOPE webpage and see what goodness you can do today!

God bless you Yvonne.

Shut Up and Listen.

2006-08-14T15:05:00.000+08:00

Do you always hear two voices instead of one when someone is talking to you? No, I'm not approaching the topic of schizophrenia here, but more of the busy-body side if you. For instance, when one is saying something to you, perhaps voicing out and opinion, there's a little voice in your head shouting out its own opinions sometimes agreeing though most of the time disagreeing and making your own stand of what is right. That other voice is actually you.

Being typical human beings we have something other living things don't. We have a voice. And sometimes, it doesn't shut up. When a friend is down and needs a caring ear, we often start to shoot advice and encouragement thinking that those would help our poor little friend. In a typical situation we would start to tell that poor fella what he or she is doing is wrong and we start suggesting various "solutions" without realising the root of the problem. I mean, hey, a problem is a problem right? A problem needs to be solved, and that's what we are trying to do. For those who are good at counselling, perhaps suggesting solutions would be easy for you - but they not necessarily need to be right. And what about those who have no clue at all of what is happening but tries to be helpful anyway?

Have you often encountered the certain part of the "listening" session when your friend starts to say "But..." BUT you never hear the other end of the sentence because you're too busy finishing your own? I'm good at that.

Uh before you continue to read on, please do not compare this situation to a pastor or a priest or some holy person. When one seeks them, he or she initially wants some advice. Really. It's their job anyway.

'Listening is the key to effective communication.' I think that's probably the topic of the century. Everyone preaches about it but nobody walks the walk. Why? Because they have to get their message across as well. It's a conjested world of communication out there.

A couple of my friends have been experiencing some problems lately. When one of them approached me, I did what everybody did - I spoke my way through and put my point across as though I'm some great philosopher. I thought that would work, but I soon found out that a few days later, my friend was still wallowing in self-pity because he didn't really get to express what he really felt. So, having 0.01% of an engineer's mind, I started to work out the root of the problem. And I realised something: The problem was his. Not mine. He just wanted me to listen. I should have actually done that. Just that. He didn't ask for any advice. As tempting as it may be, I should have just kept my mouth shut. I took that theory as a hypothesis (cheh wah.. :-P) , and tried it out on the other friend who approached me after that. Snap! It worked like a miracle.

So I've listed down some of the do's and don'ts when someone troubled approaches you.

When they say "Listen, I've got a problem..."
...you listen to their problems. Full stop.

When they ask for advice...
..don't tell them what they have done wrong. Tell them what you think is right. Your purpose is to make that person feel better. Stick to it. They will realise their mistakes (if they have any) eventually.

When they start to blow things out of proportion...
...let them. People who have problems like to think they have PROBLEMS, especially if that particular problem is new to them. Don't start to say "Your problem is not as big as you think it is." Worse, don't be a kiasu and go "You think you have problems? Wait till you hear mine!" Let them finish their 'scene' and give them appropriate advice if they ask for any and only if you know any. Again, when everything is resolved, they will eventually realise how much they overreacted. They NEED those moments. Like it or not, we all have to learn the hard way.

When they start to cry in front of you...
...DON'T LAUGH! (Lily Chong, I dedicate this to you) No matter how much of a sadist you are and your inner self is rolling on the floor laughing in tears, DON'T. I think I don't have to state why-lah. Common sense, right? What I actually want to say is, don't pretend to cry with them. I know the saying "Friends will laugh and cry with you" but if you really don't feel like crying along don't try to. Really. It sucks. When someone approaches you for advice doesn't mean they are stupid. Faking a cry only insults them. And obviously things get worse after that. You can feel for them, you just don't have to go all out to show them that. Offer them some Kleenex and a back rub... that helps.

When you have nothing appropriate to say...
...don't say anything. Another full stop.

This is just a POV from a teen who likes to think she has learnt something. But hey, it's your call.

As my hypothesis turned into a conclusion, I went back to that friend of mine who still needed someone to turn to.

This time, I just shut up and listened.

Oh, just an additional point:

It helps to throw in a bear hug too if you can. A wise friend told me that. :-)

A.L.I. Where Are You?

2006-08-14T10:38:00.000+08:00

Woke up this morning just to find out that someone has stolen my favourite A.L.I. (Action Lad Incorperated) black t-shirt. I don't know whether to laugh or cry. You see, the culprit took the t-shirt and left the hanger and pegs behind. I mean, to do the job clean, every form of evidence should be wiped out right? Or, perhaps take advantage of my poor memory and make me believe that I hadn't washed that t-shirt and I just simply cannot find it. The first feeling I had was anger. I mean, I'm staying at a GIRL'S dormitory and aren't girls supposed to be more honest in some ways? I get complaints from my guy friends that they keep losing their underwear but that is rather understandable. It's like their...nature or something. I had the initial plan of knocking the doors of room to room and ask whether anyone has "accidentally" taken my t-shirt. But I can't because... 1, I do not use the same type of hanger anyone in the dorm does. 2, Who in their right mind would say, "Oh, here's your t-shirt. Wonder how it got here..." 3, That fella left the hanger there. 4, That fella left the hanger there. and 5, Simply because that person left the hanger there.

Then I thought of calling Grissom from CSI or something or even my little cousin from Penang who knows so much about forensics to come over and detect some finger prints, match its DNA or something to some of the hair that has fallen on the ground...you know, the works.

I can see the reason why anyone would want that t-shirt. 1, It's branded, but I don't think that's the main reason because I realised that a lot of them here don't even know what a VAIO is...(sad, I know) and 2, it's a pretty good looking t-shirt. It has a black background, and a bunch of color tv sets on the front, giving it a very unique and colorful look. I like buying weird t-shirts - maybe I should stop doing that...

As I stood at the drying area looking at the empty hanger dangling from side to side I just smiled to myself. Perhaps that person terribly needed something to wear. Or that poor thing doesn't have a conscience to tell her what is right and wrong. I started to recall the phrase "I was angry because I had no shoes to wear...until I came along a person with no feet." I thank God for blessing me with a complete body (although on the plump side) and granting me many other things that others may not be so fortunate to receive. For instance, I've got a super-cool mom who would buy me all these unique t-shirts even though from time to time she thinks I may have too many of them. Maybe that person who took my t-shirt was suddenly overwhelmed by the fact that her parents aren't around in campus to supervise what she wears, and this was probably her chance of finally owning one cool t-shirt.

Count your blessings, not your problems. I suppose the person who took my t-shirt needed it more than I do. I like to think that she needed it to rescue someone or something. :)

Dear T-Shirt Thief With Taste,

Don't worry, you can keep the t-shirt. I hope you are going to enjoy wearing it as much as I did. Please do not iron the part with the imprints. Oh, I hope this satisfies your "need" of having a nice t-shirt like mine. Please do not take any more of our t-shirts. Let this be the first and the last because Petronas doesn't cover "clothes expenses" in our scholarship. Thank you and God bless. :)

From, Owner of the Cool A.L.I. T-shirt

On the more "gaya" side of things, my friends and I have been taking walks at the Academic Complex at night and took some really cool photos. The place is simply gorgeous during the night.

Pocket D

One of the Academic Complex (blur I know...sorry.)
Christon, Jia Lin and Renae at the park
Bridging Friendship
At the Chancellor's Hall ('gaya' right?) with Christon, Han Pin, and Jia Lin.
Another one ...(at this point the security personnel was getting a bit impatient because the guys were wearing shorts... and there was a CCTV pointing directly at us.)

At the "dark" side of the V5 Cafe...I just love the contrast...Oh, that's a pond in front of us btw.)

Yep yep, been doing some snooping around lately. We have grown accustommed to taking walks and 100Plus breaks. Christon and I have developed a new fetish for 100Plus and Ribena...don't know why. But I enjoy taking walks. It refreshes the mind and I feel more awake and alert when I do my work. My friends and I will talk about all sorts of things and some of them actually makes you think. Jia Lin said when you walk with your friends and have brief conversations itfprges relationships and opens doors to many secrets too. From that point the rest of us began shutting our "mental doors" to poor Jia Lin. But actually what she said is true. We got to know each other better and it was like a sharing moment for us - good or bad ones.

But remember, (I can imagine Jia Lin going.. "Children...") you've got to finish your homework first before you go out to play. :-)

I.Got.Tagged.

2006-08-11T17:52:00.000+08:00

So so sorry Jian... I didn't know you tagged me! Your font so small... not good for "old people" like me-lah... And the thing is, you tagged me TWICE! Erm.. please give me the benefit of doubt because I only have time (and energy) to do one... okay?

Here goes:

1.Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, and find line 4
..... the saving of the Olympic Games, which nearly came to an end in 1984.

2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you can.
The book where that line came from.

3. What is the last thing you watched on TV?
A 'Breeze' commercial that was played in the cafeteria. You know the one where Ronaldinho speaks Malay?

4. Without looking, guess what time it is:
6.00 p.m? Cos my stomach is growling.

5. Now look at the clock. What is the actual time?
5.45 p.m.

6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?
The ceiling fan.

7. When did you last step outside? What were you doing?
About an hour ago. In the Chemistry lab, printing English drama scripts.

8. Before you started this survey, what did you look at?
The Blogger sign-in page.

9. What are you wearing?
A dress. (Alter-ego faints) Ok ok.. a blue t-shirt. With bottom and everything else-lah...

10. Did you dream last night?
Er...I think so. Oh yes, I did.

11. When did you last laugh?
Just an hour ago in the lab. Had to - one of the technicians was trying to tell a joke.

12. What is on the walls of the room you are in?
This is tough. My IKEA noticeboard, my beautiful works-of-art, the sandwich comment card that I had during orientation, the meaningful scroll-like thing my mom gave to me, some unremovable double sided tape, some hooks, my internet port, the built-in shelf and... oh. No more already.

13. Seen anything weird lately?
My reflection.

14. What is the last film you saw?
Pirates of The Carribean 2

15. If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy?
I'd give 90% to charity. Then there will be no more "Flag Day" people loafing around asking for money and wasting paper with their "free" mini-tokens. Plus, too much money brings a lot of stress-lah.

16. Tell me something about you that I don't know:
I just signed-up for hip hop classes. Shut up.

17. If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?
I'd change the thought of a parent who is about to leave his/her child. There's just too many unwanted children in this world.

18. Do you like to dance?
I like...but that doesn't mean I can...

19. George Bush:
Anak lelaki George HW Bush

20. Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?
Can't imagine...

21. Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him?
Still can't imagine...

22. Would you ever consider living abroad?
Why not?

Ok.

Finish.

Not Too Far From Here

2006-08-04T07:59:00.000+08:00

Discovered this poem on the Internet a couple of days ago. Thought I'd post it as a food for thought as the start of the day.

Not Too Far From Here

Somebody's down to their last dime,
Somebody's running out of time,
Not too far from here.

Somebody's got nowhere else to go,
Somebody needs a little hope,
Not too far from here.

And I may not know his name,
But I'm praying just the same,
That you use me Lord to wipe away the tears,
Cause somebody's crying not too far from here.

-Author Unknown-

Good morning :)

The UFO Building (Part Two)

2006-07-31T21:12:00.000+08:00

Someone asked me, "How is the living condition like over there?"

I suppose that is the main question everyone wants the answer to.

Well, for us foundation students we are placed in Village 2, and as I have mentioned before, we upgrade as we move along in our studies. But nothing is certain, you may move to another village after one sem or you can probably be stuck in the same village for the next two years.

But living in Village 2 isn't that bad, compared to those staying in Propana (the old village 5). In every village there is a cafe that sells western and malay food at reasonable prices. The food is not bad, although the western dishes are a little bit on the salty side. On average you spend about RM4.00 per meal, and if you're thrifty or simply stingy (like me) and you save on drinks by drinking your own boiled water or their "ais kosong" which is free, then it's about RM3.00-RM3.50 a meal. Most of the students here are sponsored by Petronas, and we are given RM500 a month as allowance. So, if you're a big eater or if you're a person who prefers having breakfast made by someone else, even if you spend about RM10 a day on food, the money provided is still more than enough.

And where to get your sundry goods and junk food? There are 3 minimarts here that sell almost everything, from plastic spoons to even headphones! They also provide photocopy services and usually we buy our lecture notes from the stated minimarts. Of course, if you have your own printer then it is even more convenient as the lecture notes can be found in our e-learning system.

Did I hear someone asking about the Internet? Well, although you can't use MSN Messenger, you can actually chat via Y!Messenger. And the good news i s, Y!Messenger now allows you to chat with others using Windows Live. So all is not lost. Be sure to install Y!Messenger from home though, because you're not allowed to install any of these IM's from the port here. The speed is okay, to download attachments it takes about 15kb/s and above... not too slow. If you urgently, seriously, really need to download something big and you need it fast, then just pop into any of the labs and use any of the computers there, it's much faster. Oh and be sure to bring your DSL cable if you plan to us e internet in your room because all they provide you is the port. And if you really need to chat via MSN Messenger, you can always hop to the library and chat via the MSN Web Messenger. And the best part of all these is that... IT'S FREE.

The sports complex provides good sporting facilities, with the badminton court being the most popular one. Which reminds me, I need to get my tennis racquet and bastketball here...

And laundry? Certain parts of Village2 (like my area) do not h ave any washing machines. And for those parts that do, it costs RM2.00 (4 x 50 cents coins) per wash. Actually, if you wash your clothes everyday it's not really a pain to do so, unless you let your dirty clothes pile up. It's cheaper too. For myself, I wash my clothes every morning before I go to class - it actually takes the drowsiness away and you're more awake for class.

I did mention in my previous post that I'll be putting up more photos, there are some with poorer quality because I snapped them with my good ol' SE K700i.

The greener side of campus...

The corridors of the new academic complex

In one of the tutorial classes

The labs and tutorials are carried in the academic complex, with 20 over blocks with really good facilities. You have to wear lab coats and lab goggles for your lab sessions, and I tell you, the first time I entered the lab I felt like a "budak kampung" entering some "bandar". I wanted to snap photos of the interior but the demonstrator gave me a look that I have to keep my camera into my bag. Oh well, come see for yourself if you want to know.

For lectures, however, they are conducted in both the new blocks and the old blocks. The new block, we call it Pocket D, looks like a mini cinema. But somehow I still can't get over the fact that the seats are all conjoined and that when someone in the middle wants to go to the loo, everyone has to do a "guard of honor" act for that person to go - and also when he comes back. It's also too comfortable because of the dim lights and cold temperature - makes you go back into lalaland. The old block (Block K), however, is brighter and has more legspace. You don't have to get up just because someone else wants to and it's easier to consentrate. So you see, new things does not necessarily mean better...

Lecture theatre in Pocket D

Lecture theatre in Block K

Oh, in case you're wondering how the old blocks look like from the outside...

...not too bad right?

Okay, now let's get to the accommodation part.

My roomie and me on 1st day...

My room BEFORE.... ....my room AFTER.

>>

The people who made living here much more enjoyable...

Sweetie Tania and yours truly... Having a puff with fellow Penangite Renae...

Another one with Jia Lin...my lil girl... :P And the four Mechi sisters... :))

So....all in all...

Life in UTP ROCKS!