Of Idols and Dirty Shames

I have nothing interesting to update my blog with. Thought I could give my two cents worth on the mock interview for Cambridge I had, but since then it was an incredibly big waste of time, I rather not discuss it here and waste your time as well.

Well, Malaysian Idol is down to its final three. About time too as I have followed the ups and downs of the entire first season and made my fair share of criticisms and comments. It is kinda hard not to compare Malaysian Idol with the much-hyped American Idol, especially since American Idol is now symbolic to America the same way nasi lemak is symbolic to Malaysia, Swiss cheese to Switzerland and French Fries to France. (get the drift?) I noticed that the two finalists - Jac and Dina reminded me vaguely on the two finalists of American Idol - Fantasia Barrino and Diana DeGarmo, just a tad bit weaker. On one side, you have the incredibly sassy Jac who has been in the final two a couple of times. On the other hand, you have the vocally-strong Dina who can belt out tough numbers at the top of her lungs. Well, Fantasia won anyhow. Lets see if history will repeat itself.

I am being very bi-assed myself as I hope those two do cut it as the final two and not the oh-so-cute Vick who I believe has garner a female-voting base for himself. Wonder what girls see in him. Hmm... Anyhow, I am glad that Andrew did not make it through. After weeks of mundane performances, I have to say that I was glad to see him go. (No offence, bro. But when you sing, it gives me ample time to go to the toilet and back) For those who don't know what I am talking about, check this site out! It contains everything, including a forum where you can vent your pent-out feelings on certain judges, contestants and hosts. And believe me, some judges were insulted like there was no tomorrow. They are THAT bad.

By the way, one of the former Idols, Zamil has a blog on his own too. In it, he gives his opinion on the entire experience. It is a good read, especially if you want a different perspective on the whole Idol phenomena.

Oh yeah, watch the trailer of this movie - A Dirty Shame. Very, very funny. Would have wanted to watch it, but I have a feeling that it will be censored by the Malaysian government, for uhm... inappropriate silicon lodgements. Darn! What a shame!

Current music: Elton John's Your Song

Of Uber-Crappy Slang

Dieded (die-ded, verb, past tense of dead, only applies to resurrection, after-life and overdose of vampire slayers) As my friend said, Buffy died and then dieded, then died then dieded, then died then dieded again and now she is finally dead! (Bout time too, sheesh!) It is particularly fun to use it to confuse friends who actually thought there was such a thing as double past tenses. And fun too when it comes to basketball (Dieded lah woay!)

For further usage of the word, check out Chong's Collaboratively Concise Crap

Current Quote: There are two things which are infinite in the world - the universe and human intelligence, but I am not so sure about the former.

Guess who said that? And mind, it wasn't me! =)

Current Music: Shrek OST's Hallelujah

Of Empty Wallets and Dashed Hopes

My wallet is crying. September is the month when most people celebrate their birthdays. While they are celebrating their coming-of-age, I, however, am moaning the lack of moolah in my wallet. Was there really a baby boom in September 1985, or is it just merely coincidence that I have a lot of Virgos and Librans as friends? I dunno, but after a steamboat on Thursday and Chillis on Friday, I still have to buy some presents for them. Sigh. I shouldn't be complaining though. Especially since mine is around the corner. =) *hint* A mobile phone would be nice *hint* (Get it?)

Which brings me to managing money. I so suck at this. Which makes it worse since that I am going to be a potential actuary in the future. Well, so long as more money is coming to me than going out, I couldn't care less. However, I think that I am spending way more than I should have on a lot of things. Food, mostly. And food and food and food. Someimes a movie or two. Then food again. I eat. A lot. So most of the money which I should possess lie in my stomach. Whats that about turning liabilities into assets? My asset seems to be turning into a liability. Damn.

I guess I have to live with it. Part of the process of being independent. Independence rocks, only if you have more money.

Oh yeah, BoNdI sent me a postcard from her almost-Utopia. For those wondering, she is the 'stranger' mentioned in the post below. I heard she is having a great time there though. Enjoy!

Current Music: Scorpions' Send Me An Angel

Of Three Wishes

What will you wish for if you were given three wishes, and you can't wish for any more wishes? And no cheating tactics like wishing for everything and anything under the sun. Me and a 'stranger' had a lively discussion, much to the distress of all the librarians and students who wanted to study, about this popular Aladdin topic:

Her Wish #1: I wish to eat everything I want to eat without growing horizontally. (Her words, not mine!)

My Wish #1: I wish to be a stand-up comedian, or a clown, just to make people laugh. (She agreed I do a good job at it too =) )

Her Wish #2: I wish to be stranded on an island, being the only girl, with a lot of gorgeous guys to fulfil my whims and fancies. My personal Utopia. (Eyes glazed over)

I agreed that it was a very good wish. Dreams, fantasies, ... until ...

My Wish #2: I wish all the guys in the world are gay, except me! So, I will be left with a world full of straight girls and ME! Hahahaha...

As all the men on her island are now gay. Eyes unglazed. Dreams shattered. Bubble burst. Paradise gone. Uh oh. Sorry... =) (She got 'tak puas' with me for spoiling her wish and started whining) Haha. Too bad.

Her Wish #3: I wish for all the knowledge in the world! (I think, after that whole fiasco, she didn't dare asking for something I can counter)

So, I wished for a solar-powered laptop.

'What for?' she asked. I replied:'So I can play games with... '. 'You filthy bugger...' she exclaimed. Bursts of laughter followed as well as a reprimand by our very-zealous librarian. Well, what can I say? I am human, after all.

Side note: Some parts have been personally edited, so as not to turn this blog into an 18-SX rated one. Not that it matters much though. =)

Current Music: Bryan Adam's Heaven

Of Changes and A Farewell

This will be a tribute to Pak Mun, who is a good friend, who will be leaving for the University of Sheffield today, to pursue his intended course of Engineering. I wish him all the best. Haha. It seems like I am writing an obituary for him. He is so going to kill me for this. But then again, today is September 11. Hmm.... (Touch wood, man!)

Went for a farewell part of sorts for him last night. At a place which offers steamboat for RM 17 per head. All-you-can-eat! And being the sort who lives by the adage 'Live to eat, not eat to live', we practically cleaned up the whole place of food. It was a gang of 19 or so people, most of them being people I have known since high-school. We took up three tables in all! It was a blast!

From making stupid jokes to trying to marinate the chicken for the hot plate with watermelon we took from the fruits section to snatching food from other people's hard-earned cooking to taking photos which ususally turned up to be ONLY a part of the head or a part of the body, we drew the attention of all the patrons and waiters of that restaurant. Really missed that gang. Complete wackiness and idiocrity that only my group can produce. Now you know where all my crap comes from. =)

When it finally dawned on us that our group is getting smaller by the minute. Some have already left for America, India, Indonesia and now the UK. And suprisingly, none of us have changed much, even though we have expected ourselves to do so after two years and so. I myself, thought I did. Maybe we all did, but outwardly, we still displayed the same kind of aura that brought us together. That being said, I realised that no matter how much your friends change, they will still remain the same wacko bunch you have known before. Nothing can change that.

Well, after Pak Mun is gone, I doubt there will be much basketball already as he was always the Ringmaster who brought us all together. It already happened this morning, when Tayallen woke me up groggily from my sleep to wonder what happened. Apparently, they went out to eat Cendol. Sigh. Some things just won't change.

To Soo, all the best in the UK! Hope to see you there next year if I join you. Then you can introduce me to all the girls you have met and let me stay over at your house which I hope you would have rented by then! After all, what are friends for? =)

Current Music: Beauty and the Beast Soundtrack's Home

Of Too Much Public Transport

You know when you have been taking too many cabs lately when:

(a) the cab driver knows where you stay without even mentioning it to him. Apparently, he had sent me home THREE times already!

(b) cab drivers honk at you because they recognise you yesterday or the day before and were probably wondering if you want a lift today too.

(c) your knowledge of Cantonese is only limited to directions

(d) you know when a cab driver is over-charging you, undercharging you, which colour cab has better service, which has the radio, which drivers are fun, which aren't, etc.

This is just me, being to lazy to take the bus!

Current Music: Counting Crows' Big Yellow Taxi (what else?)

Of Freedom and Business Opportunities Ringing

FREEDOM!

After long hours spent going through my application papers again and again and again, it is finally done. Elation sets in as I sent in the last of my application papers for Cambridge today. And wow, what a feeling it was! It was like a heavy burden was lifted from my shoulders. The whole weight of the world feels lighter today. And I am happy! =) Reality timer checks in: AS is in five weeks. But I don't care! For now, I just want to bask in my supposed resting period, listening to my music and catching up on my reading. Freedom is exhilarating

Was helping my mum type out examination questions for my former's school Form 4 Year End Examination. Now, with the new syllabus, Math Paper 1 is now in MCQ form! Now, I found another reason to disregard our Malaysian Education system, apart from the fact that Math in MCQ form is just ridiculous. I mean, the probability of getting the answer correct is 1 out of 4. And they call it a Maths paper! Anyway, the other reason I dislike the new format (hate is too strong a word!) is that I have to spend time typing out 40 questions including the answers where 3 out of them are wrong! I hate typing wrong answers. The last time, I just had to type out the questions and let it be. Now, thanks to the new system, I find myself typing out ALL the supposed answers. Waste of time, waste of space, and a bit lack of intelligence wanting, if you ask me. Sigh. Well, at least I can practice my four-finger typing, and not the usual one-finger one.

Oh yeah, I was thinking about starting a business of helping people write their Personal Statements. Apparently, my friends think that I should do so, having read mine and such. It is a good idea too, considering that I can make some moolah while honing my creative writing skills. So, for all those who want their PS written by yours truly, feel free to find me. Fees can be negotiated. Who knows, I might even change my career from an actuary to a novellist in the future. That is a thought!

Current Music: Kenny Roger's Through The Years

Of Dim Goddesses and Psycho Kings

The first beauty pageant was held on Mount Olympus between Hera (Queen of Gods), Athena (Goddess of Wisdom) and Aphrodite (Goddess of Love). Now, in those days, they didn't have the benefit of having Ronan Keating as their host or tough Q & A sessions or swimwear parades (sigh). Thus, they enlisted the aid of a young man to decide who the winner was. Now, these goddesses weren't exactly bright. They chose a human mortal to decide who the winner was, and we all know that humans are so fickle-minded, especially when it comes to beauty contests. So, while this young lad had the opportunity to goggle at heavenly bodies, the rest of us lesser mortals have to settle with the tube, goggling too, but to a lesser degree. Lucky bugger!

Well, these goddesses weren't exactly playing fair either. Apparently, bribing was part of the competition. So, Hera offered him power, Athena offered him victory in all battles and Aphrodite offered him the love of the most beautiful woman. And he, being the hot-blooded man he was, chose Aphrodite. Well, duh! Who wouldn't? And the goddess of love won the first-ever beauty contest. The prize? A golden apple. Now why would anyone want a golden apple? Not edible, boring and just a plain waste of paperweight material. Well, I didn't say they were sensible.

Oh, by the way, the name of the young man: Paris

His reward: Helen of Troy

The result: The Trojan War

Sigh. The concept of 'Make love, not war' suddenly doesn't apply. More like ' Make love AND war'.

We Malaysians have our own love story too. Watched Puteri Gunung Ledang just now with a friend. Not a bad watch, considering we laughed at all the wrong parts in the show. I can still feel the stares at the back of my head. Haha. Now I know why people talked so weirdly in the past. It is just to torture us, the people in the present, with mundane Sastera. There were some illogical scenes too, but it was a good effort nonetheless. Will recommend it to anyone who is interested in Sastera, super powers (they put X-Men to shame!), old forms of transport, bad dancing, psycho kings, sappy love stories and the ways to avoid any form of kissing even with VERY close contact.

Now, isn't love amazing?