Muses of a Wise-Cracking Donkey

Hope

2007-02-23T22:21:00.000+08:00

Happy Chinese New Year, people!

Went to Salzburg for three days during UCL Reading Week and missed classes and one quiz T.T. Salzburg was kinda old for me. Would have preferred to go there when it is Spring when I can at least see the places of the Sound of Music in its true beauty. But at least the company made up for it. =D For those who do not know, Salzburg is in Austria. I know, I thought it was in Germany to begin with.

I want to plan a trip to Amsterdam, but my holidays are clashing with those from other unis. So hard to plan. Am already considering ditching the plan and just follow Khon to Germany for a few days. At least I have a local there to help me get along. Or to Isle of Skye with Bulat and ZhiXin. At least my summer hols are kinda set. A cruise to the Greek Isles anyone ? =)

Speaking of Bulat, I am so happy for her for getting what she wanted. She, of all people is the only person who I would like to see get an internship more than I do. And yes, I still think you have the rare ability to always get what you want, whether through hard work or sheer luck. Whatever works works. Now I know for a fact that she will accompany me during summer. =D And she will belanja me makan =D And that she will pray for me as well.. =D =D

The Year of the Boar/Pig is going to be a good one. Already I have won money gambling. And I played a successful game of Mafia where I killed of my two partners first before surviving to the end. Here's to a good year ahead, to my family, friends and me. =D

Just Maybe

2007-01-28T18:09:00.000+08:00

1 month since I last blogged. I don't know, but I think the blogging bug has left me. Or that I am currently so busy, which is not suprising, because I am constantly busy.

Well, here I am again, wondering where to start and just to please some of my blogviewers who have been stalking this very existence (you know who you are =P).

Its funny how much you notice how busy you are when you aren't actually, especially when you spend half the day just lazing away. I don't really know how to explain this, I just feel busy no matter what I do.

Maybe its the number of things lying ahead of me: an interview, clubbing event, a play, paintballing, two Malaysian nights, trip to Salzburg, and Chinese New Year in the next 3 weeks!!!

Maybe its because this term is getting tougher and not to mention, more boring. Seriously, I miss Linda Wolstenholme!

Maybe its just that everyone seems more relaxed relatively to me.

Maybe its just that I don't have the mood to do anything anymore.

And just maybe, I realised, that being busy can never prevent yourself from thinking of stuff that hurts you most.

Not That Bad

2006-12-08T04:04:00.000+08:00

You know what? I thoroughly enjoyed this term. The thing is: I have always been venting and venting endlessly on my blog because it was easier to let loose. So, in case you are wondering that this is not me, high on drugs or anything. This is just me, telling the other side of the story.

I enjoyed puking THREE times after drinking a whole lot. OK, maybe enjoyed is too strong a word. It wasn't exactly a good experience, but it beats cleaning up other people's puke anytime. Had 21 shots and looking forward for next year's 22.

I enjoyed this year's lectures. Probability and Statistics is excellent! Too bad we can't get Dr. Wolstenholme next year. And now I currently am enjoying Contingencies. Hopefully next year would be better with 4 new subjects!!!

I enjoyed being President of City University Malaysian Society. Watching CUMS win 3 gold medals in Nottingham games was the highlight. Cheering them on was even better. Meh to all the better universities with more people out there.

I enjoyed 4 musicals so far. Watching Lion King and Stomp again wasn't that great. But Mary Poppins and the best I've ever watched - Avenue Q balances it out. Am planning to watch Wicked in winter.

Am so going to enjoy my winter hols. Going skiing this coming Saturday. Then of to Nottingham for Christmas, and Edinburgh for Hogmanay! Then maybe to Warwick. And I was invited by some of my British mates to go to Hong Kong in January. So tempted, but my pockets are running dry. Was thinking of going somewhere closer. Paris, perhaps?

You see, it hasn't been all that bad.

Today

2006-11-28T17:59:00.000+08:00

The best way of not hurting yourself is by pushing away the pain. I had no choice.

Another Random Rambling

2006-11-07T16:32:00.000+08:00

My life's been rather crazy lately. 7 weeks of university already and I still don't feel like I've learnt anything. Most of the time, I just go to class and nothing gets absorbed. Probably its because I'm really pre-occupied recently, with my society and with personal issues.

Anyway, CUMS contingent to Nottingham Games was a great success. 20% of the gold belongs to us!!! =D No matter what, with our university size and all, I think 20% is an achievement I'm proud of. But was quite sad that I couldn't stay back with my KDU mates, who were having a huge gathering at Nottingham. Missed them, so much.

Also, I am going on a long ski trip on the French Alps in December. Which I can't wait. Have already started threatening to roll Sze Ing down the snow-covered hills just to see whether a huge snowball will form. This is because Adelynn isn't there to begin with.

There is a question I want to ask: Where is the line you have to draw between strongly advising your friend on what you think is right for him and minding your own goddamm business? The truth is: I have no idea. Sometimes I just wished my friends now were more like my old friends. I just do.

Busy Me

2006-10-05T23:48:00.000+08:00

Been so busy, I feel like I am suffocating in my responsibilities.

Somebody save me. Please.

Thorpe Park

2006-09-24T22:29:00.000+08:00

Its almost been one week since I touchdowned in London, and god, it feels like a month. Since I came back, there were just so many things to do, many friends to meet up and many issues cropping up. But you know what, I am so glad I am back.

Went to Thorpe Park with three of my mates. Excellent place! If you like zooming at extremely high speeds, spinning at high velocities and just feeling like you wished you never had lunch. Their main coaster: Stealth, accelerates from 0 to 80 km in 2.4 seconds. The rush was exhilirating. That was actually the first time I went UP in a roller coaster faster than I came down.

They have just some of the coolest coasters ever. Samurai gets you spinning up, down and everywhere, X gives you, get this, an indoor coaster going backwards, Tidal Wave gives you a wave which is as high as a 3 storey building which lands on you.

I'm glad I went there. Kudos to Anna for driving us there and back, to Sukaina for getting soaked on Tidal Wave with me and to Sandeep who was just tagging along.

You guys should have been there.

Random

2006-09-13T14:57:00.000+08:00

Random thoughts:

I can't wait to go back to London. That IS a bad sign i think. Just that I became so indifferent to everything back home. I need to venture out.
My gym experience lasted a world breaking record of 1 day!
I can't fit into my jeans now.
I currently look like an anime character with very very very bad hair day
Whats this new fad of couple blogs? I mean, everywhere I go, I just see them. And they are so mushy and awwwwwwww..... Don't mind me, I'm just jealous. Anyone want to share? (hint)
Why do people appear offline all the time? If you want to appear offline, you might as well just be "Away", right?
I am officially sick of seafood.
I want to go travelling! Just need to find the right people, who has enough money.
I miss London
I miss London
I miss London

Busiest Hols Ever

2006-09-11T09:53:00.000+08:00

Well, my hols is almost over. Its been a busy hols though. I've never kept myself so occupied before. The longest I have gone without anything I have to do (totally relaxed, in some sense) was a record-breaking 1 week!!! Yeap, out of 4 months, I only properly did NOTHING for one week.

Well, lets see, it started with a trip to Italy, then another to Warwick (two days after Italy), then off to work at Wimbledon Tennis Championships (1 day after Warwick) then flew back home and immediately start my internship at Uni.Asia Life (1 week of hols), all with side trips to Melaka, Johor, Port DIckson, Sitiawan and Penang.

The thing is: as I have repeatedly told many people, I get bored easily. I hate not doing anything. In that particular way, I am like Dr. Gregory House, my current idol. I don't know... I just feel like my life means more than just lazing around and doing nothing. Already I am back from a long trip and I am already bored. Sheesh.

And when I get back, I wanted to go to Amsterdam (not enough kaki), Cambodia (not enough kaki) and finally decided on Oxford.

Man, I really need to learn how to enjoy my hols!

I Went To A Gym and All I Got Was Lower Self-Esteem

2006-08-29T09:10:00.000+08:00

I just got a 7-day pass to Celebrity Fitness, (no) thanks to Dania. And me, being a lover of free stuff and all things free, went to give it a try. I am not really a gym person, I don't like the of feel the lack of adrenaline as compared to doing sports.

My first impression of that entire gym was that it was BLODDY HUGE. And all the machines that were there consists of the usual treadmills and bicycles and some unconventional ones: like a butt machine (which I promptly tried for a firmer and toner gluteous maximus). And they have receptionists, a sauna, a yoga and pilates room, and a group exercise room. Maybe its just me, but the only gym which I have been to was the Tropicana gym which I snuck into on certain occasions. I think I need more exposure.

And lets not get started on the dressing rooms. My God, how can Malaysians have those kinds of bodies? Bulging muscles and pecs and a six-packed abdomen, I was intimidated - like, seriously intimidated. Have they not even heard of Malaysian food? It is not physically possible in our country! So much for self-esteem.

Was hoping a cute chick trainer would come and teach me how to use the machines, but to no avail. The desperate look just doesn't work anymore. On a side not: I was glad they don't have the rather obscene iGallop there, or I would burst out laughing or smirking (depending on which gender was on it)

I went home with sore and aching muscles.

Celebrity Fitness ought to hire me as their marketing agent. Product placements, anyone?

Speaking about Coiincidences

2006-08-13T19:51:00.000+08:00

Last Thursday, I went out with my brothers to watch a movie at One Utama. We stopped at Pelita at SS2 to have nasi kandar, mainly because I haven't had nasi kandar yet since I got back. Anyway, I was just there and guess who I bump into just finishing his meal: Mr. Warren a.k.a fishtail. Didn't recognise him at first, but then again, I haven't seen him for ages. Glad you are still well, Mr. Warren.

And then, at 1U itself, while I was queueing up to purchase tickets for Lady in the Water. And Mr. Ananth, of all people, came up to meet me. He was, in fact, purchasing tickets for Click.

And in just one day, I met both of my favourite lecturers of all time. Mr. Ananth - jolly law lecturer who always reminds me to get a girlfriend and Mr. Warren - oyster-eating friendly Moral Educations lecturer cum blogger.

I believe in coiincidences: but this is just creepy.

P/S I am a sudden big fan of We Are Scientists, thanks to my bro.

I Just Heard the Funniest Thing

2006-08-06T21:46:00.000+08:00

Was watching One In A Million, another reality TV show on Malaysian TV making tonnes of money from fanatical people with too much cash to spend.

Anyway, Paul Moss (from Malaysian Idol fame) was making his usual snide comments, with one stating that one of the competitor's clothes look dowdy by saying: " You dress like 50% of the audience here"

And, as always, the audience start booing.

Then Paul Moss gave an excellent retort: "Why are you booing me for? I just complimented half of you."

And in an unusual way, he made my day.

One Question

2006-07-21T01:24:00.000+08:00

Is it incredibly stupid of me to wish I was going back early to resit my papers because I don't want to feel left out?

This question is asked with utmost sincerity and with no willingness to gloat.

Working is Overrated

2006-07-10T16:24:00.000+08:00

Working is so overrated.

After two weeks of manual labour (and I do mean manual LABOUR), i have finally come to the conclusion that hard work is not for me.I hate standing around and doing nothing, but opening doors for other people. I mean, now I really respect other security guys. I can never ever do your job. You guys are the best. I sincerely salute you for your patience.

After suffering quitely under the dictatorship of my ruthless corporation, I have to admit the best part of this entire thing was not the tennis (I got so sick of it after the first week) but the many colleagues I met here who suffered and survived the entire journey with me. Actually come to think of it, maybe they suffered more due to me and my idleness. =) And with that, I too, salute you guys!

I am so sick of tennis!

PS: I got some autographs, btw. =)

I like this poem

2006-06-17T02:55:00.000+08:00

Invictus
William Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Warwick!

2006-06-15T05:36:00.000+08:00

Currently at Warwick, resting, relaxing and basically enjoying life exactly 1 month before I go back!!! =)

Actually. for a better account of what I did in Warwick, just visit Adelynn's blog. She has much better description skills than I will ever have.

The only thing I want to say is no matter how beautiful Warwick is, with all its ducks and geese and swans and worms and slugs and Adelynn Loo, I still like London more. Heh.

Maybe I'm just too used to it already. There was once I went to Coventry City Centre at 6pm on a Sunday and there were about 10 people there. Only.

I think I like crowds more. And cars. And pollution. I like nature, don't get me wrong, but only to a certain extent.

I guess the part of being in Warwick is having Adelynn's company for 9 days - which is excellent. And to eat enough food to feed a small family.

Actually, I should just list down the amount of food we ate:-
In the past four days, we sapu

Chicken curry (2 days worth)
Chilli prawns
Fish with Kunyit
Spring Onions Ginger Beef
Half a Duck
Nando's Chicken (Half per person)
Carbonara
Vegetables enough to feed a small country (think Vatican City)
Char siew and Roast Pork
Muller corner (My newest craving!)
Fruits (Grapes, strawberries and get this - MANGOSTEEN!)
Packets of Maggi Mee Assam Laksa flavour
Cadbury Chocolates

In the next few days, we shall sapu:

Fish curry
Tomyam
Assam fish
Tandoori Chicken
Porridge
Another bunch of vegetables enough to feed another small country

I AM enjoying myself.

Food and Only Food

2006-05-29T03:44:00.000+08:00

Things I want to eat when i go back:
1. Homecooked:

Porridge
Wild Boar Curry
Black-Eyed Beans Soup
Ginger Chilli Lala
Braised Pork
Drunken Chicken
Sea Coconut
Dumplings
Mooncake
Moist Chocolate Cake :D

2. The world outside:

Bak Kut Teh
Dim Sum
Nasi Lemak + Ayam Masak Merah + Sambal Kerang
Nasi Kandar + Rendang Daging
Rojak + Cendol
Laksa!!!!
Apom
Pisang Goreng
Garlic Cheese Naan
Indo Mee
Maggi Mee Goreng Double
Teh O Ais Limau
Char Keuy Teow
Satay Celup
Prawn Mee
TGIF's Mocha Mud Pie (for the saske of it)
ABC

Mum, I hope you are reading this! =D

One more month. I don't think I can last one more month.

(This article may be altered at any possible moment, when the author gets certain cravings)

Packing after Exams

2006-05-20T19:22:00.000+08:00

Exams are finally over! And the stupid uni system have to make it so that we have to move out 3 days after my exams end. No time to drink, party, and just have good ole fun.

Packing sucks.

Letter of Appointment

2006-05-08T09:50:00.000+08:00

Woohoo!!! I received a provisional offer of appointment as a steward for the Wimbledon Tennis Championships!!!!

And the first thing I did, was to google whether the position I was given: Relief Level 3 Millenium Building is near any of the main matches, or not. Problem is, google doesn't seem to know anything bout tennis matches.

The hours are bad(10:15 to 21:30), the pay rate rather low (5.15 an hour), but the thing is: I finally get to do something which I probably won't be able to do for a long long time.

But I do hope I get to keep the uniform I'm given. It looks really cool - on me.

So my summer holidays in London are pretty much packed with things to do.

And then, back home on the 15th July!

Life rocks - if only the exams would just end.

Inspired!

2006-05-02T08:19:00.000+08:00

Inspired by Adelynn's short-run goals, I would like to share a few of mine too:

-Blog more (Lazy bone - stop twitching)
- Go to a concert (hopefully Goo Goo Dolls, when they come to London again)
- Watch a football match
- Participate in a HOST programme
- Celebrate the New Year in Edinburgh
- PAINTBALL!!!!
- Go to Stonehenge, Loch Ness Lake and Thorpe Park
- Vow to study more
- Drink less (unless someone's paying)
- Work at Wimbledon!
- Travel to
- Germany to visit Khon
- Prague
- Egypt
- Moscow
- Athens
- Istanbul
- Puerto Rico
- US of A
- Japan
- Skiing in France
- Paragliding in Switzerland
- Bungee jumping in New Zealand (or Malaysia, if not enough money)
- Learn and mutilate another language
- Hopefully still have enough money after doing all that

Thats about it. Thanks, Adelynn Loo

Congrats, Ziyan!!!

2006-03-14T19:38:00.000+08:00

I am so proud of you.

I Am So Turning Into A Vampire

2006-03-09T19:59:00.000+08:00

I hate the sun. I despise the sun. I can't believe something so warm and lovely back in Malaysia can turn so cold, metaphorically speaking. The sun in the UK is all light and no heat. Everytime I stay under the sunlight, I always imagine myself swept away in the blazing heat of the Malaysian sun, sweat running all over my body. Here, all I get is the cold weather and hope that the stupid wind won't blow in my direction.

And the sun here is so bright, for some scientific reason I do not have the time to comprehend. So, every morning, I close my curtains, preventing and inch of sunlight from flooding my room, and switch the light on.

If you shoot me with a silver bullet, I'll probably die. Heck, if you shoot me with anything, chances are you will get the same result.

If There Was a Fire Going On, I Will Probably Be The First to Die

2006-03-04T19:41:00.000+08:00

Gone are the days where I will start every new blog entry with "Of..." I just realised how hard it is to add nouns after the word "Of". And to think I wanted to do something like TV series, i.e. Friends which start all their episodes with "The One With..."

So now I will start of all my blog entries with whatever comment I put on my MSN Messenger. =)

I was woken up by a bizzare alarm this morning. Eck. Stupid fire alarm went off. Funny thing was: this was the first time I was ever woken up by the fire alarm. The last time was when someone lit up the heat sensors in my hall, disrupting the entire circuit, and caused my entire floor to not hear any of the alarm. So you have to forgive me when I said I thought it was all a dream.

After I realised that it was the real deal, I hid under my sheets to feign ignorance. Didn't work. Dressed up and walked downstairs. Was met by the icy glare and the telling-off by a fireman outside my door. Best part was, while I was walking down the stairs, the alarm went off. Useless.
Made me dress up for nothing. I was greeted by cheers by the people downstairs.

It figures that the alarm was on for almost 1 hour. And I slept through almost all of it. Best part was, it was the kitchen on my floor which set off the alarm.

Damn. Ini memang "tidur mati".

If there was a fire going on, I will probably be the first to die.

Of CNY

2006-01-31T09:55:00.000+08:00

My first Chinese New Year abroad and it was awesome!!! ('awesome' sounds too American :P)

We made steamboat for reunion dinner. I thought we didn't have enough food but we actually had more than enough. Started cooking since 12 in the afternoon, and we ate from 7 at night to 12. Had two broths - chicken and tomyam. And our selection of food was chicken, salmon, quail's eggs, fu zhu, mushrooms and many many balls. Lol. =) We just talked and talked and laughed and laughed. Reminded me of mamaks back at home.

The next day, we went to Chinatown and Trafalgar Square to check out the crowds. Damn, it was so packed. And the prices were rip offs. I saw 1 stick of chicken satay costs 1 pounds. Had lunch/dinner at Pizza Hut. I missed the firecrackers though.

To all readers, Gong Xi Fa Cai! And as an afterthought, Hong Bao Na Lai.

Of Malaysia's Largest Export

2006-01-26T20:08:00.000+08:00

There was this once, when Darren, proudly showed us Malaysians his newly acquired pirated DVD from the good ole Britain. Without a doubt, it was in good quality - pirated wise. Then, one of my friends spotted right at the upper corner of the DVD cover, written in big letters, in a big glowing star - "RM 5!"

So much for the cracking down of piracy - they are Malaysia's largest export!

(P/s: thanks for all the support i have been receiving when I revived my blog. Its just too much, guys. sniff, sniff. Heh =))

Of Basketballs and Pictionary

2006-01-20T08:42:00.000+08:00

Stupid me slept at 7 pm and woke up at 9 pm. Now I can't sleep at all. Argh.

The start of classes. Really miss hanging out with my classmates - all of them. Its just so fun talking with them and criticising every single lecturer again. Hehe. No matter whichever country you are from, the similiarities are actually much more than the differences.

I had the most depressing lecture of Economics ever. Found out I can only get a maximum of 67 marks. Argh. I can't wait to get my other scores. If I have an average way higher than that score, it is just prove to the testament that that paper is screwed up.

Finally had my first game of basketball. Took me ages for me to get the motivation to walk out in the blistering cold for a nice game. And yes, it was blistering cold. Furthermore, it rained. So I played basketball in the cold, wet weather of winter. Nice. =)

And I can't say how much I LIKE eBay. Bought Pictionary!!!!! And am having a great time playing it with friends. Worthwhile purchase, I must say.

I somewhat enjoyed this week.

Of (Relatively) Cheap Cuisine

2006-01-15T03:16:00.000+08:00

My apettite has grown really really small. I used to be able to gulp down food by the mountains, and now, sometimes, I feel it a chore just to eat some stuff. Granted that I am still the largest eater among the other Malaysians here (even been credited as a bottomless pit), I still feel I am just not eating as much.

Its funny how much you really miss Malaysian food when you don't have loads of it. Funnier thing is: there will always be a discussion on the best Malaysian food at least once a week, thrice when we are feeling particularly hungry. Ah... to have all those food at our disposal (I refuse to mention any for fear of salivating over my keyboard).

I had a discussion on relative prices in the UK just today. The average meal in Malaysia is around RM3. The average meal in the UK is well, 3 pounds. Relatively, they are of the actual same price. BUT, a musical ticket here is roughly 20 pounds, 7 times the price of food here, where as in Malaysia, one ticket will set you aside RM80, about 27 times the price. Comparing both of them, it is actually more worth it to buy expensive stuff here as it is relatively cheaper, i.e just setting you aside a few meals, whereas in Malaysia it is definitely cheaper to eat, eat and well, eat. Now, we know why we Malaysians are a greedy lot. Its not because we just love it, its also because food is so, so, so , so much cheaper there.

As a side note, with this thought in mind, no wonder i've been spending so much time on eBay recently. =)

Of More and More Stress

2006-01-10T05:34:00.000+08:00

Of all the ways to start the end of the holidays (Hey, this sounds familiar), Mr. Karlsson just had to give us ridiculously tough questions for our Introduction to Economics paper, which (I felt) was impossible to solve. Argh. I should have studied. Damn.

That being said, I just realised something. If someone was to Google Mr. Karlsson's or Dr. Gerard's name, will they go to this blog? Haha, free publicity. =)

I just rediscovered Dungeon Siege 2. Ah, killing creeps has never felt so, so, satisfactory. =) Since talking with God has proven boring and stupid, I have to resort to other factors to de-stress.

3 down, 3 more to go! When will it end?

Of Post-Traumatic Stress

2006-01-04T21:25:00.000+08:00

Of all ways to start the end of the holidays, Dr. Gerrard just had to give us ridiculously tough questions for our Probability and Statistics 1 paper, with minimal time to solve. Expected us to find median, quartiles and outliers where the working is oh-so-long and the marks oh-so-little (worth only a meagre 4 marks)

Just did my laundry. I could hand-wash them but I wouldn't. Could just use the extra time to write this entry, study, sleep, watch anime or play Black & White. I dislike exams. All those precious time wasted away doing meaningless stuff. Well, if I was to waste my life doing meaningless stuff, I would at least make sure I LIKE doing those meaningless stuff. =) (just coming up with a reason to support my fetish with sleep and anime)

Come to think of it: studying for exams have taken up almost a quarter of our lives away. To think that we could have used that time to er... have more fun, enjoy our childhood, learn how to scuba dive, improve DoTa skills, scale and name a new mountain, discover some miraculous new drug which can cure whatever disease in the world. See? Exams deprive us from achieving these goals. The world might end up a worse place thanks to exams.

I am just ranting here... This is what we call post-traumatic stress. Lucky for you guys I decide to vent it out on you lot. =)

Of Absence Maketh the Heart Groweth Fonder

2006-01-01T12:26:00.000+08:00

Dear constant patrons who have finally given up on my blog,

Its the year 2006. My name is Zijian, Chong (now more commonly known as ZJ) trying my best in the field of actuarial science at City University, London.

I went through a short (3 months) phase of hibernation, what with all the stuff I went through: I have already watched 6 musicals, travelled to Nottingham, Manchester and Newcastle, and visited almost all the touristy places in London already. All of which I had a blast doing (well most of it anyway)

I have decided to revive my once-dead blog, bringing it back to its original splendour. It is a new year after all. Time for change.

Time for me to change.

Happy New Year,
ZJ

Of Having Loadsa Fun

2005-09-22T12:42:00.000+08:00

Yeah! I'm in London right now, can you believe it? The whole situation is so surreal: waking up in the morning to have a hot shower, walking along London roads, typing on a keyboard in my computer lab where I can't find the correct keys, ... I LOVE it here!!

Can't do much. Most of the interesting stuff I will e-mail it to you guys. Haha. Till then.

Of Seaportians and One Other...

2005-09-13T12:10:00.000+08:00

My high school friends gave me a farewell party of sorts. It turned out to be 'insult Chong Zijian and get away with it' day. Plus the fact that I was a little tipsy, no thanks to my Dad who insisted I drank 'some' beer to get used to the life over at the UK. Darn. So, whenever I try to come up with an insult, my friends would just say: ' Zijian, you're drunk. Don't say anything' Darn again.

So, here's some sort of a tribute to the various eccentricities:

Soo, who wanted to hold my hand for that entire night (?)

Ashwin, who said will whack me up if I come back with an accent.

Kanason, who reminded me constantly how 'drunk' I was

Raynu, who is obssessed with One Tree Hill, so much so, we have to pull her away from the TV to play Pictionary with us.

Dewgem, who formed an anti-DoTa clan, much to the amusement of all the guys there.

Vincent, who gives very sudden hugs

Jonathan, who, damnit, grew taller than me with the help of steroids. =)

Kit Soon, who made me promise to bring him back a chick from the UK.

Calvin, who, at least, made it a point, every few seconds, to remind me that he was there because of me and to insult our E&E Engineer

Joel, who still remains as Joel.

Hock Lye, who will in the future become Arsenal's new Viera or in his words, a rubbish collector.

I want my pictures, damnit. =)

Of Random Thoughts

2005-09-08T10:55:00.000+08:00

I blame my stupid modem. I blame the fact that stealing bandwidth is a crime and that the blogger format that comes up in my laptop turns out in Chinese! Now I am typing out this entry from a local cybercafe charging possibly RM 2.00 bucks an hour with half the keys on the keyboard missing its letters.

I finally got my Visa done! And I have finally received my money! Double joy! Both of which means only two things: I'm tentatively flying on the 16th!

I've been eating lots of mamak lately. To the extent that I am getting sick of it. Too much roti canai can and will get to your nerves. But eventually, it is for a good cause: I am just too lazy to buy frozen ones in London.

I hope I get to meet my friends before I leave. All of them. Some of them are planning some absurd stuff for me, i.e throwing me into a swimming pool or something to that effect.

Random stuff keeps popping in my head. Can't concentrate. Anxiety meet with excitement. Die lor.

I called a friend in New Zealand. Turns out it suffers from a time lag. It takes about 2 seconds before my friend registered my voice and another two for me to register hers. So we basically just had a Lost in Translation via phone lines.

I haven't packed! How?

Of 'I Can't Wait'

2005-08-19T17:00:00.000+08:00

I can't wait to ...

- eat Maggi Mee thrice a day
- feel stupid for wearing longjohns in a building
- complain of the lack of durians, mamaks, home-cooked food ...
- make people regret asking me to cook
- have snowball fights
- pose beside Angelina Jolie's wax figure
- chase ducks in a pond
- speak with a non-Malaysian accent
- try to comprehend other accents
- shiver all the way to the bathroom and back again
- run the annual marathon (Kidding! 42 k is no joke)
- bring too much stuff i won't use and complain again
- compare prices and complain again
- go backpacking
- visit Zhi Xin everyday so that he can take pictures of me everyday =)
- have fun

But most of all, I can't wait to FLY!

Of Crazy, Hazy, Lazy Days of Summer

2005-08-11T16:37:00.000+08:00

The haze is getting to me. I've been at One Utama quite a lot lately, since I have nothing to do until I receive my unconditional offer, and boy, was it hazy as it is inside as it was outside. Parking at the upper floors was worse. Looking out, and you can see one big white wall. Only thing is, it wasn't a mini-Genting Highlands but a health hazard.

Here's the ironic thing: I was driving home last night with Zhuang Li and I saw three people on a motorcycle. One driver and two riding pillion. Get this: the driver was wearing a face-mask and one of his pillion riders was actually SMOKING! You just can't change some people.

And to what I have been doing at One-Utama, I just finished watching three movies on three consecutive days! Camp, Stealth and Bewitched respectively. Now I need something new to do.

Of Elation

2005-08-09T01:35:00.000+08:00

AAAA. Finally, 2 years of studying has its own rewards.

Ha to you, Cambridge and LSE!

Of Moving On

2005-08-05T21:23:00.000+08:00

I have a perfectly good reason why I was missing from cyberspace for the past week or so. No, I haven't wrapped myself tightly in a cocoon made out of silk and meta-morphed into a blood sucking insect. I have just been continuing my road trip south, by which no thanks to stupid Luke who dumped me after he stripped me of whatever material possessions I have when we went to Port Dickson.

Ah.. the good ole south. By which I mean Johor and our Southern neighbour and current nemesis, Singapore. I just came back today, spending around 10 hours on buses, which were pretty effective, and I'm exhausted.

I am expecting a good blog entry this coming Monday. =)

Of A Blog A Day

2005-07-23T12:11:00.000+08:00

I have finally found out a way to spend my time. I have recently accumulated a series of Christopher Pike's Spooksville books (24 of them in all) and am devouring and savouring every last bit of them. I have now finished The Cold People and am now halfway through The Witch's Revenge. I just can't wait for Attack of the Killer Crabs and The Creepy Creature. Cool.

I have also decided to go for swimming. I need the exercise, especially after all the food I have been eating. Besides, broader shoulders and a tanner bod won't hurt at all. =)

Another day has passed.

Of Life As It Is

2005-07-20T20:29:00.000+08:00

I'm tired of checking my blog all the time to find any interesting comments there. I've checked it every morning, noon and night, and, I guess that I have morphed into this boring creature who resorts to reading previous Harry Potter to satiate whatever human part of me which is left.

Warning: I have nothing interesting to add. My life, as it already is, has been utterly consumed by boredom. While others find joy in jogging, learning to cook, and sitting at home and rot, I need the company of my fellow homo sapiens to ensure that I do not do something extremely stupid.

Till then, boredom beckons.

Of Psychotic Notions

2005-07-17T19:47:00.000+08:00

After a recent psycho camp, they deduced from my test answers that I am calm, depressed, active-social, sympathetic(?), subjective, dominant, hostile and indisciplined. I forgot one more, hehe, but then again, the test results also claimed that I am more susceptible to drugs, alchohol and cigarettes, so well, I am currently 'high', forgive me for my inability to memorise every single thing on my results.

Sigh. Suprisingly, my results are true to a certain extent. And now I am going to do an entire dissection of my soul.

1. Calm - Well, I achieved an average low for this, so I am on the verge of being nervous if I stressed myself too much. Which means that I am potentially a nervewreck if you pushed the right buttons.

2. Depressed - OK, this is so damn true. I am depressed, just that I don't show it, doesn't mean I am not. It only means I am a good actor and should be given an Oscar for my Academy-worthy performance.

3. Active-Social - They day which I become anti-social is when I am depressed or to see others peoples reactions when I am bored. I just love being the centre of attention too much to be anti-social. No man is an island.

4. Sympathetic (?) - The question mark is there because, Me? Sympathetic? Seriously? The sky will break open and angels will fly down announcing my name if that happens.

5. Subjective - Emotional and me go hand-in-hand. If emotional was a person, I would marry him/her/it? immediately. Compatibility goes all the way.

6. Dominant - Yeap, I am into S&M. Lol. That was my first thought when I got that. Haha. Nope, it actually means I am assertive, which is a good thing.

7. Hostile - Thats where the sympathetic part doesn't fit in. I give myself credit for being hostile. Its just too much fun to insult people, with good intentions of course. =)

8. Ill-disciplined- Zhuang Li was the one who said that ' All scholars are disciplined people, well, all but Zijian, that is.' That was even before I got my results. Well, I have got quite the reputation to keep, don't I?

So, if you want to know, I have a tendency to commit suicide when or where appropriate, just to seek attention, or because I am to ill-disciplined. I need pscyhiatry help desperately, know any good ones? =)

Of Constant Harrassment and Quiz Spammers

2005-07-09T19:55:00.000+08:00

OK, fine, I know I haven't blogged for a long long long long long time, but there is no need for constant harrassment. OK, maybe a little bit of cajolling is necessary. Mind you, a bit. And I know when I haven't blogged for a long long long long long time when your name gets kicked out from this blogger's Part of My Regular Diet list. I am innocent, I swear.

You know that thing about online quizzes that get passed through the internet. Those which you venture in when you have nothing better to do, then realised halfway through, that you actually have SOMETHING better to do and stop doing it. Usually, those questions lie in the range of:

1. Your name:
2. Favourite colour:
3. If you were a crayon, what colour would you be:
4. Ex-boyfriends/girlfriends:
5. Dumped anyone lately:
6. Sex (how many times):
7. Winter or Summer, Chocolate or Vanilla, one night stand or boring partner
8. Do you like this moronic quiz:
9. Would you send this moronic quiz to your friends so that we can spam their mail:
10. Would any of your sane, mentally stable friends bother reading it:
11. If your friends are deleting your mail, then why bother filling it up, idiot:

OK, I admit I have added some choice words. But hey, it is for a good cause.

Of My Achievement (Or Not!)

2005-07-01T22:42:00.000+08:00

I thought of blogging about my road trip around the Northern Malaysia. Then I came back home and found this letter waiting for me: Congratulations on your achievement!

Well, at first I thought that I was awarded the Nobel Prize or something of that sort until I read even further where it was saying that I graduated from my college and there was a graduation ceremony for it.

Now there is nothing wrong with that until I realised:

1. My A-Levels results will be out on the 17th, 18th or 19th of August and the graduation is on the 13th, which in actual fact makes absolutely no sense at all. We graduate in theory, but not practically.

2. We are graduating the same time as the other students from other courses, whom I hardly know, and whom I have to share my graduation with. Knocks out any sense of achievement, if you ask me.

3. We have to pay RM 200 to graduate. Huh?

4. Who in their right minds even graduate from a pre-uni course?

I will probably be in big trouble if my opinions are found out. But sometimes, I feel that this kind of stuff is rather pointless. I would just prefer to have a gathering with the teachers and just hang out together. In that way, we get to keep our casualness and yet, is a parting in many ways.

Now to see whether my peers are going or not.

Of One Day More!

2005-06-09T17:00:00.001+08:00

One Day More!
Another day, Another destiny.
This Never-Ending Road to University.
These A-Levels is a crime,
I'll never take it a second time,
One Day More.

I will not live through one more day,
How can I live since exams started,
Tomorrow we'll be worlds away,
And yet with you(exams), my nightmare started.

One more day all on all own
One more day, I won't be caring,
What a life I have not known
Thanks to stupid A-Levels.

One Day More!

One day to a new beginning,
Wave the flag of freedom high.
Every man will be a king,
Every man will be a king,
There's a new world for the winning,
There's a new world to be won,

Do you here the people sing?

Tomorrow we'll be far away,
Then we wait for Judgment day

Tomorrow we'll discover what our God in heaven has in store,
One more dawn,
One mroe day,
One Day More!!!!!!!

(As sung (sort-of) to One Day More! of Les Miserables.)

The end of exams is one more day away!

Of Why I Haven't Been Blogging Lately

2005-05-26T20:47:00.000+08:00

Exams SUCK! Period.

Of Innocent Days

2005-04-30T20:16:00.000+08:00

My mum introduced to me the world of books when I was at a young, tender and 'innocent' age. Therefore, it is thus right that I list down my top 10 children's books of all time so that if you guys want to relive your 'innocent' childhood, I recommend these particular books/ book series that captured my young, tender and 'innocent' imagination:

In no particular order:
1. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
(what more can a brat want than a book filled to the brim with chocolate, chocolate and chocolate)

2. The Witches by Roald Dahl
(i like the fact that he put witches as bald, possessing square feet and large nostrils. also another reason was that this book encourages us to be stinky and for a kid, that was a good thing)

3. Animorphs series by K.A. Applegate
(awesome! kids saving the world by turning into animals. the plot is pretty good too. too bad i missed the last book- book 55 out of 55 books but it was a good 54 throughout)

4. The Faraway Tree series by Enid Blyton
(land on top of a very tall tree, which practically grows any fruit imaginable and which houses unique characters like Moon-Face, Silky the Elf (not Legolas-type) and Dame Washalot)

5. The Five Find-Outers series by Enid Blyton
(the book which made fat look cool. main character Fatty is smart, witty, cheery and of course, fat)

6. The Famous Five series by Enid Blyton
(how can i forget the book that got me started into reading. Julian, Dick, George, Anne and Timmy, I owe you guys one!)

7. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
(got you, didn't I? a very good children's literature classic. and check out the movie starring a young Winona Ryder and a very, very young Kirsten Dunst)

8. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
(thats nothing much to say about the book which the whole world is talking about, which spawned three movies, introduced Emma Watson and made J.K Rowling the richest woman in the United Kingdom)

9. Spooksville series by Christopher Pike
(the best horror series created for kids. this is so unlike the childish creations of a Mr. R.L Stine. these books are fantastic. i never get tired of them!)

10. Charlotte's Web by E.B White
(Synopsis: The tale of how a little girl named Fern, with the help of a friendly spider, saved her pig Wilbur from the usual fate of nice fat pigs (as quoted from the back page of Puffin)

There you go. 10 books/ book series which I personally recommend to those who want to remain young at heart. Any others that I miss out?

Of Facing the Facts

2005-04-28T19:16:00.000+08:00

Have just completed two chapters of Contract Law : Misrepresentation and Mistake and continuing to the third : Damages. My Law teacher would be so proud!

For those who are uninitiated, my lack of updates is due mainly to the fact that my A-Levels are coming up and that I am addicted to DOTA.

If I have the time...

Of Surviving and Coming Out Stronger

2005-04-17T22:35:00.000+08:00

What a week! Took the weekend off to recover but still can't seem to get over the emotional turmoil I suffered from the past week.

Monday (11/4/05)
Just returned from a JPA camp. Wished it didn't end so early though. It was a camp designed to ssek potential. Potential in being a future politician. Don't actually want the extra scholarship, no that I don't want to be one (i believe Parliament could do with some people like me), but that I prefer not to have the extra strain imposed by it. But then, camp was great fun! Wasn't expecting it but managed to flirt with some girls, play UNO till dawn, exchange crappy jokes and have a dream vacation. Returned with college and was loaded with lots of Law stuff by Ying Khai to be ready for the moot. Sigh. Back to sad, sad reality.

Tuesday (12/4/05)
Am depressed. And stressed. Notice last post at bottom. I just needed to vent out. Burdened with studying for trials as well as preparing for the moot. I thought that multi-tasking was my forte but apparently its not going too smoothly. The only saving grace was that it was a Math paper today and I could release a bit of my stress by doing something I love - Math, not Law - note. I didn't know that mooting required so much reading and reading and reading. My eyes were drooping, I looked haggered, my head was pounding, I was more tired than I should be. Mooting really was taking a lot of my time and my energy and my sanity.

Wednesday (13/4/05)
Today was Law. Tort actually. I didn't like the way I studied for this paper - namely relying on my photographic memory to recall all the stuff two hours before the exam. I know that I can do it, just didn't like the way I did it. It is my belief that though I had mooting to do, I refused to blame mooting for me doing badly in the exam. I should know my priorities, and it would be my fault for not putting some things first than the other. Prepared my moot speech. Practised with it for a while. Had a fever. Go figure whether I was happy then.

Thursday (14/4/05)
Relieved and elated. Believe it or not, we won the moot!!! Surprise, surprise! Went up against the most senior team with little - only the endless support of the lecturers- backing us up. I did the best I could and in the end - suddenly all the three days of hard labour seemed worth it. (not!). It was definitely not worth it, the three weeks of us being thrown into the abyss of dismay. But I would not regret this experience. Had a great time. And I could finally control my emotions when I spoke- for once- something I had been longing to do for a long time. This sealed it. I am so glad that I am doing Actuarial Science and not Law. Give me surds and trigonometry and calculus, but no Law. Please, I'm begging you. Most of the credit should be given to Ying Khai though. Dude, I really respect your passion and enthusiasm for Law. And I guess the hope that I would not dissappoint you was the only incentive to keep me going. Just remember the next time you ask me to moot again, I shall throw the Law reports at your head.

Friday (15/4/05)
Three exams today!!! Die liao. Economics was a blur. My brain wasn't functioning properly. Aftermath of the win, perhaps. Next came three straight hours of Accounting, which was annoying because we were the only two left in the examination hall (due to the fact that we had to postpone the test for mooting) So we ended up talking during the exams, which was ample entertainment. By the way, costing sucked.

Saturday (16/4/05)
Played DOTA the entire day. What a way to destress! Spent about RM40 doing absolutely nothing. I deserve a break, don't I?

Sunday (17/4/05)
I took the day to catch up on my sleep. Sometimes the best way to relax is just to catch some shut eye.

Will You Be There for Me?

2005-04-11T17:20:00.000+08:00

Will you be there for me?
When I need somebody there.

Will you listen honestly
To all the probems I have to share?

Will you only let me speak?
And never utter a single word?

There are answers which I seek
But I can't do it when I'm not heard.

The life I have I do not own
But intermixed with highs and lows

Sometimes I'm lost and all alone
And I put on a brave face just for show

That is when I really need you
And all the comfort your presence gives

Just know that I am human too
So just be there when all hope leaves

It really means a lot when a friend understands

So will you be there for me?
When even I can't be there for me.

By: smartass

Of The Idiot's Guide to Musicals (Chapter 1)

2005-03-30T22:54:00.000+08:00

Those who know me well enough know that I am a huge of fan of musicals or musical theatre. Actually, fan is an understatement. I am totally hooked onto musicals. All the VCDs I have of at home, I watch over and over and over again. And if you catch me singing, more often than not, I will be singing something straight of a musical (out of tune, of course). Plus one of the reasons I want to go to City University is because it is close to West End, home of all things musical!

So, it is only natural for me to start a blow-by-blow account and review of the musicals I've seen (by TV or on stage). And hopefully, I will encourage you all to enjoy the wonderful art that is musicals.

Grease - the musical which I believe teenagers (or at least, people my age) will most probably enjoy out of all the others. The reason - simply because it features teenage issues, namely getting laid, fast cars, cigarettes and John Travolta shaking his pelvic region. Furthermore, with catchy songs the likes of Summer Nights (tell me more, tell me more) , Hopelessly Devoted to You and the theme song by the Bee Gees, whats there not to like? And this is one of the few musicals where it doesn't actually feature a person dying or already dead (believe me, there are only a few)

It is a good movie to start with if you are the kind who couldn't be bothered by musicals or anything resembling it. If not, just watch it for the sake of watching a young Olivia Newton-John belting out her vocals before she grew old and performed for the Sydney Olympics. Grease - the stuff in the main actors hair (they didn't have Brylcream then) also features a flying car. 'nuff said.

I have yet to see this performed on stage, but I believe it would be nothing short of spectacular. Grease, is after all, "the word, the place and the motion".

Of Dolls, Sharks and Girls with Long Black Hair

2005-03-18T17:10:00.000+08:00

I get spooked easily, I'll readily admit that.

When I was about 7 and I first saw Jaws, lets just say that was the last time I ever took a bath. I still do showers, if you are wondering. And now, I still don't do baths, not because I am afraid of shark-infested waters but because I do not like washing away my filth with my filth.

I dislike walking in dark corners - alone. You know, sometimes you get that feeling that someone is watching you and staring at the back of your head. The ones that give you goosebumps and make your hair stand. Yeah, I get that feeling often, and I usually end up scurrying fast straight ahead, my legs ready to sprint if something touches my back.

After watching the Exorcist, I didn't want to stare at the foot of my bed when I turn off the ligts to go to sleep for fear that Linda Blair would turn her gruesome face around and face me.

And just yesterday, after finishing four hundred pages of The Taking by Dean Koontz, when I was supposed to be studying for Law, I didn't want to put my feet to the ground for fear that a small hand would grab it from under the bed. Spoiler alert: Somewhere in the book, there is this part about self-mutilating doll who starts screaming "Diapers, diapers, di.. di... di..." minus the last syllable. A sort of Chucky. The book is creepy, but maybe I just have an overly vivid imagination.

I admit that all these fears are irrational and illogical, something right out of the likes of Stephen King. And besides we are fed with daily doses of aliens, witches, demons and critters from our tube. So I have built quite an impressive immune system towards demoic manifestations. Its just that sometimes, just sometimes, you get creeped out by the littlest things. (shudders)

Quote: "Red rum... red rum" (Jack Nicholson in The Shining)

Of Having the Force with Me

2005-03-10T20:24:00.000+08:00

Yesterday was a good day. Went back to my old college and had a blast mingling with coordinators and juniors.

They built this new cafe just outside Inti College Subang Jaya, aptly called Asia Cafe. And boy, went I went there - food galore. It is just like your typical hawker centre with the addition of Japanese and Korean food and even Vietnamese food. And the food ain't that all expensive, especially when compared with the oh-so-expensive food of good ole KDU. Thus the unfairness of the modern economy- when there are three colleges in one particular area, you get Ramen and Vietnamese mee and the ever-so-close Macdonalds, and when you are in a money-eating college like yours truly, you get Yu Yi.

The AUP (American University Program) Society, which I am in and still am - as alumni, came out with a play to celebrate AUP Week. There the mingling happened and I got involved with the play when my ex- vice coordinator volunteered me to help out. The name of the play was, get this - AUP Wars IV: A New Joke, which, if you have been living in a box for your entire life, is a spoof of Star Wars. So I was 'hired' to handle the props, and while limping around carrying tables and chairs, I basically had a great time. Especially since I was in the group photo shoot as well as the encore. Especially since my former Calculus teacher spotted me and she remembered my familiar face. Especially since I get to know one British lass from London (who was, by the way, playing Princess Leia). =) Who I promptly asked whether she knew City University. Her response: "Huh? Where's that?"

If I get the photos, will try to put it online. The costumes were awesome! Especially Chewbacca's.

Of Being A Half-Banana

2005-02-20T23:24:00.000+08:00

According to Deepak, I am a half-banana. God, I don't know what that means (thoughts of a memorable orientation day seeps through my mind) I retort by calling him a coconut, so tit for tat. With that in mind, many people don't know that I can speak, write and read not-so-fluent-ly Chinese. What suprises them more is that I studied Chinese until Secondary 4 and if you can count with the fingers on your hands, that is a very, very long time. They claim I speak English like someone who doesn't know how to speak Chinese (if that was even possible)

The best (or worst) part is that when I start spouting Mandarin, I sound worse compared to my counterparts who have not studied it as long as I did. People say I have an accent. My former teacher said I sound like an ang moh (translation: Caucasian, meaning: your Chinese sucks) I guess thats what you get for speaking English all the time. I blame globalisation.

My parents have officially given up on me and my lack of speaking Chinese. They got rid of the Nanyang Siang Pao in my house because no one save themselves reads it and replaced it with the Star ( a solution which I am confortable with, as I don't need a dictionary beside me) Now, conversations at home is a rojak of English and Chinese. If I can't find any words in Chinese to fit particular conversation, I will start speaking in English. Even my uncles and aunts have gotten into the hype and treat me like some foreigner. They will speak to their other nephews and nieces in Mandarin and turn to me and speak in English. Sigh.

And to think that all I wanted was to impress cute Chinese chicks.

Of New Year Greeting

2005-02-06T13:55:00.000+08:00

Well, the last Chinese New Year (CNY) which I will be celebrating in Malaysia before I embark on my quest to fulfill my dream in sadistic predictions has finally arrived. Its been a rather subdue affair as most of the festivities seemed to have dwindled down this year - for some unknown reason. Well, so long as my tummy is full and my pockets fuller, i have no complaints whatsoever. Easily, CNY should not be considered a holiday. The buziest time of the year and you expect us to lay back and relax? No way, jose. This is the time when you get to exercise your interpersonal skills, your gastronomical will power and your gambling prowess. Not to mention trying to remember how to greet the numerous cousins and second-cousins and nephews and nieces whom you only meet once a year. Oh yeah, and the exercises needed AFTER it is over to get rid of the excess baggage around your mid-drift. Holiday? I think not.

A very happy Chinese New Year to ye all! =)

Of Idiots Chasing in College

2005-01-24T18:21:00.001+08:00

I think my blog will end up as entries on a weekly basis, and not as a daily one. I guess there will be daily snippets of my everyday life, but other than that, I think my life is too mundane to be mentioned in this blog at all. What can I say? I live a boring life.

Well, last Saturday was pretty good. Went to play basketball early in the morning. Well, it ended up more like trying to play basketball. The first two games ended mid-way due to injuries (myself gotten two scraped knees and a twisted foot) and the last game went against all basic principles of basketball. All of us were trying to lose the game, with various excuses given (lazy, tired, lazy, lazy, lazy)

Anyway, that Saturday was also the day my AS results were coming out. For all those who don't know, the AS (Advance-Subsidiary) comprises of 50% of the whole A-levels paper. I knew my results beforehand and I was supposed to keep mum about it till I get my results. Then, word got loose about it, and I got chased around KDU and got whacked on my injured foot - no thanks to Luke and Tayallen, who seemed to think that I should be telling them about my results while they were playing basketball. Sheesh! As though I had to tell them that. Anyway, according to Taya, my reactions were as followed:

(before knowing results)
Me: Donwan to play basketball lah. Gonna get results that day. Too much stress cannot shoot properly.
Taya: Bloody hell you. Don't give excuses.

(after knowing results)
Me: Woay, Taya, wake up! Basketball lah! Come to my house first lah before you go, k?

(after knowing results and being chased in college)
Me: Aaahhhh. Idiots! I twisted my foot lah, and you expect me to run. Don't kick, don't kick. Aaahhhhh
Taya & Luke: Bloody fool. Know the results already didn't tell us. No wonder suddenly so enthusiastic to play lah. Take that.
Me: Aaaahhhh. (heard by entire college)

Well, that might not be what we said exactly, but you get the gist.

After that, went back home with the guys. I played Diablo while they played RISK. And then we go cybercafe together-gether.

Talk about a day.

Of Suicide

2005-01-15T18:30:00.000+08:00

Razors pain you, Rivers are damp,

Acids stain you and drugs cause cramp.

Guns aren't lawful, Nooses give,

Gas smells awful. You might as well live

(P/s: Found this somewhere on the Net. Just for information's sake, and not as a ploy to make fun of those who are contemplating suicide. Nor as a reflection of my own thoughts - so don't worry. Just thought that I would like to share this with other people. Suicide is no laughing matter.)

Of The Passing Week

2005-01-13T21:20:00.000+08:00

Well, thats that. Coping sucks. Really.

Anyway, I could say it was a pretty eventful week(s). Started classes. And there has just been a change in the vibes around. Suddenly, everybody seem to realised that the next exam is just like three months away, and our A2 exams will be in May. No more festive mood. Everybody seems to be studying more too. Oh yeah, and our AS results will be out next Saturday. Argh. Not a good way to start a new year.

I got suspended from the library! For playing bridge! I was mentioning this to my friends who knew me in high school and their reactions were the likes of 'OMG, YOU got suspended - cannot believe' and ' From the LIBRARY too! Man, Chong must have really bad influences at KDU.' Note: This is the first time I have ever got suspended - from anything! Haha. Well, you can't say you have lived it all if you don't get suspended. =)

There was a black out today, and from what I heard, it affected Klang Valley to Johor. Well, my classmates weren't exactly disheartened by it. We were actually complaining about the two-hour long Economics class which was supposed to be held at 3. But as they say, ' Be careful what you wish for, it might come true'. We ended up playing bridge - again - at one of the science laboratories and got sick of cards. After that, we enjoyed a colourful dose of Bridget Jones' Diary: The Edge of Reason at One Utama. Enjoyable.

Back to work for me.

Of Not Getting Into Cambridge

2005-01-04T21:26:00.000+08:00

Dissappointed? Yes.

Sad? Maybe.

Relieved? Absolutely!

Its over and done for. Am feeling a conflict of emotions right now. Don't really know whether I am happy or sad. But one thing is for sure : I am relieved that it is finally over. All those waiting and screwed-up interviews and stress and tempers and tears all came down to one thing : A rejection letter from Cambridge.

Regrets? None whatsoever.

For me, I believe that there should never be any regrets in my life. All the stress was worth it. It has been, well, one hell of a ride. And I am glad that through these tedious months of applications and waiting, I have grown. And you know what, I am so darn PROUD of myself. I applied, knowing that my chance was next to zero, not taking Further Mathematics or Physics and applying for Actuarial Science for the other universities, and just basing it on the fact that I love Math and Math alone. I had to compete with the best of the best, and well, I realised I did not live my life so as not to go through any of these. I have no regrets whatsoever. Applying to Cambridge was probably one of the most fulfilling moments of my life, and I am glad I did it. If not, I might not have gone closer to some people and might not have learnt more about myself. A bit the cliche lah, but its true.

Being the best person does not mean one has to go to the best universities or have the best job or have the best looks or have the best grades. I believe that the best person is the one who makes the best out of every opportunity given to him/her. For we can argue luck, we can argue fate, but whatever is given to us, I believe that all of us have the ability to simply be the best just because he/she has done their best in the very worst of circumstances. There maybe some hidden self-consoling in this. Whatever it is, I know that I will continue to love Mathematics and nothing can prevent me from that.

City? Here I come!

Cambridge? Maybe next year.

Of Being Back At Last

2004-12-31T10:07:00.000+08:00

Ugh... haven't been blogging much. Dania can attest to that as she accused me of being a lazy bum on my tagboard to world-wide readers. Not that I mind though. It is certainly better than those sexual innuendoes on it which imply certain things that i vehemently deny. Well, the reason I haven't been blogging much is thanks to not only my laziness but also to the fact that holidays leave a subtle implication to rest from all work - which includes blogging. There you go, Dania. =)

Well, these past few days I have done my fair share of travelling. Been to China, Singapore and the god-forsaken place of Sitiawan (at this, I call any place without Internet connection god-forsaken) Come to think of it, I have only been back home for 7 days! Out of my 5 weeks holiday! And I still haven't touched my homework! I wonder if Ms. Elsie reads my blog. Hmm...

Anyway, those are my ramblings about my holidays. I was reading the Star and they were promoting this blog : Dying Is.... You guys should check it out, if you want to see a different take on blogging. And I am glad that the Star took the opportunity to promote it because it is, in my opinion, very insightful.

A new year is coming. I wish all my blog readers to make the new year crappier and wackier and more fun! Its been a great time 2004. Now on to 2005! (Fireworks!)

Of Being Back

2004-12-21T00:08:00.000+08:00

Well, I am back! Was supposed to blog yesterday, but my computer went cuckoo during my absence. Thanks Zhi Xin, for restoring it to its original form! Ha. Ah well, am too tired to write much today. Just wanted to let you know that I have started a new blog on my trip to China- check it out!

And for all of you out there. A blessed Yuletide.

Of A Few More Hours

2004-12-01T14:28:00.000+08:00

A few more hours.

This will be a relatively short post. Will be headed due North in a while. Ah. So, this is a short notification for a lack of entries in the next three weeks or so. If I manage to find a computer with connection there, maybe one in my uncle's uiniversity, I will inform you of my current situation. Till then, I bid adieu.

A few more hours. And I can't wait. =)

Of How I Survived Boredom

2004-11-26T22:30:00.000+08:00

One week. One week stuck in Sitiawan, Perak. And I was bored. Bored stiff. My days were basically spent ...

1. (finally) watching Philadelphia, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, The School of Rock, The Punisher, Catwoman, Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams and Scooby Doo 2. Phew!

2. monitoring my brothers while they mastered Solitaire, Hearts, Minesweeper and Space Cadet Pinball on my dad's laptop

3. finishing 3 Maths past year papers

4. reading up Market Structures

5. hunting for cybercafes to waste my time with. (no Internet connection at home) Found out there was only one, which doesn't even have Warcraft 3. Ended up playing Quake 3 with my bro.

6. trying to build up my muscles after letting them flab during my exam period

7. eating

8. sleeping

Did I mention I was on holiday? Hope the rest of it will be better. It has to be. Please.

Current Music: Embrace's Ashes

Of The Day After Exams

2004-11-20T15:33:00.000+08:00

Well, its finally done! After weeks of slogging it out, my AS is finally done. The euphoria, however, doesn't seem to have settled at all. Maybe it is just because this particular exam didn't seem like an exam, more like an on-the-spot assignment kinda thing. Or maybe most of my 'slooging it out' was basically blasting off aliens in Halo for the past few weeks or so.

Ah well. After my final paper, which was Law. (Apart from the fact that half of my classmates have already finished one week earlier before me does leave one somewhat resentful) Went straight back home and continued blasting off aliens. And I finally went and saw The Incredibles, which was, like, so chun! Ha! My favourite character was Jack-jack Parr, me having a slight affection on anything which look cute in diapers (and with a cute name to boot too). Now I have a new name to name my would-be dog with. Also, Edna Mode's cool accent and her story on superheroes with capes. As a friend of mine would say: So farn-nee! =)

Had dinner at a Japanese restaurant. I blame my parents for my lack of knowledge on Japanese cuisine. Lol. And Iron Chef doesn't help much either. The waitress brought in these three rolls of fluffy looking edibles. Well, being the courteous gentleman I was, I wondered why my friends weren't eating them. Turns out to be, those so-called rolls were actually wet towels! I ended up being the butt of most jokes the whole night through. Sigh. I still blame my parents though. =)

To all those people who are having their holidays now, enjoy your holidays! To those who still have a paper to sit, all the best! To those who are waiting for their offer letters, I am praying for you guys too. And for those who want me to bring back a panda from my trip to China, please tell me how to get through customs. Enjoy!

Of Math Instructive Weapons

2004-11-08T19:47:00.000+08:00

Have you read this before?

Yet another secret cult has emerged with the aim of making life miserable for Westerners, particularly our young children of school age. (In fact, this one seems to have already succeeded beyond its wildest dreams): Yesterday, at New York's Kennedy airport, an individual was arrested when he tried to board a flight while in possession of a ruler, a protractor, a set-square, a slide rule and a calculator.

At a morning press conference, US Attorney General John Ashcroft said he believes the man is a member of the notorious Al-gebra movement. He is being charged by the FBI with carrying weapons of maths instruction. "Al-gebra is an odd cult whose leader is believed to be a cosine of Osama Bin Laden," Ashcroft said. "There are several divisions and they are prepared to use a wide variety of means to achieve solutions.

The members sometimes go off on tangents in search of absolute values. In addition, they use secret code names such as 'x' and 'y' and refer to themselves as 'unknowns', but we are positive that they belong to a common denominator known as the 'Axis of Even', with coordinates in many countries. "As the Greek natural philanderer Isosceles used to say, there are three sides to every triangle," Ashcroft declared.

When asked to comment on the arrest, President Bush said: "If God had wanted us to have better weapons of maths instruction, He would have given us more fingers and toes." I am gratified that our government has given us a sine that it is intent on protracting us from those who are willing to disintegrate us with calculus disregard. Under the circumferences, and factoring in all the variables, I believe that we must maintain unity and draw the line, cos divided we fall."

President Bush also warned: "These weapons of maths instruction have the potential to decimal our society on a scalene never before seen, unless we become exponents of a Higher Power and rid the world of this entirely negative organization."

The President concluded: "Read my ellipse. Here is one principle we are not uncertainty of - though they continue to multiply, we are circling in ever closer, and their days are numbered as the hypotenuse tightens around their necks."

And Bush won.

Of Four More to Go

2004-11-04T20:50:00.000+08:00

Six down, four more to go.

For those who don't know, I am referring to my AS, which I am taking, well, now. For my part, I hate the fact that I have one exam per week. It makes me restless: I can't study because I seem to be re-rereading the same thing, and I can't NOT study, because well, my entire future depends on my results. So, I seem to be contradicting myself more often than not, and I only manage to find a compromise when I eat, sleep and surf. (by this, I don't mean the wave type). So, my friend was asking me what kind of exercises I am doing right now. My answer: Eat and sleep. His response: 'Wow, you really are doing something'. Did I mention that he was sarcastic? =)

Oh well, done with Mathematics, Thinking Skills and Accounting. Economics and Law to go. Exams really suck. I can't wait for it to end. Oh well, till then. (Hey, it rhymes!) Bye.

Of My Finally Lost Phone

2004-10-26T19:58:00.000+08:00

I lost my phone.

About time too, as all of my friends will attest to that.

Apparently, I have used my defected phone for the past six months or so and it has caused me endless problems. There are times when I needed to make an urgent call or receive an urgent message and the stupid phone just don't work. My now-lost phone will only receive messages two hours after they have been sent. Furthermore, it can only make calls only when it is being charged. And it can only vibrate. Sheesh. To think I have been using that phone for more than a year already. Whatever it is, if my phone was actually stolen, I pity the thief. He got the wrong end of the bargain. Hahahaha. =)

Typical everyday conversation with my phone:
Phone Rings...
Caller: Hello.
Me: Hello
Caller: Woay, wha... (engage tone sounds)

Rings again
Me: Hello
Caller: What happened just no... (engage tone sounds)

And again...
Annoyed Caller: You idiot! Get a new phone la... (engage tone sounds)

Phone goes dead.

Sigh.

Typical conversation with my phone 2:
Caller: Hello
Me: Hey! Watssup!
Caller: Hello
Me: Hello. Can't you hear me?
Caller: Hello. Hello. Stupid fella haven't changed his phone yet. Sheesh. Ends call.
Me: Hello. Hello. Who you calling stupid?

Typical message:
Sorry for the late reply... again.

Oh well, alls well that ends well. Now I can finally get a proper phone. Hopefully, I won't drop it too often, that is. =)

Current Music: Kenny Lattimore and Chante Moore's With You I'm Born Again

Of My Cambridge Interview

2004-10-23T19:20:00.000+08:00

I shall not comment on my Cambridge interview. There are worst things that could happen in life, i.e a country suddenly suffers from a superiority complex and starts bombing Petaling Jaya with the hopes of finding supposedly-hidden WMDs, falling from the 17th floor, falling from the 17th floor and still surviving, or choking on a pretzel. There, a Cambridge interview matters zilch, especially if you compared what the Iraqis, those two children and George W. Bush are/were feeling.

Anyway, was in such a bad mood for the past two days. It was like being stuck in a recurring nightmare, hoping and hoping that I could just wake up and poof - the interview day starts all over again ala Groundhog Day. Nah, wouldn't want that to happen either. Oh well... mood swings abound. Was finally cheered up after watching The Terminal and found out that there were worst things in life - like being stranded in a terminal and finding out that your country is at war. But heck, if I had Catherine Zeta-Jones as an air-stewardess, I would willingly get stranded in an airport! =)

Am in a relatively better mood now. Completed my admissions test and had a great time doing it. It was especially enjoyable. And I found out that my admmisions interviewer treated everybody else the same way, so I guess I was kinda happy after that - talk about being a sadist. Anyhow, it's finally over! All the work and stress and it's finally over! I wish all those who are applying to Cambridge all the best and see what happens. After all, as quoted by Viktor Navorski in The Terminal : " We are all waiting for something ..." Lets wait and see what happens.

Current Music: Air Supply's Come What May

Of Nightmares in KDU Hall

2004-10-13T23:21:00.000+08:00

I should be studying.

I really should be studying.

But try as I may, I end up hobbling down to the computer lab and am playing Text Twist right now.

Life sucks.

It has been four hours since I had the nightmare. The horrifying nightmare. Of Economics. Yeap, you got me right- Economics. I woke up at 7, drooling, when I just realised I just dreamt about Economics. I dreamt about me drawing graphs and making sure that it is accurate. I dreamt about the teacher giving a lecture and I was copying notes. I woke up. Salivating. Imagine the horror of the entire situation. I have never dreamt of a subject before. Never-in my entire life. Argh. This must be a sign. Either I have been studying too much, or I have been studying too little, or that I seriously need to see a psychiatrist. If only I was clairvoyant, then maybe I didn't need to worry so much on the upcoming test. Hopefully, I am. =)

Now, I am afraid to close my eyes for fear of what horror awaits me when I enter into Dreamland. Economics? Accounting? Law? And horror of all horrors, not Thinking Skills? I refuse to go to sleep. I will never succumb to pressure. I will go to college tomorrow with panda-eyes. I will not sleep. I will not sleep. I will not sleep...

Of Hell and No More Ricky Martin

2004-10-01T19:34:00.000+08:00

Sartre once said: Hell is eternity spent in a room with your friends.

I find that quote rather profound. And it makes a very good retort too. When someone says: 'Go to Hell!', just reply simply 'I'm sorry I can't, I'm there already'. Note: This only works if the person who cursed you is your friend. Strange, noting that people who usually curse aren't exactly what we shall call friends, but nonetheless, a good retort is still a good retort. =)

Imagine this situation:

You die. You are sent to be judged by the divine power, and you realised that you weren't good enough. Apparently, all the swear words you have used are back to nip you in the butt and you didn't dance as much as you should, after all, dancing can conspicuously increase your 'merit' points. Furthermore, you shook your bon-bon to Ricky Martin. Another no-no. You curse (another bad point) but since you know you are doomed you couldn't care less. The divine power look(s) at you sadly and shake(s) his/her head and pointed his/her finger downwards. The earth comes crashing to you, literally, and you fall.

You fall. And fall. And fall. Until what seems like eternity, you arrive...

... in a room with your friends. You seem somewhat suprised. Your friends see you coming in and start cheering. They tell you that this is heaven actually, as you still have one another. You take a look around and you see your best friend since primary school, your other half, your colleagues at work (most of them lawyers) as well as your boss. You feel happy and elated as there are people you can relate too, people you have known for many years. 'This can't be hell', you think. You smile and are convinced that the divine power has/have gone a bit cuckoo after seeing so many people that he/she made a mistake.

Then...

You see your wife talking to your ex-girlfriends. They are pointing your way and are looking extremely murderous. You realise that you have kept a lot of secrets from them and they are sharing what little they know about you. Your colleagues are plotting a scheme with your boss. They too, seem to have found out all the various backstabs you have dealt upon them. Uh oh. And your best friend, lets just say he is the ringleader of sorts, announcing all your dark, dirty secrets for all of them to hear. They turn on you. You cower in fear. You notice that suddenly, some of them are holding cleavers and lead pipes. They are laughing maniacally, planning to give you the treatment you deserve. You kneel and pray for divine intervention.

Then...

Another friend drops in. This time around, you start the attack to divert their attention. And the cycle goes on and on and on.

Hey, hell isn't that fun after all.

Current Music: First Wives' Club OST's You Don't Own Me

Of Idols and Dirty Shames

2004-09-27T20:31:00.000+08:00

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

2004-09-23T20:04:00.000+08:00

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

2004-09-18T20:14:00.000+08:00

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

2004-09-13T20:20:00.000+08:00

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

2004-09-11T15:22:00.000+08:00

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

2004-09-10T09:33:00.000+08:00

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

2004-09-07T12:51:00.000+08:00

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

2004-09-04T12:38:00.000+08:00

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?

Of Pimples. Lots and Lots of Pimples

2004-08-28T15:16:00.000+08:00

People are getting stressed up. What with university applications to be sent out, it is no wonder this is happening. And people deal with stress in marvellous ways:

Some grow fatter. Some grow thinner. Some just break out in pimples. Lots of pimples.

Some become extremely noisy. Some just fall silent.

Some start laughing hysterically. Some begin crying hysterically. Some do both.

The ever-frequent 'Die MAN!'

The even more frequent flicker of stress seen on their faces, often followed by a cover-up, usually by making crappy jokes.

Me? Well, I do admit that I am feeling kinda stressed out lately. All the work that needs to be done and completed by next week is not helping. And filling out UCAS forms is nothing short of a nerve-racking experience, trying to make sure every single letter and digit written is legible and legitimate. One mistake will cause a lot of extra stress and more pimples.

Sigh. Well, I did try to make up for it by going wall-climbing at Summit with a couple of friends. It was kinda fun, except that now my arms are sore and my feet are aching, horribly. And it isn't as easy as it looks. You need a lot of strength and flexibility, one which I lack, and particularly reinforced by a friend at a barbeque afterwards. Yeap, went to a BBQ with old school-mates. Had a great time there, just mingling and talking and teasing and playing Magic: The Gathering and watching Malaysian Idol and lots and lots of eating. Really miss the company. A lot.

Back to reality. Need to fill up all my forms. Crap. And I only have 4 more days.

Die MAN!

Current Music: Busted's Thunderbirds are Go

Of 'Event'ful Sporting Pur'suit's

2004-08-21T15:48:00.000+08:00

It is that time of year again when I start ranting about how boring my days have been. Yeap, my holidays are here again! I am usually one of those rare species of people who actually find holidays boring and tedious. However, I beg to differ in this case. Suprisingly, it had been somehow 'event'ful. Somehow.

I spent three days of my holidays in Sitiawan, Perak, keeping my father company, and trying to find company for myself when he is out working. Apparently, the TV makes for good company. Especially as the Olympics have already started, I spent most of my mornings looking at people running, jumping, swimming, twirling, shooting and to an extent, booing. Olympics make for good TV, much better than some reality shows nowadays actually. I mean, how real can real be? Apparently, too real for a certain JAYEN from Petaling Jaya.

If he actually did get his way, the following sports will have to be banned from television: Athletics (too skimpy), Gymnastics (too gaudy), Basketball, Football, Badminton, Tennis, Hockey (just too much flesh!) and Swimming (huh? clothes? what clothes?). Hold on, that just leaves us with Fencing, Bowling and err... Shooting? Wow, and they want us to get ourselves more involved in sports. Looks like we have to wrap ourselves thoroughly first though!

The Olympics make for Good TV - Gold, Glory and Girls in Skimpy Clothes.

Sidenote: Don't you think Mia Audina, the Women's Badminton Singles Silver Medallist, looks like a particular IELTS teacher from KDU? Now thats reality TV for you! =)

Current Music: Barry Manilow's Weekend in New England

Of Oddisms and Quirky Quotes

2004-08-16T12:10:00.000+08:00

Well, this is it. My first entry in this brand new, spanking blog. I hope people will find it easier to post your comments here than in my previous blog, which for some particular reason, practically refuses to admit certain people's comments. And I prefer this format: Simple, just like yours truly, with a dash of a somewhat 'modest' outlook, without the gaudiness of bad colour-coordination. I wanted to keep my URL as smartass. However, someone apparently took the liberty of getting that name first. Hey, this world is not big enough for two smartasses! So being the nicer smartass, my URL is as shown above.

For my first post, I would like to discuss the colourful and quirky people who I've had the pleasure of meeting. During my entire life (which for 19 years, is kinda long), I've met and discovered many people who I can proudly claim as my friends. Taking a cue from my friend's blog (which is now dysfunctioned, due to the fact that she forgot her password!), I've decided to add a list of -isms, particular quotes and phrases which I can associate with particular people. They have said these quotes so often, that it has become some form of habitual release, albeit a weird one. Tell me what you think about them:

Adelynnism- 'Die, MAN', 'What to do, MAN', 'Getting fatter lah' (said while puffing cheeks up to emphasise her point' 'Ohhhh, I see the light' (said after solving a particularly difficult question)

Aveenaism- 'What-eva!', 'Shuddup, LOSER!' 'Hahahahaha' (Wanted to do a maniacal laugh but can't really put that down in words)

Charmainism- 'Sampras', 'American Idol', 'Monk', 'Sampras...'

Daniaism- (Anything sarcastic will do =) )

Deepakism- 'Bulat' (when referring to Adelynnism), 'Babi' (when referring to Lukism), 'Romeo'(when referring to himself)

Lukism- 'Saje-saje', 'Babi' (when referring to himself), 'Moron' (when referring to anybody other than himself), 'Blah', 'Heh', 'Just curious' (And to a certain extent...) 'Hermione...'

Shiyingism- '...loh', '...loh', '...loh' (get the picture?)

Tayallenism- 'God!' (Honestly, this is the only thing i can remember)

Well, that's that. I have a feeling that, in my comments page, people will start putting my own quirky quotes. (which, i believe, will include singing too). This article is not to offend anybody, but to highlight the various eccentricities that we possess. After all, it is good to laugh at ourselves once in a while.

Quotable Quote: 'Our enemies are innovative and intelligent people. And so are we. They will stop at nothing to destroy our country. And neither will we.' -George W. Bush

P/S Feel free to add quotes of particular people, which I may have left out above, in my comments page

Current Music: Robbie William's Angels