Mount Olympus

The River of Life

2009-11-15T21:42:00.000+08:00

The more we live, more brief appear
Our life's succeeding stages;
A day to childhood seems a year,
And years like passing ages.

The gladsome current of our youth,
Ere passion yet disorders,
Steals lingering like a river smooth
Along its grassy borders.

But as the careworn cheek grows wan,
And sorrow's shafts fly thicker,
Ye stars, that measure life to man,
Why seem your courses quicker?

When joys have lost their bloom and breath,
And life itself is vapid,
Why, as we reach the Falls of Death
Feel we its tide more rapid?

It may be strange—yet who would change
Time's course to slower speeding,
When one by one our friends have gone,
And left our bosoms bleeding?

Heaven gives our years of fading strength
Indemnifying fleetness;
And those of youth, a seeming length,
Proportion'd to their sweetness.

- Thomas Campbell

Hello!

2009-08-24T20:00:00.004+08:00

Hey guys! I don't know if any of you even reads this blog anymore, but...

Did you know that as this is a group blog, I can edit even your blog posts? Weird huh? No copyrights.

Oh and here's another fun fact. I can actually see the drafts you people did! Too bad you guys didn't post any of them...

But isn't it wonderful! Perhaps one day I shall try editing one of your posts and see whether it gets posted under your name.

No offence intended. I'm just curious. And curiosity kills the cat. Too bad cats have nine lives.

-Poseidon-

To My Mother

2009-06-09T23:57:00.004+08:00

Dear mama,

It's your birthday tomorrow! Well, I guess it is nearly tomorrow in Malaysia now. I've just finished another one of my exams today, yay!

Happy birthday, my dear mama! You really should go on strike tomorrow and make daddy take you out somewhere nice =P 'Pak toh' a bit hor, now that the kids have flown away from the nest! Writing this, I realize that I'm almost finishing my third year, and also, am halfway through in my medical education, I can hardly believe it! Mama, I dedicate all of this to you, me and boy always love you, and I hope you have a very blessed day.

Ok la, quite tired already, wanted to write something longer but I think I need to go and sleep some.

Black Day

2009-05-07T17:40:00.003+08:00

What else is there to say, when our State Speaker, our elected representatives, and our fellow citizens are denied their rights ?

What is this ? The Speaker ousted forcibly ? Such a disgrace

WHAT CAN WE DO ? NOTHING

BLACK DAY BLACK DAY BLACK DAY BLACK DAY BLACK DAY

Arresting my fellow citizens who were having their breakfast near the state secretariat building ?

BLACK DAY BLACK DAY BLACK DAY BLACK DAY BLACK DAY

2009-05-07T17:38:00.001+08:00

BLACK DAY

2008-11-22T19:16:00.002+08:00

Before

After

Note: The owner would be mighty pleased if he gets compliments on his new car.

2008-10-31T20:40:00.000+08:00

WHY?

2008-09-28T20:26:00.003+08:00

Okay so some of you have been wondering why I have been rather inactive here.

Yes, I have been rather slow in posting things.

No, I have not lost interest.

No, I've not become a seasonal blogger.

And no, I wasn't really busy. I still have the time to go online.

The reason is, I've been concentrating on another blog of mine. It started mid last year, in Wordpress, but in March I changed to Blogger so I don't have to switch between the two.

I didn't reveal it to anyone, except a few people.

I didn't really post much here because the other blog became my primary one, the one where I blog most.

Athena has said that she doesn't really feel comfortable posting anything with my schoolmates reading this anyway, so guys- Hop over there... We shall communicate there instead lol... Oh and change your links to my other blog, will ya? Thanks.

Haven't given it to you have I?

HERE.

Another Tag

2008-09-28T19:43:00.002+08:00

RULES:
1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves a comment, letting them know they got tagged and to ask them to play and read your blog.

Starting time: 7.43pm
Name: JR
Sisters: one
Brothers: none
Shoe size: 7/8/9
Height: 173cm on the last count
Where do you live: malaysia... DUH!
Favourite drinks: carbonated drinks?!?!
Favourite breakfast: Dont' really have an appetite in the mornings

Have you ever...
-been on a plane: sure
-swam in the ocean: does sea count?
-fallen asleep in school: in the staff room too!
-broken someone's heart: no idea. Who would tell you 'you broke my heart!'
-fell off your chair: Think so
-sat by the phone all night waiting for someone to call: Nope.
-saved emails: Nope. Leaving it in the inbox, yes.

-What is your room like: Small & cosy
-What's right beside you: Table
-What is the last thing you ate: Guavas

Ever had...
-chicken pox: Nope.
-sore throat: Yes.
-stitches: Operation for tongue tie count?
-broken nose: Nope.

Do you believe in love at first sight: Maybe.
Like picnics: Perhaps.

Who was the last person...
-you danced with: Someone.
-who made you smile: basically everyone
-you last yelled at: Can't recall.

Today did you
...talk to someone you like: Maybe. Go figure.
...kiss anyone: Nah...
...get sick: Nope.
...talk to an ex: Nope.
...miss someone: Parhaps.

Best feeling in the world: LOVE? No idea... anything positive is nice.
Do you sleep with stuffed animals: What, you kill a bear and stuff it with whatever it is in soft toys? No.
Who do you really hate: Maybe no one and maybe someone.
What time is it now: 7.51 pm.

Randoms:
Q: Is there a person who is on your mind right now? Maybe...
Q: Do you have any siblings? ~ yes.
Q: Do you want children? ~ maybe.
Q: Do you smile often: ~ Hmmm. Don't really notice.
Q: Do you like your hand-writing: ~ Well i'm stuck with it so I might as well like it...
Q: Are your toenails painted: ~Nope.
Q: Whose bed other than yours would you rather sleep in: ~No one.
Q: What colour shirt are you wearing: ~ Navy blue.
Q: What were you doing at 7:00pm yesterday: ~Waiting for pizza takeout.
Q: I can't wait till: I get this over with.
Q: When did you cry last: ~How am I supposed to remember that?
Q: Are you a friendly person: ~ Ask people i know.
Q: Do you have any pets: Used to.

Where is the person you have feelings for right now: WHERE?! WHERE?! If there's not even a who, how can there be a where? Or maybe I'm just not telling (sprry bout Italic... can't seem to stop it...)
Did the last person you held hands with mean anything to you now: Er... a good friend?
Do you sleep with the TV on: Not that I can remember
What are you doing right now: This.
Have you ever crawled through a window: No.
Can you handle the truth: Think so.
Are you closer to your mother or father: Mother.
Who was the last person you cried in front of: no one i think.
How many people can you say you've really loved: 3= MUM & DAD & SIS.. maybe one or two more =)
Do you eat healthy: Think so.
Do you still have pictures of you and your ex: Nope.
Have you ever cried because of something someone said to you: Nope.
How often do you go to church: Er... when there's someone to follow to?? Maybe once a year...
If you're having a bad day, who are you most likely to go to: Depends.
Are you loud or quiet most of the time: With unknown people, extremely quiet. Otherwise, I'm told i'm talkative.
Are you confident: Nope.

5 things I was doing 10 years ago..(1998)
- Being assistant monitor
- Can't finish homework person
- Having ugly handwriting
- Playing
- Being carefree

5 things on my to-do list today:
- Stop the bloody shaking of the fingers...
- Sleep early
- Read
- Drink
- Anything I think of

5 things I would do if I were a billionaire:
- Get more money.
- Go to hollywood.
- Get to know other celebrities
- Buy a mansion where I can live with my family.
- Donate some.

5 of my bad habits
- Shy.
- Low self esteem.
- Complain
- Playful perhaps?
- Easily influenced

5 places I have lived in
- Malaysia
- China
- Korea
- Singapore
- Thailand

5 jobs I’ve had
- Asst class monitor
- Prefect
- Librarian
- Aiyo. CAn't remember.

5 people you tag:
- BEN ANG!!! (finally there's something I can tag you with)
- Bin
- Hades
- Mayzhen
- Shin Y

Tagged

2008-09-28T00:23:00.002+08:00

Instructions: Never see the questions before you arrange the names.

All mentioned below are tagged.

Okay so here goes.

1. Bin
2. Hades ( YES DO IT IN YOUR OWN BLOG!)
3. Eelyn
4. Aimee Lee (if you even know about this)
5. Mayzhen

1. How did you meet 1?
=School

2. On a scale of 10-0, how would you rate your friendship with 1?
=10 being the worst or best?

3. How long have you known 4?
= Few months

4. How do you know no 3?
=Classmates few years back

5. Where's 5?
= Malaysia

6. A fact about no 1?
= He's a freakin matchmaker! lol...

7. Who is 4 going out with?
= I only know him as KH...

8. What does 1 do for a living?
= No idea

9. Would you live with no 3?
= Why would I when our houses are so near?

10. What do you like about no 2?
= Being my company when I'm alone in a certain place we both USED TO GO FREQUENTLY =)

11. Do you miss no 5?
= We see each other almost every day

12. Would you make out with no 4?
= If I want KH to beat me up!

13. What's your opinion of no 2?
= Witty

14. What's your favourite memory with no 5?
= Having conversations about mayzhee

15. What will you do if no 1 and no 2 are going out?
= Support

16. Ever had a long conversation with 5?
=Pretty long I guess...

17. Have you ever slept at 2's house?
= Nope

18. Do you hang out with 3 a lot?
= Nah...

19. Who have you known the longest?
= Hades

20. What will happen if no 1 and 5 have a relationship?
= Support

21. How often do you talk to 1?
= Nearly every day

22. What about 2?
= Seldom. Used to a lot...

23. Have you ever thought 3 more than a friend?
= Nope.

24. Would you go on a date with no 5?
=Maybe.

25. Do you dream about no 2?
=Maybe. Who remembers their dreams?

26. What did no 4 do to you that you can never forget?
= Rhyming everything... Can you believe she wrote a poem each for all of us?

27. What have you done to/for 1 that the person never forgets?
= Be there.

28. What's 3's hobby?
= Badminton probably

29. Tag more people.
= Whoever's reading this.

Banned XBox 360 Commercial

2008-09-03T17:57:00.001+08:00

This is a hilarious video!

Requiem For A Dream

2008-08-31T14:10:00.001+08:00

I just love this song!

Tagged

2008-08-28T23:11:00.002+08:00

1. The age you'll be on your next birthday
17!!! I'm YOUNG!!!! Haha.

2. A place you'd like to travel to
Rome?

3. Your favourite place:
Can't think of one.

4. Your favourite candy:
I'm spoilt for choice!

5. Your favourite pet:
Used to have a rabbit, and although I can't remember, FISHES!

6. Your favourite colour combination
Black & White / Blue & White

7. Your favourite piece of clothing:
Anything that looks nice.

8. Your all-time favourite song:
Aiyoo... So many larr!!

9. Your favourite TV show:
For some reason I can only think of Relic Hunter right now

10. First name of your significant other / crush:
Must I answer this?

11. The town in which you live
SJ

12. Your first job:
Waking my parents in the middle of the night.

13. Your dream job:
HOLLYWOOD!!!!!

14. A bad habit you have:
Procrastination

15. Your worst fear:
Being far away from home, not knowing anyone around me, with no way to communicate or reach home.

16. The one thing you want to do before you die:
ENJOY LIFE

HP postponed!!!!

2008-08-19T18:00:00.005+08:00

I actually wanted to post this a few days agobut just couldn't find the hardworking bone in my body that day.

HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE WON'T BE RELEASED THIS YEAR!!!

I'm just too lazy to edit and all, so here's the entire article that I gleefully grabbed from Galaxie:

Looks like we've got to wait till next summer to be bewitched by Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The eagerly awaited film, originally slated for a Nov 21 release, will not be unspooled until July 17, 2009.

"Our reasons for shifting Half-Blood Prince to summer are twofold," says Warner Bros. president, Alan Horn. "We know the summer is an ideal window for a family tent pole release, as proven by the success of our last Harry Potter film, which is the second highest grossing film in the franchise, behind only the first installment." (But Mr Horn, I hear that Warner Bros. is keeping Harry Potter 'coz your studio is running out of blockbuster films to release next year)

But the powers that be in Warner Bros. have promised that we won't have to wait that long between the sixth, seventh and eighth Harry Potter films. The next installment -- the two-part Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, will also be released in the summer of 2010 and 2011.

That's s sad ain't it!

I was actually thinking I could watch it after my SPM, but looks like I'll have to wait longer.

LMAO!

2008-08-03T20:57:00.001+08:00

Okay, this is seriously hilarious.

Read the names below the posts people...

I did not write the political post...

It was written by Athena...

This Just Came Out!

2008-08-03T14:55:00.002+08:00

This is the official trailer of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince that just came out!

Seriously ?

2008-07-30T01:29:00.003+08:00

Well , I'm back ! And about to go back too , might I add . Sigh , it's been great . See , I'm already typing in past tense . NOOOOOO !

Anyway , this is my first post in , oh , maybe 3 months ? I don't even remember . In keeping with tradition , I'll talk about politics today too !

I came across this and this late at night . The second one would be more aptly titled 'My Sinister Dreams' ! Looks like UMNO is acting like a scared bunny , huh ? Trying to claw your way back in this way is despicable . Their actions have shown us that whatever ideologies they had , they could throw all of it away at the spur of the moment , all in the name of preserving 'Malay supremacy' .

In my opinion , it's high time for us to stop this nonsense about the social contract . We no longer live in that era , and it is folly to dwell on something that occurred more than 50 years ago . Yes , our leaders have contributed much , and bla bla bla . However , we need to think about modern society . Where is the Bangsa Malaysia that we were supposed to achieve ? Where is the integration that we supposedly have ? We are not even CLOSE to that .

Every time I fill in an official form in our country , I will always , ALWAYS be asked about my race . It is a funny thing , this . In America , you are either an American , or you are a foreigner ; but in our country , we seem to have no Malaysians ! No doubt , there are Malays , Chinese , Indians and the natives ; but where are the Malaysians ? Haven't they all come out of hiding ?

There were already warning signs :

"They (the Malay extremists) have triggered off something basic and fundamental. Malaysia — to whom does it belong? To Malaysians. But who are Malaysians? I hope I am, Mr Speaker, Sir. But sometimes, sitting in this chamber, I doubt whether I am allowed to be a Malaysian. This is the doubt that hangs over many minds, and the next contest, if this goes on, will be on very different lines." — Lee Kuan Yew in the Parliament of Malaysia , 1965 .

This quote was taken from here . I rather think that the words speak for themselves . I consider myself a Malaysian , but does my country consider me as an equal citizen given equal opportunities ?

Now , for the next one , also from the same source . This is in response to the so-called special rights which have been abused for so many years .

"Of course there are Chinese millionaires in big cars and big houses. Is it the answer to make a few Malay millionaires with big cars and big houses? How does telling a Malay bus driver that he should support the party of his Malay director (UMNO) and the Chinese bus conductor to join another party of his Chinese director (MCA) - how does that improve the standards of the Malay bus driver and the Chinese bus conductor who are both workers in the same company?

If we delude people into believing that they are poor because there are no Malay rights or because opposition members oppose Malay rights, where are we going to end up? You let people in the kampongs believe that they are poor because we don't speak Malay, because the government does not write in Malay, so he expects a miracle to take place in 1967 (the year Malay would become the national and sole official language in Malaysia). The moment we all start speaking Malay, he is going to have an uplift in the standard of living, and if doesn't happen, what happens then?

Meanwhile, whenever there is a failure of economic, social and educational policies, you come back and say, oh, these wicked Chinese, Indian and others opposing Malay rights. They don't oppose Malay rights. They, the Malay, have the right as Malaysian citizens to go up to the level of training and education that the more competitive societies, the non-Malay society, has produced. That is what must be done, isn't it? Not to feed them with this obscurantist doctrine that all they have got to do is to get Malay rights for the few special Malays and their problem has been resolved." — Lee Kuan Yew in the Parliament of Malaysia , 1965 .

Really , need I say any more ? Mr Khir , if this were a debate , consider yourself defeated .

Malaysians , I ask this of you , do we want to progress as a nation , or do we want to continue languishing in this 'social contract' warp created by our politicians ?

PS : Sorry guys , it's 2am now so I'm not really in the mood to type out my thoughts at this moment . It's just that our 'heroic' politician's post has got me hopping mad . I do think that Mr Lee's arguments are as good as any , and they speak for themselves through the ages .

Hey , how about you all doing some response to my post too ? Kinda boring if I keep posting political stuff without any debate/response !

Generations!

2008-07-26T14:27:00.002+08:00

I just found out that we humans are categorized into several different categories.

If you're born between 1946 and 1964, you're a Baby Boomer.

According to Wikipedia:

Following World War II, several English-speaking countries -- the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand -- experienced an unusual spike in birth rates, a phenomenon commonly referred to as the baby boom.

The baby boomers were the first group to be raised with televisions in the home, and television has been identified as "the institution that solidified the sense of generational identity more than any other." Starting in the 1950s, people in diverse geographic locations could watch the same shows, listen to the same news, and laugh at the same jokes. Television shows such as Father Knows Best and Leave it to Beaver showed idealized family settings. Later, the boomers watched scenes from the Vietnam War and the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy.

In the 1985 study of US generational cohorts by Schuman and Scott, a broad sample of adults was asked, "What world events over the past 50 years were especially important to them?"^[15] For the baby boomers the results were:

Baby Boomer cohort #1 (born from 1946 to 1954)
- Memorable events: assassinations of JFK, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr., political unrest, walk on the moon, Vietnam War, anti-war protests, social experimentation, sexual freedom, civil rights movement, environmental movement, women's movement, protests and riots, experimentation with various intoxicating recreational substances
- Key characteristics: experimental, individualism, free spirited, social cause oriented
Baby Boomer cohort #2 (born from 1955 to 1964)
- Memorable events: Watergate, Nixon resigns, the Cold War, the oil embargo, raging inflation, gasoline shortages
- Key characteristics: less optimistic, distrust of government, general cynicism

However, years later Generation Jones was coined. Apparently, Jonesins are born between 1954 and 1965.

The Baby Boomers were then replaced by Generation X, born between 1965 and 1981.

In the 1991 book Generations, William Strauss and Neil Howe called this generation the "13th Generation" because it's the 13th to know the flag of the United States (counting back to the peers of Benjamin Franklin).

Howe and Strauss speak of influences that they believe have shaped Generation 13. These influences are as follows:

Disaffectation with governance, a lack of trust in leadership, particularly institutional leadership
Rampant political apathy
Increase in divorce
Increase in mothers in the workplace
The zero population growth movement
Availability of birth control pills
Increase in educational variance
Decrease in educational funding and loan availability
Changed career options require more academic requirements and intellectual skill
Concerns on environmental destruction and ecological issues
Inception of the Internet
The end of the Cold War

But what's after that? Well, the next generation is us, the contributors of this blog. We're Generation Y, born between 1982 and 2001. From an article in Business Week:

At the Steve Madden store in Roosevelt Mall on Long Island, N.Y., parents, clad in loafers and Nikes (NKE), are sitting quietly amid the pulsating music while their teenage daughters slip their feet into massive Steve Madden platform shoes. Many of the baby boomer-age parents accompanying these teens look confused. And why not? Things are different in this crowd.

Asked what brands are cool, these teens rattle off a list their parents blank on. Mudd. Paris Blues. In Vitro. Cement. What's over? Now, the names are familiar: Levi's. Converse. Nike. ''They just went out of style,'' shrugs Lori Silverman, 13, of Oyster Bay, N.Y.

Ouch. Some of the biggest brands on the market are meeting with a shrug of indifference from Lori and her cohorts. A host of labels that have prospered by predicting--and shaping--popular tastes since the baby boomers were young simply aren't kindling the same excitement with today's kids. Already, the list includes some major names: PepsiCo Inc. (PEP) has struggled to build loyalty among teens. Nike Inc.'s sneaker sales are tumbling as the brand sinks in teen popularity polls. Levi Strauss & Co., no longer the hippest jeanmaker on the shelf, is battling market share erosion. Meanwhile, newcomers in entertainment, sports equipment, and fashion have become hot names.

What's the problem? These kids aren't baby boomers. They're part of a generation that rivals the baby boom in size--and will soon rival it in buying clout. These are the sons and daughters of boomers.

Born during a baby bulge that demographers locate between 1979 and 1994, they are as young as five and as old as 20, with the largest slice still a decade away from adolescence. And at 60 million strong, more than three times the size of Generation X, they're the biggest thing to hit the American scene since the 72 million baby boomers. Still too young to have forged a name for themselves, they go by a host of taglines: Generation Y, Echo Boomers, or Millennium Generation.

And from Wikipedia:

Generation Y (sometimes referred to as "Millennials" or "Echo Boomers", even The Youtube Generation) refers to a specific cohort of individuals born, roughly, between 1980-94 as defined by Australia. There is not a definitive name for this demographic of people, as Millennials is also commonly used "Generation Y" alludes to a succession from Generation X, a term popularized by the Canadian fiction writer Douglas Coupland in 1991, in his book Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture.

Generation Y are primarily children of the Baby boomers, though some are children of the Generation Jones and older Gen X adults.

Generation Y are labeled for being peer oriented and seeking instant gratification. The rise of Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, texting, IM as well as other instant communication technologies may explain Millennials' reputation for being peer oriented and for seeking instant gratification. Millennials, like other generations, are shaped by the events, leaders, developments and trends of its time.^[4] The Internet becoming a mainstream communications network, 9/11, the War on Terror and the Iraq War can be considered definitive events for members of this generation. While they were children, they were fans of Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, Pokemon, Zoog Disney, and the like.

As with previous generations, many trends (and problems) began to surface as members of Millennials came of age.

Members of this generation are facing higher costs for higher education than previous generations.

They have been labeled the "sandwich generation" because so many remain home well into their 20s right at the time that their own parents are needing more care.

In the United States as they begin to enter colleges and universities in large numbers, some of their Baby Boomer parents are becoming helicopter parents. Many college advisors and administrators worry that this could have a negative effect on the student's social progress, ego, and developing maturity.

They represent more than 70 million consumers in the United States. They earn a total annual income of about $211 billion, spend approximately $172 billion per year, and considerably influence many adult consumer buying choices. They also face a greater degree of direct corporate marketing than any other generation in history.

A 2008 survey by UK recruitment consultancy FreshMinds Talent in partnership with Management Today suggested that Generation Y are generally more ambitious, brand conscious and tend to move jobs more often than ever before. The survey of over 1,000 people, entitled Work 2.0, also suggests several possible misconceptions about Generation Y, including that they are as loyal as their predecessors and believe that their job says something about them as individuals.

There is more experience of family breakdown. The generation has seen high divorce rates, and homes with 2 working parents are much more common. This has greatly changed their relationships at home when compared to their parents and grandparents. This may have led them to be more peer-oriented and this may be a contributing factor to the premium that Gen Y workers place on workplace culture

A 2007 episode of the American news magazine 60 Minutes entitled The Age Of The Millenials proposed that members of the generation are exceptionally tech-savvy, are especially tuned to their own value in the job market, have limited loyalty to any particular employer, and insist on working in a stimulating job environment. However, these are simply characteristics and attitudes that were previously attributed to Generation X in works such as in the 1999 article "The Hunter-Gatherers of the Knowledge Economy: The Anthropology of Today's Cyberforagers" by David Berreby, so these behaviors may be consequences of modern culture or of the modern economy rather than qualities of a particular generation.

The generation is sometimes defined as "Civics", characterised as wealth creators and nation builders. They are sometimes described as an "overachieving, overscheduled" generation.".

In their recent book, Reynol Junco and Jeanna Mastrodicasa found that in a survey of 7,705 college students in the US:

97% own a computer
94% own a cell phone
76% use Instant Messaging and social networking sites.
15% of IM users are logged on 24 hours a day/7 days a week
34% use websites as their primary source of news
28% author a blog and 44% read blogs
97% have downloaded music and other media using peer-to-peer file sharing
49% regularly download music and other media using peer-to-peer file sharing
75% of college students have a Facebook account
60% own some type of portable music and/or video device such as an iPod

Pretty cool eh? Apparently another generation has surfaced: Generation Z.

Basically, Gen Z are people born after 2001.

From Wikipedia again:

They are highly connected, having had lifelong use of communications and media technologies such as DVDs, the World Wide Web, instant messaging, text messaging, iPods and cellular phones. They have grown up in a world with widespread equality of the sexes at work and at home, and where single-parent or same-sex parent families are commonplace.

In contrast to Generation Y, which grew up in a post-Cold War political environment, Generation Z's political landscape is dominated by the aftereffects of the September 11, 2001 attacks. They are said to have a greater awareness of environmental issues, and are predicted to be more educated and longer-lived than previous generations.

Gotta Start!

2008-07-18T17:31:00.000+08:00

Okay, so Shiman has demanded for an update.

I can't really think of what to say, except...

I've gotta start studying for SPM!!!

Gossip Girl

2008-07-12T19:03:00.001+08:00

Watched this on sis's external hard disc...

Another Tag

2008-06-22T20:29:00.002+08:00

8 things I'm passionate about:

1. Badminton
2. Online-ing
3. Watching TV
4. Updating blog??
5. Meeting friends
6. Reading
7. Writing
8. Studying (only for SPM, though!)

8 things I say or do often:

1. Yawn
2. 'Sweat'
3. Get sleepy in class
4. Talk non stop!
5. Be lame
6. 'Er...'
7. Go online
8. Watch TV

8 things I've recently read:

1. Blogs
2. Newspaper
3. Jeffrey Archer
4. John Grisham
5. Reader's Digest
6. Galaxie
7 & 8. Can't think of anything else!!

8 things I learned this year and last year

1. Treasure friendship
2. Have to study for SPM!!!
3. Me & friends'll go separate ways after SPM... will be still be close friends??
4. I matured
5. I love to argue
6. Anything can happen
7. Looks can be deceiving (It's so true!)
8. I'm not looking forward to leaving school!!!!!

People I tag:
Anyone.

Sky God

2008-06-20T19:51:00.003+08:00

In Chinese tradition, some pray to the sky god. As I was never curious, I never bothered to ask what will he bestow in return for obedience.

This particular sky god was hung somewhere in the home of my granduncle, in Terengganu. I went there during the last school holidays for my uncle's wedding.

I had walked past the god to the pot of plants seen in the above pic to take in the scenery. Nothing nice, but it's the only scenery I could get there. It was extremely boring and noisy.

Anyway, later I turned around and wanted to head back in. I bent down as the sky god was real, real, low. I had thought that I'd passed him when I raised my head. So, oooops! I toppled the sky god from his residence in the air.

I never knew the significance of these Taoist rites, so I just unceremoniously picked him up and placed him back at his platform.

It would have been a funny experience, had the people around me not burst into laughter, telling me I'm too tall, asking how could I not notice it, blah blah blah, placing the attention on me which I had wanted to avoid.

A relative told me to fold my palms to apologize, which I did so quickly, then left the scene hurriedly.

It was not until that night that when I was sitting around there, waiting to get back to the hotel, reminiscing about the day's events when I thought of something interesting.

I thought, since I'm so bloody tall I can bring a god down, I might as well take pictures of it and let the whole wide world know about it. After all, those who witnesssed it had no qualms about telling the puzzled people around them about it.

Besides, I'm sure he wouldn't mind, it's good for publicity!

Tag - II

2008-06-19T12:32:00.003+08:00

Instructions: Remove one question from below and add in your personal question, making it a total of 20 questions.

1) At what age do you wish to marry?
27 or 28, i think.

2) Where will you go if someone sponsors you a tour ticket?
Japan! Yet again.

3) What's your favourite thing to do?
Spending time with friends just chilling out, or playing ping pong :)

4) Do you think money can buy happiness?
Perhaps, it depends.

5) Do you believe you can survive without money?
No i don't think so.

6) What are you afraid to lose the most?
Family and friends who mean a lot to me.

7) If you win $1 million, what will you do?
Use that money to pay for my education, which is so causing a huge burden on my mum and dad. And buy a ping pong table.

8) How would you describe the person you love?
Indescribable?

9) List out 3 good points about the person who tagged you
- An awesome friend.
- Good sense of humour, and sarcasm.
- Charismatic!

10) If you have only one wish, what will you wish for?
To be more confident of myself.

11) If you could rewind time, would you?
Perhaps. I'm quite content with myself at the moment. :)

12) What's your ambition?
To be successful in whatever i do! For example, studies, and playing ping pong!

13) What's your favourite song at the moment?
Last Alliance - Shissou

14) If you can teleport once, where would you go?
Back home to Malaysia, which i'll get to go in a little more than a week :)

15) What do you think is the most important in your life?
Family and good friends of mine.

16) If you have a chance, which part of your character would you like to change?
Oh the same as Jerrenn. Low self esteem! Gosh i absolutely despise it.

17) What music have you been listening to recently?
Jpop and techno!

18) What is the one thing you cannot do but you wish you could?
Ice skate, perhaps.

19) Dream job?
Chocolate tester. Ahh. :)

20) If there was one language you could learn to speak fluently, what would it be?
Japanese.

I tag: Bah, whoever who's reading this!

Tag

2008-06-18T20:30:00.002+08:00

Instructions: Remove one question from below and add in your personal question, making it a total of 20 questions. Then tag 8 people from your list. List them out at the end of the post. Notify them that they have been tagged.

1) At what age do you wish to marry?
Hmmm.... No idea yet. 25, 26 perhaps.

2) Where will you go if someone sponsors you a tour ticket?
Europe.

3) What's your favourite thing to do?
Doing something I like.

4) Do you think money can buy happiness?
Yes.

5) Do you believe you can survive without money?
Definitely not.

6) What are you afraid to lose the most?
People who mean a lot to me.

7) If you win $1 million, what will you do?
Spend half of it, then save another half for my education.

8) How would you describe the person you love?
Lovely.

9) List out 3 good points about the person who tagged you
-> Smart
-> Good in football???
-> Humble (Don't deny it Ben Ang you're awfully smart =D )

10) If you have only one wish, what will you wish for?
To have more wishes.

11) If you could rewind time, would you?
Of course.

12) What's your ambition?
Journalist or broadcaster.

13) What's your favourite song at the moment?
BLEED FOR ME - SALIVA!!!!!

14) If you can teleport once, where would you go?
Hollywood.

15) What do you think is the most important in your life?
Me, myself & I, not to mention a whole load of other things

16) If you could undo one mistake in the past, what would it be?
Being born in September. Imagine how long I still have to wait to be able to drive!

17) If you have a chance, which part of your character would you like to change?
Rather low self esteem, I suppose.

18) What music have you been listening to recently?
Anything that pleases my ears.

19) What is the one thing you cannot do but you wish you could?
Be as famous as Brad Pitt.

My question:

20) Dream job?
Hollywood A-list actor.

I tag:

Sabriel
Rowena
May Zhen
Ee Lyn

Exams, exams.

2008-06-17T18:12:00.002+08:00

My gosh. I haven't posted in a long while, i think. Jerrenn has posted like 11 in a row! It really is about time i posted.

Haha well. Anyway, right now i'm in the middle of my exams. I'm done with 3 out of 4 papers actually, and the last paper is Japanese which is my non-core subject, and not to mention it only contributes 50% of the final paper, so i'm practically done!

Right now, only the commerce and medics people have finished their exams mostly, as our exams span over a three-week period. Most of the people who have finished ALL their papers have either already gone back, on the way back, or will be going back in a couple of days, which is pretty saddening. Here i am, having to stay an extra two weeks just for a Japanese paper, when all my core subject papers have been over since last week! And for those people who are still here, most of them are pretty much studying like nuts so i can't really do much. Just catch up with the loads of sleep which i've lost since coming here.

I shall be home in another 12 days! I can't wait! :D

Practice Makes Perfect

2008-06-10T23:01:00.002+08:00

"Practice makes perfect"

BUT.............

NOTHING'S perfect,

SO WHY PRACTICE?

Tests

2008-05-31T13:23:00.006+08:00

Your Personality is Very Rare (ENTJ)

Your personality type is energetic, romantic, optimistic, and brave.

Only about 4% of all people have your personality, including 3% of all women and 5% of all men

You are Extroverted, Intuitive, Thinking, and Judging.

How Rare Is Your Personality?

Your EQ is 147

You are remarkable when it comes to relating with others. Only the biggest losers get under your skin.

You are warm and open. Even when life gets you down, you're unafraid of the world and its challenges.

You are comfortable with who you are. And you accept your weaknesses - as well as the weaknesses of others.

While you are quite stable, you don't respond perfectly to every bad situation that comes up.

But you have enough emotional intelligence to know when you need a course correction.

What's Your EQ (Emotional Intelligence Quotient)?

You Are 42% Impulsive

You're quite impulsive, but you never are reckless.

You qualify as a very spontaneous person, but you still know how to honor your commitments.

And while responsibility doesn't come easy to you, having fun does!

Are You Impulsive?

I got all those from May Zhen's blog. Try them out!

What Jerrenn Means...

2008-05-30T21:36:00.002+08:00

What Jerrenn Means

You are fair, honest, and logical. You are a natural leader, and people respect you.

You never give up, and you will succeed... even if it takes you a hundred tries.

You are rational enough to see every part of a problem. You are great at giving other people advice.

You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone.

You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together.

At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together.

You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something.

You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense.

You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun.

You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people.

You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts.

You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Try it!!!

Harry Potter Prequel!

2008-05-30T18:54:00.003+08:00

I just read this in The Star today.

A mini-prequel penned by J.K. Rowling to her blockbuster Harry Potter series of books will go up for bids here (London) next month, the auction house behind the sale said yesterday.

The auction of the 800-word short story comes less than a year after the seventh and final tome in the series about the bespectacled boy wizard, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows went on sale.

"There is just no telling how high the bidding might go," said Sotheby's auction house specialist Philip Errington.

The proceeds will go to two charities: English PEN, which promotes the freedom to write around the world, and Dyslexia Action.

Organisers of the auction had asked 13 authors to submit a story for the sale.

Among them were Doris Lessing, the 2007 winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature; Booker Prize winner Margaret Atwood; and Sebastian Faulks, whose latest offering, an officially authorised James Bond story, went on sale on Wednesday.

I'm very interested to see which author gets the highest bid.

Also, in MPH recently I saw a new version of Alex Rider's Snakehead. It boasts of a bonus chapter, which gives a slight explanation as to how Alex's parents were killed. I read it in a hurry, and now know a little of it. If you're a fan of the Alex Rider series you can always go to the official website and download the extra chapter instead of buying another copy of Snakehead.

Survivor VS The Amazing Race

2008-05-27T16:33:00.009+08:00

They're both reality TV shows.

Survivor.

The Amazing Race.

Both have accumulated many seasons.

Survivor has 16 seasons. TAR has 12. No other reality TV shows could match that.

But which would you prefer? Let's have a look at both.

First, the logos!

This is the Survivor logo. I particularly like the slogan "outwit . outplay . outlast".

This is the Amazing Race's logo, or what I could manage to get anyway. There's nothing special about it, but the way it's captured brings about a sense of being pulled.

If you're participating in TAR, you can actually travel around the whole world, and see places you could never have seen before. It's the adventure of a lifetime.

As for Survivor, you'll be stuck in the jungle, usually by the beach, for 39 days, should you last that long. However, nature enthusiasts will enjoy the experience. Besides, how bad can it be? You're always at the beach and can always get that suntan you've wanted!

They both have equal prize money of USD 1,000,000.

And now for my favourite part. The intro.

Since both series has so many seasons, I'll just grab from the only similar seasons between the two: All-Stars.

Here's The Amazing Race All-Stars:

And this is Survivor: All-Stars:

Here I must say I prefer Survivor's. I have always enjoyed it. Somehow it just gives me the feeling of not giving up on anything.

TAR has 12 seasons. The most interesting seasons was the All-Stars.

On the other hand, Survivor has more variety. They have All-Stars, and later they introduced new elements and twists in the game. Then the latest season was Fans VS Favourites, where 10 favourite Survivors competed against 10 of the show's greatest fans. I managed to find the song as well:

Cool, eh? Plus, in that season there were so many surprises made by the contestants! They lied, backstabbed, blindsided.

So which one would you prefer?

Personally, here's what I feel.

In terms of which gives my time's worth, I would say TAR. I would get to visit the world!

In terms of game, I would prefer Survivor. I just love the way contestants have to be cunning to survive. Plus, I feel that TAR doesn't exactly put your fate into your own hands. Sure, you have compelte tasks just like in Survivor, but there's always the added disadvantage, like slow taxis, equipment malfunction and so on. Whereas in Survivor, you have to be cunning, and always find ways to not get voted out. You need alliances, and at the same time if you win challenges, you get Immunity. And there's Reward Challenges too. The more rewards you win, the stronger you get, the more chances of winning physical tasks. But I don't like the fact that if you get placed initially in a tribe that is physically weak or can't work together, when you enter the merge you're in grave danger.

I guess in the end, it depends on which you prefer.

My personal favourite would be Survivor. I just love the game. I love the cunning involved. I love the way contestants play mind games. I love the way they strategize.

Which is yours?

Movies I'm Dying to Watch...

2008-05-22T21:17:00.009+08:00

1. Prince Caspian

2. What Happens In Vegas

3. Wanted

4. Over Her Dead Body

5. Iron Man

6. Batman - The Dark Knight

7. The Incredible Hulk

8. Made Of Honor

Bleed For Me

2008-05-19T20:38:00.003+08:00

"All I ever wanted

was to be at your service

but now I'm alone

cause you were here and you're gone

And all I ever wanted

was to feel I had a purpose

but now that's all gone

But if you could give me

just one love

just one life

just one chance to believe in mine

just one love

just one life

you'd bleed for me

and I didn't dare to notice you

now I'm stuck out on a line.

Bleed for me

I didn't care to be with you

now you're stuck in my mind"

Song: Bleed For Me by Saliva

This song rocks!!!

Hello China!

2008-05-07T19:55:00.003+08:00

Okay, so the Olympics is coming soon. China's been preparing for tourists. But since most of the things they have are in their mother tongue, they've translated them...

Labour Day!!!

2008-05-01T14:23:00.005+08:00

This is specially for our friends overseas.

Some of you might still remember it, some of you might not.

Today's Labour Day!

From what I've gathered online, in Australia, it's celebrated on the first day of March. In Russia, it's celebrated on May 1, the same as home.

Back here, even students get holidays as the teachers aren't working.

I really look forward to holidays.

I get a break from school, which means I can catch up with homework and assignments.

Just yesterday, I had 3 PEKAs to do. Good thing I have this one day break so I can complete it.

I don't have to struggle to get up on time, don't have to limp out of bed, don't have to worry about getting to school at 7.05 latest.

Just for fun, last night I turned the alarm clock on. I wanted to wake up and feel tired, like normal days, and experience turning the bloody clock off and go back to sleep. The clock did ring, alright! But I just turned it off and went back to sleep, and didn't really take note of anything so by the time I woke up, I can't remember a thing.

I woke up at 9. Still feeling groggy I went closed my eyes again, and only reopened them at 9.45. Actually I was really tempted to go back to sleep, but I knew that I needed to complete the PEKAs and study today for the coming exams, so I got up, enjoying the refreshed morning. It's one of very few mornings when I can wake up feeling energized.

Right now I've completed most of the PEKAs, which leaves... study. Since it's Labour Day, maybe I should take a break? But then again I haven't been studying much so I really shouldn't take breaks.

But still, I'm feeling very accomplished today.

HAPPY LABOUR'S DAY!!

A Last Year in High School...

2008-04-30T19:50:00.002+08:00

Okay, so lately I've done quite a lot of things I don't think I would've done before.

Placing a hand into ice-cold water.

Drinking ethanol.

In short, some rather daring things that the timid me might not have wanted to do.

But I did it.

Why? It's very simple, really.

It's my last year in secondary school. I want to have fun. I want to be able to think back and have sweet memories.

Yesterday, our Chemistry teacher informed us that all the labs will be renovated for 6 months, so today will be our last day using them. After that, no labs! We were quite crestfallen about it. Then our teacher said that we can vandalise the tables today, since they're throwing it away.

Needless to say, we got carried away. We didn't think anything about today. We just broke the rules and started vandalising the tables. We were happy, laughing and having fun.

Then the next class was one of the 'Ketua Bidang''s class. She didn't like it one bit. She told us to clean everything. I was at the BP (Bilik Pengawas) when it happened. Apparently, the rest of my classmates asked permission from my Add Maths teacher and she said 'Hurry up, finish the job and return'.

I headed to the lab from the BP. Then I started using a cloth to wipe the vandalised tables ( we used permanent marker!). We used ethanol to make the job easier. The bad part? Initially we can't scrape the marks off. You see, the tables have been painted at least twice. The layer below the current one is of the same colour, blue.

So I had to wipe and wipe and wipe, and what I wrote just wore off bit by bit.

The worst part? Our Add Maths teacher came down to the lab, claiming that we did not seek her permission before coming down, and told my Chemistry teacher 'do not believe them, they are liars!'.

We were all like WTH??? She said she's gonna complain to the senior assistant. A classmate correctly pointed out that we were following instructions. We were hurrying. We weren't taking our own sweet time. We do want to enter class, but it's just that we haven't completed our job.

Good thing we have an understanding teacher. She allowed us to use coins to scrape the paint off. She justified her action by saying that she can always tell the 'higher' people that the paint wore off due to chemical experiments.

And not just that, we were wondering why can't we vandalise the tables? It's gonna be thrown away anyway. You want to throw away something that looks good?

Today we had another Chemistry lesson. After the lesson, cameras were taken out as we started posing and ignoring rules. We sat on tables, held Bunsen burners. Another Ketua Bidang teacher came in and asked 'why are you all sitting on the table?!?!'. This time, we couldn't be bothered. We just said we're taking pictures, and just continued with our poses. Our Chemistry teacher also explained that we wanted to take pictures on our last day.

A few took Bunsen burners, lighted them and placed them together. They wanted to take a picture. I butted in too. It was the last picture in the lab. The last minutes we'll be spending there.

So far, I'm enjoying Form 5 a lot. Not the scout part, of course. In prefects it's stressful at times, but the rest so far, just brings sweet memories to my mind. I daresay I'm starting to miss it already. In primary, I couldn't wait to leave, and I had good reasons. But so far in secondary school, I'm seriously enjoying it!!! Really!!

I dread SPM, but I wouldn't mind staying in Form 5 for a tad bit longer!!

Guess What?

2008-04-24T16:11:00.004+08:00

I tried driving without a license

IH Ball 2008

2008-04-19T17:23:00.008+08:00

IH Ball!

Yesterday, we had our International House Ball. Its something like a prom but for our residential college only sort-of-thing. Well, I think the best word to describe it was,

EVENTFUL.

The ball was seriously eventful, ahahaha. First thing was, we were supposed to leave at about 6.45, and by 6.35 people were starting to gather at the foyer. I didn't even do anything and had not even decided what dress to wear! Ohmygoshhhh. At 6.35! Then YeeVon was saying, "we have to go already, we're late." And i rushed out without doing my hair, I didn't even bring my wallet and tram ticket. Whooaaaa. I was really harried. YeeVon and MingHui had to calm me down big time. And when we reached the train station we missed the train cause we were waiting for a few others who were buying tickets! -____-" What a start to the ball. But anyway we arrived there safe and sound, not late either, luckily!

Anyway, I meant eventful cause SO MANY people got drunk. My goshhh. My friend Eu Choon was seriously. He drank like 10 bottles of beer and got himself so drunk he couldn't even stand properly. Then security told him if he was too drunk they would have to ask him to leave. We had to practically carry him home. And he vomitted twice even on the way home. There was once in the tram, he wanted to vomit, and there was no plastic bag around. Me and Ton were like seriously freaking out screeching "plastic bag plastic bag!". There was one poor random guy with a plastic bag with his book inside, he had to offer his plastic bag to us.

Seriously, I've never taken care of a drunk person before. There was like 4 of us to take care of him. I think he was barely conscious. Yi Jien was drunk too, but he was pretty conscious that he was drunk so he stopped. I was so proud of him ahahaha!

Other than that, the ball was not bad. Although at first i was abit unhappy and upset cause of the rush and stuff, after i reached there i felt better. Its the company that matters! We had quite a good time with all the IH people there. And it was really a good experience. For me, that is.

Cheeseeeeee! =D

American Idol 7 David Archuleta When You Believe Top 7

2008-04-16T21:36:00.004+08:00

American Idol 7 Jason Castro I Dont Wanna Cry Top 7

2008-04-16T21:35:00.006+08:00

American Idol 7 David Cook Always Be My Baby Top 7

2008-04-16T21:35:00.005+08:00

american idols...

2008-04-16T21:24:00.003+08:00

ok put aside the ethanol and lets look at the american idols. this week they were supposed to sing songs written by maria carrie.is it that way to spell her name?

anyway the guys rule man. the girls were ok ok. but the guys were fantastic.

check them out. i was just blew off my chair when they sang.

Ethanol!

2008-04-16T20:13:00.008+08:00

Okay, you all are experts in Chemistry right?

So you'll know that of all alcohols, we humans can only drink ethanol, right? At least, that's what SPM students understand.

In tuition, the teacher said that consuming ethanol above 53% could be fatal.

Today, during Chemistry lesson, we were allowed to taste the ethanol.

I missed the lesson because, as usual, prefect duty. But Yi Xian went to ask permission and we were allowed to taste the ethanol.

The assistant class monitor brought us to the lab. We cleaned a beaker, and poured the ethanol in it. Norman (the ACM) told us what happened when he drank it. Yi Xian went first. Then it was my turn. I put it close to my mouth, and immediately my nose just started flaring up, like the sensation you'll get when you've just tasted wasabi, just more intense. Then I put it into my mouth.

The second it made contact, my lips went dry. Norman had said that it would but it was the weirdest sensation I've ever felt. You just feel as if something was drained right out of your lips. I had actually thought I spilled some out, but apparently I didn't; it was just that weird sensation. And I swear, I've never experienced something like it, and nothing prepared me for it.

I gulped it down. Then it burned my insides. Seriously, it did. But not as much. After the next 2 girls tried it out, it was back to Yi Xian and then me. At first I was pretty reluctant to try it a second time but I wanted to really recognize the sensation.

The burning in my nose seemed to have increased. Good thing I was prepared for the drying / draining sensation. When I gulped the sip down, it burned my insides again, and I felt like puking. Apparently, the second time was worse. I knew my limit, and declined a third sip.

After about 10 minutes, it was very clear that my breath contains alcohol. Even I myself could smell it. It's very, very distinct. Good thing none of us were drunk. A friend even called me crazy for trying out such a stunt!

It was a fun experience. I would do it again, even. But not such a high percentage. Just those liquor that can be bought from stores.

Oh, and the percentage of the ethanol that I drank? 95

squeaks

2008-04-12T19:31:00.007+08:00

Ohmygodddddd. *squeaks*
This is the 100th post! Yay!

Yeah ok that was lame but i was really bored and considering whether to post or not when i saw that the blog had 99 posts so i decided to grab the 100th one =p

Anyway, finally its the weekend. 2 weeks have passed since the Easter holidays, this weekend is finally a proper weekend which i can sighhhhh with RELIEF. *Sigh sigh sighhhhhh* In the past 2 weeks, i have passed up 5 assignments and taken 3 tests, all of which contributes to my final exam. Gosh gosh gosh. Its so tiring. But i love it when its finally friday, after my final microeconomics tute and i walk home from uni knowing that i can go and lepak in YeeVon's room and talk crap to her, go play pingpong with Chung, or just go hang out in the JCR.

I officially love weekends!

This morning, i went with YeeVon to the city to help her find a dress for the IH ball. Oh speaking of that, our ball is next friday! Ohmygoshh. It took me a long long time to decide whether to go or not, the tickets are like AUD$65 each, if i convert it to RM, which of course i can't help but subconsciously do, its like almost RM200! Sighhh >_> and this is a sigh of sigh-ness, not relief! I was really kind of reluctant to go, cause its so expensive, and i honestly don't see the point of going, since almost every year there's prom right? Eeeesh. In the end, i decided to go (but of course). Since most of my friends are going, it'll be fun i suppose.

Ah and alright, since i have extra bandwidth and i'm in a surprisingly *cough cough* patient mood today, i'll upload some pictures!

Mondays we have our community dinner. Its something like High Table dinner but we don't have to wear dress robes. I love community dinner. Yays! I especially love it when all of our good buddies are sitting together in a table. Its really like a happy happy community. *squeaks*

Riyan, me, and YeeVon.

Gosh Riyan looks like a happy monkey with the banana haha!

YeeVon, Chung, Amy, and Ming Hui. My buddies! xoxo.

Love this pic since i was the wonderful photographer haha! *smiles*

Thursday, we had our 2nd formal dinner of the year in IH, Scholars Dinner. Its in honour of the students who will be awarded scholarships for their excellent achievements bla bla yada yada. Anyway, formal = not fun. Cause we have to worry about what to wear! And sit there and be dignified! And i have to sit at the underage table which is so not fun >_> Argh. They have an underage table for people only under 18 cause we can't drink alcohol and they serve alcohol during formal dinners. Not fair! That's discrimination! That's more than enough to make me dislike formal dinners, yes yes. Tsk tsk.

Ahh yes, before i forget. The pictures haha.

YeeVon, Minghui, Chung, and me. Bestest buddies in IH! *squeeze*

My tutor, Youyou, Ton and me. Ton my commerce buddy! *smiles widely*

Me, YeeVon, Shelly my floormate and Riyan. Lovely lovely cheerful people.

What Happens in a Typical Scout Meeting...

2008-04-11T18:24:00.015+08:00

The Chairman'll be talking and talking and talking...

And what do the rest of us do?

Play with handphone...

Pray for the meeting to end soon...

Stare blankly into space...

Sleep...

Think of the good things that await once the meeting ends...

I have scout meetings every Monday. Can you imagine that!

Note:
Nobody posed for ANY of the pictures. They're all purely original.

This is What You'll Look Like...

2008-04-05T22:30:00.003+08:00

When you got April Fooled!

That's a friend of mine. He's the president for badminton club. So the rest of the AJKs plotted an April Fool's joke on him.

We had to start acting on the eve of April Fool's Day to avoid suspicion. The general idea was that we lost some badminton money, and don't know what to do. We planned to tell him we lost money on the day's recess, then reveal that it's a joke before school ends. But the very committed Yi Xian said "you take me as if I'm not here" when we pretended to try not to tell him what's happening. So we scrapped our original plan and just did this, grabbed from Princess's blog:

Us : We lost the money, so how???
Xian : Never mind we share out and compensate... How much we lost??
Us : About RM 200
Xian : Okay..aiya...I owe too many ppl money....
Us : Oh, one more thing...it's worst...
Xian : What??
Us : APRIL FOOL!!!
Xian : ....... (speechless)

Princess even gave me a Best Actor Oscar for it.

Hope I didn't confuse you =)

Roswell!!!

2008-04-01T18:14:00.007+08:00

When I was young, I didn't really like this show as it was pretty confusing.

As I grew up, I learned more about it and now I'm regretting not being able to enjoy watching it.

Anybody who has watched it before?

From Wikipedia:

Roswell is an American science fiction television series created by Jason Katims. The series ran between October 1999 and May 2002. Described by one reviewer as "a star-crossed teen-age love story with an otherworldly twist", the series focused on teenage aliens hiding in plain sight as humans in Roswell, New Mexico.

Here's 2 versions of the theme song. I think they're both fan made, but it certainly looks real enough!

And here's one made to the theme song of Charmed:

Cool, ain't it?

The show was cancelled after the third season due to low ratings. Oh well!

Something to read and some things to say

2008-03-29T22:54:00.002+08:00

Here's an article that I've read today - It's not a race thing , it's an identity thing

I totally agree with what the author wrote . As I've said before , my opinion is that all Malaysians should be treated as equals . We are , after all citizens of this country and we deserve to be treated as such . The infamous 'keris-brandishing' in the assembly of a certain political party has totally undermined the fact that we are no longer 'pendatang asing' . We are Malaysians , born and bred in Malaysia .

So I say , let Malaysia be for the Malaysians !

What say you ?

Hahahahaahahaha :)

Anyway , on a totally unrelated matter , I went to Ashan today . Ashan is a super super big hypermarket here where we get all our stuff . It was really crowded , sigh ...
I'm so happpyyyy ! Finally I found 2 spring coats that I could fit into . So i splurged and bought the both of them .

Oh yeah , must tell you all about this incident . Ok , there's this free shuttle bus from the metro station to the complexes of Ashan , Ikea , Mega and etc etc so obviously the buses are always packed to the brim , what more on a Saturday . When I was trying to get onto the bus on the way back , this old aunty who was in front of me blocked my way ! Not only that , she tried to stop me from getting onto the bus ! Haiyoh , I was so frustrated that I just yelled at her to move and pushed her because she actually nearly pushed me down , some more I was carrying heavy stuff . I was rather puzzled as to why she didn't enter the bus as soon as the doors opened . Haih , so never underestimate the 'babushkas' in this country ! The rude , racist , grumpy and bad-tempered 'babushkas' . Sigh .... Scold you when you accidentally push them , scold you even though it's not your fault , scold you even after you've apologized ...

This is life in Moscow . Everyday kena scolding wan - whether it's from the street vendor who didn't understand your order , or from the 'mama' of the floor when you don't understand what she's saying , the list goes on and on . I'm so tired la , tired of getting scolded because I really just don't understand what they say . Most of the time the scoldings don't enter my head because I don't understand them but still , someone yelling and yelling at you while you're trying to figure out what it is that they're yelling at you for is never a fun experience . When they yell , they really yell , like big argument kind of yell . Even if they're not actually scolding you , they sound like they are . It's not like I'm not making an effort to understand them , it's just that they speak with the speed of a bullet train and Russian language's so damn complicated ...

Sigh . I just can't wait to be back home .

Boyce Avenue

2008-03-29T17:07:00.006+08:00

Okay, I'm currently obsessed with this band, Boyce Avenue.

Here's the intro in their Myspace profile:

Boyce Avenue, a Florida-based band popular for its strong acoustic roots and constant drive toward a melody- and harmony-driven rock sound, consists of the three brothers Alejandro, Fabian, and Daniel Manzano, and Stephen Hatker. The band first came together in 2000, when Alejandro (lead vocals, guitar, piano) and Fabian (guitar, vocals), then 14 and 16 years old, respectively, started playing guitar. Within 3 months, Alejandro and Fabian took to the stage with their older brother Daniel (bass, percussion, vocals), then 20 years old, to perform before an audience of over 350 at a Pine View High School show. This would be the first of many public performances for the band at the school where its members had all been students together throughout their childhoods.

I posted a video of Alejandro singing Apologize once. And now I've heard other songs I'm completely in awe! I've heard some of the songs they wrote too, and it's not bad!

Here's some of them:

Apologize (Timbaland) - Top

Shadow of the Day (Linkin Park) - Top

And what I found most impressive was, he sang some songs from female artistes as well!

Here's Rihanna's Umbrella:

And my favourite so far, Avril Lavigne's Keep Holding On:

Cool, isn't it? Sabriel it's too bad you can't watch the videos; they're awesome!

Click here for their MySpace profile.

Galaxie Winner!

2008-03-28T17:16:00.009+08:00

Few months ago I joined Galaxie's Avril Lavigne contest.

And guess what?

I got the GRAND PRIZE!!!!!!!

It's a big, big surprise, actually.

I got the Avril Lavigne CD and a DVD, plus 5 other CDs.

That's the wording on the 'hamper', which is really just the CDs and nothing else. Here's the CDs:

Avril Lavigne (top)

Jessica Simpson (top)

Maroon 5 (top)

Westlife- Bop Bop Baby (top)

Guy Sebastian (top)

Monica (top)

I'm thrilled that I won the grand prize!!! I mean, the first time I joined I won an Ocean's Thirteen T-shirt, and now, this?? I must be a lucky person indeed =)

Oh, the Theories!

2008-03-22T18:20:00.002+08:00

Shakespeare could just be a lady.

Read here.

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT??

I wonder what the literary world'll think.

I got this info from Bibliobibuli.

The Spiderwick Chronicles

2008-03-20T15:49:00.003+08:00

Okay, enough with the politics and arguments...

It's out in Malaysia!

The Spiderwick Chronicles is a 5-book children's fantasy series. I've read them all. Although I'm not an avid fan of the books, they're still nice to read. I don't know why.

Anyway, if I'm not mistaken the movie tells the story of all 5 books. I can't wait to get my hands on the DVD!

And I must say, from the trailer it seems as if it's not as childish as the books! The director's just done a Narnia!

My thoughts

2008-03-19T21:02:00.005+08:00

Short one to give my two cents worth on Poseidon's post .

First of all , how can a school be pro-BN ? Schools should have no affiliations with any political party whatsoever , regardless of whether the pengetua support BeeAnn or if Zubaidah supports this fella , that fella , whatever . If they do not want to invite Hannah Yeoh because she is from the Opposition , it is a real pity because these educators are biased and uncapable of separating their private life from their work . Yes , they may have sworn their allegiance to certain parties , but there is no reason for them to force their opinions on every student in school . Hannah Yeoh is the assemblywoman of SJ , and as I recall , the administrators did not seem to have much problems inviting Dato' LHB when he was still in office . So what now ? What kind of an example are they setting ?

Anyway , as to the EST question - no wonder none of the students in the first class got it correct ! It makes no sense at all !

In a sense , yes , the focus of EST is English , but more specifically , the use of the English language in SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY . Correct me if I'm wrong , but I've never read a single textbook which taught that somatic cells meant gametes . It's just absurd for the teacher to state that the article implies somatic cells are gametes .

From what I read , I do not think that the article implies this AT ALL !

The 46 chromosomes in somatic cells are copies of the 23 from the mother's egg and the 23 from the father's sperm.

The most appropriate conclusion that we may be able to get from this sentence is that somatic cells have 46 chromosomes , half of which are from the mother and the other half from the father . In no way does it state that somatic cells = gametes . The only connection with gametes is the origin of the 46 chromosomes in a somatic cell .

Rather , the first few sentence in this paragraph can help us too :

All human cells have a nucleus with 46 chromosomes. The exceptions to this are gametes-reproductive cells ...

Well , is there a need to say more ?
And I quote - ' The exceptions to this are gametes - reproductive cells '
Now , this exception may only imply two things , the first of which is that contrary to all human cells , gametes have NO nuclei OR the second , which tells us that , contrary to all other human cells , gametes DO NOT have 46 chromosomes .
Since we know that the only cells which do not have nuclei are erythrocytes , then the second must be true ! Although some might argue that this is scientific knowledge that only science stream students study , it is highly unlikely that in this situation anyone would assume the first since the nucleus is the heart of the cell where all important functions take place .

Hah , can you see what I'm building up here ?

The article clearly states that gametes DO NOT have 46 chromosomes , since they are the exception .

If any student were to read between the lines carefully , they too , can make the conclusion that somatic cells are non-reproductive cells since the other options are clearly reproductive cells . It's arrogant of the teacher to think that art stream students are not able to think , isn't it ?

We should be taught to think logically , and it's not even a debate whether the English aspect is more important or the scientific knowledge , since there is a clear answer if you were to read carefully . Is it logical to tell students that they should choose this particular answer in EST and then make an about-turn and choose the CORRECT answer in their biology/science exams ?
That somatic cells are non-reproductive cells is basic scientific fact which I'm sure even the art stream students will know .

I really do wonder , what was that particular teacher thinking ? What is the point of her insisting upon an answer which has no scientific basis whatsoever ?

Moreover , as I have stated and argued again and again in the previous paragraphs , even if a student did not use his/her scientific knowledge , he/she should still be able to come up with the correct answer .

Poseidon , take this argument to her !

Hm , realize that I've been writing far too many argumentative essays , haha !

Sports Day!

2008-03-19T19:12:00.004+08:00

Okay, this week I got most of my results for the March test back.

I didn't fail, but I didn't score either... oh well. It's SPM that matters after all. Or rather, SPM and the trial exam.

This Saturday will be my school's Sports Day. I'm marching for prefects. Or rather, walking round the track holding the placard. And since I'm holding the placard, meaning I'm the first to walk among the prefects, and since the prefects are the first to walk, I'll be the first person to DISPLAY MY FACE. Haha. What a nice word. Display my face.

Anyway, we've heard rumours that Hannah Yeoh won't be the VIP because the school's pro-BN. I heard that until now, there's no VIP. But I heard a teacher asking the Head Prefect to assign someone to pin the 'VIP flower' on the YDP. So maybe the rumour's not true after all.

But one thing I know for sure, is that, in my school, rumours spread like fire.

Anyway, I'll try to take a few pics and post it when I'm done.

I got back my EST paper today. And guess what? I got an A, but I also got a question wrong. A weird reason, too.

Here's the question:

All human cells have a nucleus with 46 chromosomes. The exceptions to this are gametes-reproductive cells, which divide in such a way as to cut that number in half. The 46 chromosomes in somatic cells are copies of the 23 from the mother's egg and the 23 from the father's sperm.

What are somatic cells?

A. Gametes B. Eggs cells C. Sperm cells. D. Non-reproductive cells.

I remember in the exam, I circled and shaded D without much thought. Today I found out that it's the wrong answer.

In Bio, we learn that somatic cells are indeed non-reproductive cells. But my teacher said that in the text, it didn't say that. It was more of implying that somatic cells are gametes. The answer was A!!! She said that it's unfair for non-Science students if we followed Bio knowledge. But isn't it preaching the wrong thing? I mean, we're going to school to learn right things, aren't we? Otherwise, we can proudly walk around the whole wide world proclaiming that 1 + 1 is 1.

And, should these Art students go out one day, and somehow needed the knowledge, they'll always say that somatic cells are gametes. Imagine if they're overseas... Foreigners will take us as fools!

The teacher said that in the first class (so called the smart people's class) nobody got it right but there are a few in our class. She asked them to raise their hand. A few did. The teacher said 'See, some people got it right".

Now why is it that they managed to get it right???

It's 'cos most of them failed their Bio!! And I'm NOT joking!

Why are we so unpatriotic 3!

2008-03-17T10:41:00.002+08:00

HAHA. i just realised i haven't blogged for almost a week, seemingly time passes by really quickly haha.

Why we are so unpatriotic, duh! They don't give us very good rights, according to the older ppl nowadays its even worse for us chinese compared to before you know, they get discounts off houses and stuff like that, most of them will get scholarships and government loans. Bah. Better off not said. I'd gladly stay away from Malaysia after i finish studying, but dad wants me to go back, so i shall. Enough of that, anyway. Since everyone is posting about politics i'll post about my week.

The weekend wasn't bad, on Sunday morning i woke up at 7am (stunningly, shockingly, yes.), guess what, to go to the temple! Anyway, Khai Ying (temple friend) and I decided to explore this new temple quite a distance away, in East Malvern, plus yesterday was F1 in Melbourne, at almost all of the tram stops it was packed with officers and people. Alot of them wearing red for Ferrarri! Haha okay. Perhaps i shall go next year and have a look! Perhaps.

After going to the temple, me, Yeevon, Minghui and Chung, these good friends which i have in IH since coming to Melbourne, oh, and two others, YiJien and Ton, my fellow commerce buddies =D went to the city for shopping and stocking up on food and other stuff. The weather was REALLY HOT, i must say. These few days its freaking about 37 or 38 everyday. God. can you imagine the heatttt. I feel like i'm gonna be roast chicken soon! Haha.

Anyway we had to go back quite early cause yeevon and Minghui had self-help. Its this like chore thingy. You can choose to do gardening, help out in the kitchen and stuff like that. Its 9 hours compulsory per semester, if you don't do it, you can choose to opt out by paying AUD$130, which is zomg alot of money. Or, you can choose to do Level1 self help, which is about 3 hours per week, and they'll minus about $500 off your fees, which is a really good thing! I signed up for the Level1 self help.

AND today's my self help!

Gosh. I've to help out in the kitchen for 3 hours, serving people and stuff. Sighh. I hope i'll be okay.

Now going to do accounting homework, its due tomorrow. Later i'll practice some Japanese. Tomorrow'll be a really long day for me, sigh. About 6 hours of lessons =( I'll post again sooon, bye!

Just for Laughs!

2008-03-16T11:30:00.008+08:00

Americans Are NOT Stupid:

British are Also Not Stupid:

Russell Peters - Whole World's Mixing:

Here's 3 extremely hilarious videos!

You'll have to really pay attention to the last one... it's REALLY, REALLY FUNNY!!!

French + Greek = FREEK

HAHA!!

Why We Are So Unpatriotic 2

2008-03-15T14:26:00.002+08:00

Athena, I'll just give my opinion as well!

Why are we so unpatriotic?

Athena says it's because non-Bumis are never treated as true Malaysians.

Indeed, we were never treated as one. In almost every form you see, there'll be a column for 'Race' and a column for 'Religion'.

I daresay that our elders have experienced a lot of the racism. Maybe we have, too.

When I was young, I was always 'patriotic'. I would always support Malaysians. In a competition or anything. When my parents discussed about my sister's future, in which she said she would not return, I thought that it was absurd! Why would you want to leave your homeland, where you were born in, schooled in, brought up in?

In a way, I felt that we owed the Government something.

Then as I entered secondary school, I slowly began to see why is it my sister made that decision.

In anything, priority must always be given to a certain race.

In anything, the 3 races must always be present; that shows that we're united.

Are we?

I'm kind of sitting on the fence here.

I mean, well, true, racism is widespread. How many times have we been subjected to it? I still remember that last year, I was a little worried that I might not get a Top 6 post in prefects. It's not that the seniors don't like me; it's because of, well, race. There are a lot of very capable Chinese prefects. And it can't be all made up of Chinese because, it's a 'tradition', not just in school, but in the whole country.

But then again, I thought that, maybe there's hope. We youngsters don't seem to see race as a barrier any more. Besides, wherever you go, you'll encounter apartheid, prejudism... Malaysia is just one of them.

Then when I started thinking about what I should do after my SPM. Mass Communications seems appealing right now, and I think that's where I'm heading. Which field in it, I have no idea just yet. Then came the question: Will I return?

Now that my thinking's slightly more 'matured' (HAAHA!), I think I agree with Athena, I'll always be a Malaysian, but she won't be my home. I mean, if I'm out here looking for a job, I'll just be subjected to that Bumi-thing again and again. Should I go to the US and find a job, there's always prejudice against Asians, but, now that the world is moving forward, I don't think there's so much of it compared to here. How many Americans are crazy over Asian celebrities? Not to mention, there are more Asians living there now.

Malaysia is always a double standard country. Like, say, in history, any battles against Malaya or whatever it is she's called back then, is condemned, yet when she wins a battle against some other country, it is our pride. It's wrong for the Dutch to attack Malacca, but it's right for Malacca to attack other lands?

Okay, I might not make complete sense here. Athena is still the better factual writer. But what I'm trying to stress upon is that why should I come back to serve my country, when she has not and probably will not back me up?

'Nuff said, or we'll become a political blog =)

Why we are so 'unpatriotic'

2008-03-15T00:12:00.002+08:00

Dear Mr PM :

Goodness ! Barely a week has passed and already the opposition seems to be squabbling . It certainly does not augur well for them to disagree so soon over the appointment of a certain state's Chief Minister . Whilst a lot of people have jumped on the bandwagon to lambast LKS , I beg to differ . I do not believe that he meant disrespect to any member of the royal family . Rather , he was just fighting for what he believed in , and I think his thoughts reflect many Malaysians' too .

Since the DAP has won the most seats in that particular state , it's only fair that they get to lead the state government . However , what I found most disturbing was the fact that the state constitution allows only a Malay to become a CM ! Now , which part of that is Malaysian ? Any Malaysian citizen , regardless of race should be eligible to become a chief minister , or dare I say it , Prime Minister !

You always ask us , why is it that we go overseas and why is it that we refuse to return to help in the development of our country . Well , Mr PM sir , let me ask you in return , why is it that we are still treated as second-class citizens and not as Malaysians ? What can I give as an answer to my children when they realize that they will not have equal opportunities in their home ?

From thestar.com.my , ' Hishammuddin said the move would not only negatively affect the Malays, but all Malaysians as well.'

Well , Mr Hishamuddin , I'm afraid you've been living in a world of your own all this time . I do not see how this move would negatively affect all Malaysians as we seem to be doing well even with the NEP in place !

Sir , I did not swim to this country illegally , nay , nor my parents . I was born here and I certainly would like to regard this as my country , but does my country recognise all her people as equals ? I was very sorely disappointed when I read that the NEP would not be abolished . It is high time that we are all treated as citizens with equal rights and not protect just one race . We are all CITIZENS of this country that we call home , and we deserve to be treated as such . Little wonder then , Sir , why we are viewed as 'unpatriotic' ! Since we are treated as second class citizens , of course we tend to go to better places , and the brain drain will continue .

From the famous words of Mr Lee Kuan Yew , "Malaysia — to whom does it belong? To Malaysians. But who are Malaysians? I hope I am, Mr Speaker, Sir. But sometimes, sitting in this chamber, I doubt whether I am allowed to be a Malaysian. "

YES , I want a Malaysian Malaysia , not a Malay Malaysia !

Until you can promise us this , I regret to say that Malaysia will be my home , but not my country .

HP7 to be Split Into Two

2008-03-14T14:31:00.001+08:00

The movie for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be split into two movies.

I got this from the Galaxie Blog:

David Yates (HP And The Order Of The Phoenix) will direct and Steve Kloves (HP And The Goblet Of Fire) will write both parts, which will be filmed at the same time.

When will Harry Potter fans get the goods? Well, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows part one is set for November 2010 while part two is coming out May 2011.

Hpoefully, it'll be the best two movies ever!

Hehehehehe

2008-03-13T05:31:00.000+08:00

81 words

Speedtest

Sea Patrol

2008-03-12T11:49:00.002+08:00

Recently, I tuned in to Astro's Hallmark Channel's latest series, Sea Patrol.

The series, an Australian TV drama, is set onboard a Navy sea vessel, named HMAS Hammersley.

As I've just started watching it, I'm not very sure about what happens in the series. Tonight's the third episode, and I daresay I'm gonna enjoy watching it!

It's about how the Australian Navy protect their territory in the sea. So far, it's pretty entertaining.

Anyone who watches it as well?

Interesting ...

2008-03-11T18:49:00.000+08:00

Haha , I never knew there was stuff like this

70 words

Speed test

Todayy.

2008-03-11T18:35:00.002+08:00

Sigh. A tiring, tiring day. Today I officially had 5 classes in uni. Last week I only had 4, cause tutorials didn't start until this week. After doing my accounts homework till about 12+ or 1 yesterday, i woke up at 8am this morning, dawdled for about half an hour half asleep chewing my breakfast before realising i was quite, quite late.

I was really sleepy this morning, apparently YeeVon called me twice to wake me up, but i didn't hear the phone ring. Thank goodness i set my alarm on my phone, a habit which i now practice everyday, since there's no mum or dad to wake me up. Ah well. Anyway, I shall not digress.

I rushed to Japanese class with MingHui, thank gooodness we weren't late. At 12, i had a 2 hour break. Last week i stayed at uni, but this week i decided to go back to IH for lunch, and print out some notes. All in all, today i walked to and fro from uni 2 times each, quite an achievement for me. And i managed to walk back in 10 mins from uni! I must say i am quite proud =p usually i take about 20mins haha.

I came back at around 4.30, had a short nap, then bathed and got ready for high table. Its like a formal-ish dinner where we've to wear Harry Potter-like academic gowns, or dress robes, whichever you prefer.

Ahh. Sad sad. I haven't played ping pong in two days. Over the weekend i played like 3 - 4 hours per day, i must say i'm quite addicted to pingpong now haha! Anyway, off to practice my katakana now. Ja, mata ne!

How Fast I type

2008-03-11T17:59:00.002+08:00

65 words

Speed test

10,000 B.C

2008-03-10T21:33:00.005+08:00

Athena, 2 posts in a row is good! Keep it up!

However, you still can't beat my all time best- 8 or 9 consecutive posts I think... I wonder if anyone can?? *evil grin*

About the election, I don't think being a minority in Malaysia matters much anymore because the ones that form the majority aren't happy with the Government as well. Some don't even want the special rights granted! We're heading the right way, people!

Anyway, I went to Pyramid today with a couple of friends, and we watched 10,000 B.C. Somehow I'm just too lazy to type out what the movie is all about, so you'll just have to watch it for yourself.

The movie was quite okay but the names were weird, and that's why I can't remember any of the names. The main character is played by Steven Strait, who was the fire-throwing hero in the movie 'Sky High' and the leader of the Ipswich male witches and also the main character in 'The Covenant'.

I do, however, have the trailer. Here it is:

Oh and 2 weeks ago, I completed the registration for scouts, except for one person, which is the assistant troop leader. What a fine example she is. But originally, the troop leader said that he had a feeling that the number of forms and money collected won't tally. BUT IT TALLIES!!!

How I wish I can say to his face that although he did not have faith in his own committee members, we still completed the job perfectly...

Hope his mouth drops to the ground, like in the cartoons... Then I'll take a stick and ensure that he can't close it back, and will have to be in awe of us forever... Haha... Just joking...

The other side of the story

2008-03-10T06:09:00.004+08:00

Wow , 2 posts in 2 days ! Yalah I had nothing to do except sit in front of my laptop and refresh malaysiakini umpteen times to look at the results . Am missing home terribly too in the cold ...

Yes , the election results are nothing short of shocking ! When I found out that my home state of Selangor had fallen to the opposition , my only thought was : UNBELIEVABLE !
The coalition defeat was likened to a tsunami and it is up to the opposition to prove to us that indeed , they can deliver . Hopefully , the change is positive . Opposition leaders have always asked us to give them a chance , and now that we have , they should deliver what they promised .

On the other hand , this is also an interesting read since I've been reading blogs who are pro-opposition and it's always good to have the other side of the story too - Choice for Chinese is here already

And also : Shrinking Chinese votes

Women's Day

2008-03-08T22:49:00.003+08:00

Hey everyone !

It's International Women's Day today ! I know that at home it's never celebrated , more so this year with the elections but in Russia , Women's Day is a BIG thing . In the last few days , wherever I walked I would see most women holding beautiful flowers . Yes , I know flowers are impermanent but really , it's nice to be appreciated . However , I must reinforce my point that it's not about the flowers , it's about being celebrated ! In metros and in shopping complexes , I saw couples and families enjoying themselves today . Guys at home , shame on you all la :P Women's day is sort of like a combination of many other celebrations like Mother's day , teacher's day etc etc .

Last year , I had my first taste of how Women's day is celebrated here . Students will present various flowers and gifts to female teachers and almost every girl will be holding a bouquet of flowers , whether young or old . Families fete their wives , mothers and daughters .The feeling was just great ! I mean , it's just not about Women's day itself ; it's about how the people here treat women in general . Guys here are more of the gentlemen type , period . Of course , there are black sheep also and that is not to say that I've never met great guys at home but I'm just saying , generally , guys living back home can't compare . For example , how many times have we all seen men squeezing into the elevator once the door opens ? Or how many times have we had someone hold the door for us back home ? It's just different here ! Heh but our guys learn pretty fast too ; most of them here will offer to help carry our bags/packages if they bump into us . My opinion is that , no , I'll carry it myself but it's nice to know that someone offered . When my 10kg parcel arrived , I went to the post office and carried it back to the hostel by myself ; I met a friend on the way and he offered to carry it . I declined , however , I appreciated the gesture . Now tell me , have you ever had that kind of experience at home ? I certainly haven't !

Of course , you may say that I'm biased and unfair - but hey , everyone's entitled to their own opinions right ? Having said that , I know that there are 2 sides to the story and yeah , there are great guys back home too .

Anyway , enough of all that . My thoughts are in a mess regarding the election results . Seems like the opposition finally won big enough to wrest 3 states away from the BN , which is great but can they really deliver ? I'm really happy that SJ was won by the opposition , however , to me it's more about the individual candidate and not as a whole . I support Hannah , but it's about Hannah being a better candidate than the other person , and I do not support PAS per se . What I'm trying to put across is , I respected some of the candidates who unfortunately did not win . It's a pity that they lost and it really makes me wonder if they lost because they were in a certain party , or was it because people just didn't like them as individuals ? Either way , the winds of change are blowing and another chapter of history will be written after today .

On the other hand , Jeff Ooi won ! Yay !! Great news overall because it seems that change is on the way . Only time will tell .

Posing?

2008-03-07T20:42:00.002+08:00

Here's me, Poseidon, pasting something on the notice board. Guess what I need the picture for??

Moral project...

Surviving With Wolves: A Fake!

2008-03-06T23:18:00.002+08:00

Sabriel, I think you'll want to hear this story I found.

First, I'll give a brief introduction.

Recently, the US and UK book market has been hit by a series of so-called memoirs, which actually turned out to be fiction. And once, Sabriel posted about a book, Surviving With Wolves.

However, the author, Misha Defonseca, admitted that the book was indeed not a memoir, it was actually entirely a work of fiction! This is part of a blog post from the Guardian Blog:

Only today, the story broke that another second world war "memoirist" Misha Defonseca has admitted that her bestselling Surviving with Wolves bore little resemblance to the events of her life. "The book is a story, it's my story," she protested. "It's not the true reality, but it is my reality. There are times when I find it difficult to differentiate between reality and my inner world."

Sabriel, do you feel cheated?

It makes me think twice. The book that I just bought, A Long Way Gone, is labelled as non-fiction but then again, the author could've made this story up as well. If that's the case, the book industry's really going down the drain; fakes are everywhere!

I'm gonna catch up on my book now. The full article on the blog can be found here.

First day.

2008-03-06T20:32:00.002+08:00

Yeah well. I know its already Thursday so its abit delayed haha. But anyway, my first day of University! Gosh that sounds really really grand. I only had one lecture that day, Japanese. Yeah Japanese! Its like my dream come true to be able to take Jap in uni. Yayay!

So anyway, feeling excited and thrilled and everything good under the sun (hardly), I walked to Uni with a few of my other friends from my residential college. We went to the Prince Phillip lecture hall in the architechture building (yeah! The buildings in my uni are all named after people, some really weird and funny names, but that's another story), sat down and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

We waited for about half an hour, and was wonder where oh where IN THE WORLD is the lecturer, who is so irrensponsibily late on his first day. There were about 60 people in the lecture hall waiting too. So i text-ed (yes text, no more called SMS in Australia) YeeVon, who happened to take Japanese too, but wasn't in the lecture.

"Where are u? I'm in the law building. Lecture started edi."

ZOMG. I tell you, the law building is like freaking far away. Its about 15mins walk at the very least. Its not even located IN the uni campus, you have to cross the main road, its one of those work buildings. Freak. Anyway, by the time we rushed there, lucky us. The lecture was already over. -_____________-" feel so stupid man. Haha!

So much for my first lecture of the year.

The End... of Exams

2008-03-06T17:30:00.002+08:00

Finally!

The March test ended today.

I stayed back for a prefects (actually, top 6) meeting with our teacher in charge to discuss about the next board. Who's capable, who has potential, who can't do a thing, who's bodek-ing us, etc. etc.

We finally came to the conclusion that this year's board will be weak. Really, really weak. Pathetic, even.

But since we have to pick, we'll have to choose the best of the worst.

Make sense?

I gotta go bathe now.

I just finished my exams, and I have tuition tonight.

From Home to A Long Way Gone

2008-03-01T19:56:00.006+08:00

Here's Westlife's latest single, Home.

Yesterday, I went to MPH. I bought a couple of books, including a non-fiction one. This is one of the very few non-fiction books I've bought. It's called A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, by Ishmael Beah. Here's the synopsis:

A gripping story of a child’s journey through hell and back.

There may be as many as 300,000 child soldiers, hopped-up on drugs and wielding AK-47s, in more than fifty conflicts around the world. Ishmael Beah used to be one of them. He is one of the first to tell his story in his own words.

In A LONG WAY GONE, Beah, now twenty-six years old, tells a riveting story. At the age of twelve, he fled attacking rebels and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By thirteen, he’d been picked up by the government army, and Beah, at heart a gentle boy, found that he was capable of truly terrible acts. Eventually released by the army and sent to a UNICEF rehabilitation center, he struggled to regain his humanity and to reenter the world of civilians, who viewed him with fear and suspicion. This is, at last, a story of redemption and hope.

I think that it's suitable to go with Home. However I've yet to begin reading it, as I'm still preoccupied with other books at the moment, not to mention, the looming exam.

WISH ME LUCK!!!

* Photo and synopsis taken from the official site, link on the book title above.

School: Week 8

2008-02-29T18:27:00.003+08:00

Hello guys! The last week was so hectic that I didn't have a chance to come online.

And now that I want to type it all out, I've just realised that I can't remember much.

Well, all I can remember is that I more or less settled the scout registration. I've passed the deadline, actually but the troop leader was in a good mood this week so he didn't complain :)

We had photoshoots this week, and I counted that I'm gonna take a total of 9 photos this year!!! Sounds cool at first but not when you have to rush around places, sit down, make sure none one strand of hair is astray, and smile although you're obviously tired of it. Not to mention, the heat from wearing the prefects' blazer!

I remember skipping a number of classes this week but I can't remember why!

Oh well.

I guess I'll just have to wait till it comes back before I edit this post!

I expect that I won't be able to post anything next week as well because my exam's next week itself and I have not studied!!!

Orientation!

2008-02-26T17:58:00.004+08:00

Well. Orientation! It started since last Saturday, and runs all the way till this Saturday. That includes my residential college orientation, and my univerysity orientation. Yeah well. So. The theme of this year's orientation in my residential college is Monst-O Week. Basically the theme is monsters. Haha. So, my O-Weeker (something like a facilitator) is called Marissa, so our group name was Margoyle, instead of gargoyle. Get it?

Anyway, we had many many activities, the schedule was packed like mad. The first day, we had this station game thingy called Orienteering. Basically, you have to run to different places in around the residential college according to the clues given, and at every station we would have to complete a task. Omg! Goodness =.= it was definitely not MY kind of game. It involved lots and lots of running here and there. And everyone seemed really really keen on winning, so they were running and running like flying wthhh. is that even possible?!

Then one station was one member has to carry another member up 5 floors of stairs. Guess who got carried? ME. Arghhh. There was another girl much smaller size than me but they said i looked skinnier. Does that even make sense? It was like bumpy all the way and i was so freaked out that the fella would drop me. Luckily he didn't'.

Yesterday, we had a cocktail party as one of the orientation events. The problem was, we had to wear like formal clothing, (dress and stuff), and it was so short notice! Omgoshhhhh. I really didn't feel like going, since cocktails and dancing and stuff aren't really my cup of tea. Yeah well, in the end, i wasn't the most reluctant one haha! Anyway. Me and my friends ended up playing ping pong. It was really funny. supposed to be a cocktail party but wthh we end up playing ping pong goodness. And the caucasions are seriously good at ping pong. i thought the chinese were supposed to be better! Their strokes are really good and forceful. I guess i shall need more practicing =p

Cocktail Party.

Moving on, today was the first day of my uni orientation. Overall, to sum it up, it was quite boring. My host group, apart from me, consisted of all local Australians so i felt abit left out. The activities weren't that great either. After an intro session on our names and stuff, we had a campus tour which was almost 3 hours long omg! I suppose it was good exercise though. By the time i got back, my legs were aching like mad already.

Then, we had an event in college called "Magical Mystery Tour". Yeah well alright. All of us were wondering what in the world was it. Curious, we decided to join. In the end, it turned out to be a run around Melbourne city, something like cross country run OMG. All of us were asked to wear our college T shirts and we had paint on our faces like red indians =.= i guess it was something like a publicity stunt. Goodness, if we were in KL we would be caught by the police before even halfway around.

YeeVon and me with our faces painted.

After that, the rest went to the cinema, I had to go back alone to meet mum, who wanted to drop my new pillow at my college. So, I had to take the tram alone, for the first time ever, and stop at what-stop-i-don't-know. YeeVon and MingHui, two good friends from Taylor's, previously, walked me to the tram station. I didn't have money, didn't' know where to go, and my phone was low on battery. Okay. So i thought the tram ticket was $2.80. So i borrowed $3 from MingHui and got on the tram. The two of them saw me off, as i was buying the tram ticket.

"Zone1 2-hour full fare Tram Ticket. Please insert $3.50"

OMG! I thought it was $2.80. I shouted at Yeevon and Minghui that its $3.50 but the door closed. I was like, "Shit now i can't even get a ticket." All i could do was pray that the tram conductor wouldn't come by checking for tickets. You see, they do random checks for tickets, not every ride. Once i caught sight of mum's hotel, I ran down at the stop before it and walked away hurriedly. Guiltyyyy ahhh. I feel guilty for not buying the ticket haha! Its kind of stupid since most people don't even get the tram tickets since the checks don't happen very often. But when they do, a hefty fine comes along with it if you don't possess a ticket. Well yeah.

Anyway i made it back to the residential college safely, without any fines. That's about it for now. I think its been a long post anyway. Miss you all, take care!

School: Week 7 (I Think)

2008-02-22T19:40:00.003+08:00

Well, Sabriel, it was really good to hear from you!

Anyway, I'll continue with my post. So, this week was really demanding. Stressful. Frustrating.

I'll just highlight the two main things that happened.

In scouts, yet again, the troop leader came to me, and he was not happy. At all. He wanted me to complete the registration of members by next week. He blames everything on me, saying how I can't perform my task properly and how he has a feeling that it'll be a screw up when it's finished.

I think it's really unfair of him to do that. During scout meetings on Saturdays, there's not enough time to collect all the forms, plus their ko-ku card and fees. We have to do it for over a 100 people in about 10 minutes, which is completely and totally insane! He does not give us (me, my assistant and the treasurer) the time to do what we have to do. And because of it, it's our fault. And, he does not have faith in me that I can do it!!! I really feel like strangling him. Once, a friend told me that the troop leader was hospitalized. Everyone else was sympathetic but unfortunately, I was gleeful. I was relieved that I'm free for a while. Sadly, it was revealed later that it's only a joke.

I mean, every time he sees me, he will have something to ask of me. And his demands can be OUTRAGEOUS. And that, is why I'm calling him STUPID. He can just SMS me at night and ask for something he wants the next day. And in terms of letter writing, he just won't give me all the points. He'll say like 'I want this and this, but for the reason of doing it, you think of it yourself.' I am pissed at him. I hate him!! Yesterday during a committee meeting when I was being screwed upside down I was tempted to grab all the papers, throw it at his supremely, ultimately UGLY face, grab my bag and just leave. That means I'm resigning and quitting from scouts. But something held me back, and I didn't. But should it arrive to a level where I can't take it anymore I shall resign, and quit, and see how that fella copes without his secretary.

In prefects, we issued a Borang Amaran to a Form 4 for being rude and not doing her duty properly. It's only her first BA, but we suspended her. Today she brought along her mum and her sister. They went to see the discipline teacher for students, not the teacher for prefects.

In the past, this teacher, Mr.L, was involved in a similar case. The prefect was worse. But still, he sided with her. And that prefect was just so rude that the Deputy Head Prefect was in tears. This time, she and her mum talked to him, and later she wrote a report, backstabbing us and 'hoping that actions will be taken'. And when she first arrived in school, her gang of girlfriends had a stare that looked like 'you're all gonna get it'.

During recess, one of her girlfriends gave me a triumphant stare. I did not return the stare, but I kept in memory that I will find every single tiny fault of this prefect until she is fired from the Prefectorial Board. That goes for the entire gang of them.

So anyway, later we called in the teacher in charge of prefects, who was on our side, and her as well. The teacher heard both sides of the story, which, that prefect, added to make her look better. She also looked scared. In the end, we decided to continue her suspension. We won. In the end, she did not gain anything, except our anger and vow that we will fire her from the Prefectorial Board one day. ONE DAY.

That prefect who gave me that stare, I was very tempted to find out her reaction when she found out that we had won, after all. And that she had lost, indirectly. The whole situation can be described as if they brought a shotgun, and we gave them a cannon. And I realised that today, it was as if we were at war with her, with her mother and friends indirectly helping. Both sides had spies reporting the next move of the other, and the prize of who argued better, with our prides at stake. So thankfully, we came out the victor.

Thank you. I just feel so much better now! I guess expressing one's thoughts here can be useful after all!

Helloo.

2008-02-22T17:27:00.002+08:00

Guys!

Hello from Australia! It seems like such such such a long time since i was back in Msia, i miss it so much already. i hope winter holidays come soon so i can go back, but its hardly been a week. sigh! well, i guess i'll blog about what happened. currently its 8.28pm here. my mum, who's in aus too, but not staying with me, just went back to the hotel.

I arrived early on monday morning, jet lagged, and took the bus to Melbourne city. I moved into my residential college on Tuesday morning though. Sigh. My residential college is really, really big. It has around 8 or 9 buildings in total. Really huge.

Anyway, i'm staying in probably the oldest and most rotten and cacated and everything horrible wing. Its called Scheps wing, and apparently its where all the juniors stay. To move into a nicer and bigger room, you have to collect credit points blabla, stuff like that.

The first time i opened the door and saw my room, for the whole day i was quite depressed and unhappy. My room is kinda small and the walls are made out of brick where you can see the bricks, which makes it look very very old. Also, its painted a rather gloomy looking blue colour. sigh. the first night it was really hard for me and it took so long to fall asleep. but now i'm getting used to it, i pasted some pictures and stuff on the wall to cover off the blue so i suppose its alright now..

also. every meal, which is breakfast lunch and dinner, we have to go down to the big hall to eat where there are many tables, and every meal i sit with different people. i've met many people from many diff countries and places. sigh. so every meal i feel very awkward and uncomfortable and its so hard to be myself because there's all these people i don't know. i suppose that's how its going to be.

tomorrow's orientation day for my residential college, and it runs with the university's orientation day for the whole of next week, so i'll be very very busy and meeting alot of people i guess. i'm feeling quite nervous. sigh =(

anyway that's about it for now, i think its quite a long post already. take care alright, you guys. miss you all!

Good Luck, Sabriel!!

2008-02-18T21:05:00.002+08:00

Sabriel, when you're reading this you'll be in Australia already eh?

Just wanna tell you, enjoy life at Australia! I know how much you like looking at the Europeans!

But above it all, study hard!

You'll always have an outlet here in this 'little world of ours'. I wonder how it'll become when all of us are overseas!

Time, Precious Time

2008-02-15T17:52:00.002+08:00

I am behind in homework.

Just wanted to leave a quick update.

I lost recently in the MSSD, in straight games. However, I reached the second round thanks to a bye. It means that I skipped the first round. So I improved on my previous record. Last time I lost in the first round. This time I lost in the second round.

Yi Xian wasn't really nervous but I was seriously nervous. I didn't know what to do when all my shots went into the net. Our teammates gave us advice and we managed to get a few points.

Sadly, I didn't take any photos.

I got to go now, and :

1) Buy a new pair of scout shoes for the expedition tomorrow. The current one's too small

2) DO HOMEWORK!!

Berlin

2008-02-12T22:59:00.006+08:00

Hey guys ! Happy CNY !

Yes , I know this post is very late in coming , been slacking the whole time . Classes have begun and I'm just so lazy !

Anyway , let me start with our first day in Berlin . Since we arrived at around 6pm in the evening , by the time we got through customs it was already dark outside . We took a bus to the U bahn station Jakob-Kaiser Platz and then and changed to the S bahn at Jungfernheide to Westend . Our hostel was very near to the station so we had no difficulties finding it . Well actually we met a couple from China at Westend station who helped us with the directions . As soon as we got off the train , I spotted them and asked my friends in mandarin 要问他们吗？ The guy came over to me and asked , 要问什么？Haha that was funny . they've been living in Berlin for quite some time now . I guess it's true that wherever we go , we'll always meet Chinese people !

The next day , we went to the Turkish area , nothing much of interest there . We took a few pictures of some church and also a Chinese restaurant . People in Berlin and Dublin seem to really really like Chinese food ( there were many Chinese restaurants everywhere ) !

Can you see the Chinese words ?

Outside the church

Next , we went to the Berlin wall . Oh , I should also mention that I was impromptu navigator , which was funny since I never thought I was good at directions . ( Poseidon : gahahahahaha ! yalah I still can't drive ! ) After getting off from the train , it took a little asking around and lots of walking before we got to the wall . The place that we went to had the longest remaining portion of the wall , about 1km long . I was rather surprised that it was not crowded at all , maybe it was winter ...

View of the wall

View of West Berlin from East side gallery

After that , we decided to go to Alexanderplatz station to see one of Berlin's tallest buildings , their TV tower . Alexanderplatz station itself is huge , it was like a shopping mall on it's own .

Alexanderplatz station

Alexanderplatz station , with the double decker S-bahn passing through

All right , I'm much too lazy to type now . Will continue with this some other day !

Happy CNY!

2008-02-11T17:14:00.000+08:00

Guys,
I know its a little late, but

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!

Umm. This'll be a short post. I'll post a longer one later. Spent a week back in my hometown, Penang, for Chinese New Year and had lots lots of fun there =D I am currently a renewed DotA freak thanks to my three cousins.

Was really enjoying alot in penang! Too bad I ate too much curry/hot stuff and I got sick =.= which ended up in my whole family going back to KL earlier cause mum wanted me to see the doctor.

Oh well. And on the way back to KL we got stuck in the jam, 7 hours on the road! Madness. What's worse is that my handphone just k.o.-ed. I don't seem to be very lucky these few days. Brhhh.

Less than a week before departing to Melbourne! Aaaah. x__X

Chinese New Year!

2008-02-10T14:52:00.000+08:00

Okay, I'm finally back to K.L.

Chinese New Year was fun, noisy, full of laughter...

So I started the journey on Tuesday night, to Ipoh, which is Dad's hometown.

The next day I experienced cries from 3 young kids and a 7 year-old. You cannot imagine how tough it was.

This is a picture of the 3 young ones looking out at something. I can't remember what. But imagine, young kids cry at the slightest provocation. With THREE of them in a single-storey terrace house, I swear that it's really testing my eardrums.

This is the 7 year-old (above). He can be VERY, VERY playful.

(above) This is the younger brother to the 7 year-old. I find him the nicest to play with as he's very sociable and talkative. He's 2 years-old. He enjoys repeating whatever you say and can sing, too! And he's just SO cute. Not to mention, he enjoys reading. He can read the same book over and over again. This can be frustrating at times but compared to the rest, he's the best.

(above) This is the other 2 year-old. She was born 2 weeks after her cousin. It took me ages to get a photo of her as she's very reluctant to do so. She constantly sticks to her mother and refuses to allow others carry her or anything. If you try, she'll start crying. And that is something I don't want to hear.

(above) This is the youngest of all. Like his sister, he will cry if he's separated from his mother. I had to carry him once when his mother had to bathe his sister, and it wasn't an enjoyable experience. Throughout my stay he made the most amount of noise.

This is the brothers on the first day of New Year(above). Their parents wore orange, too.

(above) This is the cousins born 2 weeks apart. They look like a pair of husband and wife of old times, don't they?

(above) The cousins again!

(above) My grandfather and the youngest cousin. He's wearing some plastic container.

Unfortunately, I don't have any photos from Lunas as nothing much happened there. But I did have a great time, though!

Greetings From Lunas, Kedah!

2008-02-08T15:16:00.000+08:00

Hello!

I'm typing this from Lunas, Kedah, which is Mom's hometown. We departed from Ipoh today. I'm actually surprised that I still have the time to post this!

I'm enjoying my Chinese New Year holiday tremendously. When I return, I'll post on my noisy experience in Ipoh!

I've experienced so much and took photos as well. Till then,

ENJOY THE HOLIDAYS!

Elizabeth: The Golden Age

2008-02-03T14:55:00.000+08:00

I just watched Elizabeth: The Golden Age, and I must say, it's very nice!

It's about the daughter of Anne Boleyn, Queen Elizabeth I, and how she single-handedly ruled England. The most memorable moment was the defeat of the Spanish armada.

The movie's about how she struggled to balance everything. The need for a husband and heir, the threat from Spain and the usual duties. Her biography is here.

The music from the movie's not bad too, you know!

Here's the synopsis from Wikipedia:

In 1585, Roman Catholic Spain is the most powerful country in Europe, with
King Philip II on the throne. Seeing Protestant England as a threat, and in
retaliation for England's constant piracy of Spanish ships, Philip intends to
make war on his long-time enemy in order to take over the land that is now
England and add it to what is already Spain, making his daughter Isabella Queen of England.

After watching it, I'm now more fascinated with the Tudors and eager to watch The Other Boleyn Girl.

Here's the trailer for Elizabeth: The Golden Age:

The movie stars Cate Blanchett as Elizabeth, Geoffrey Rush (of Pirates of the Caribbean) as Francis Walsingham (her advisor) and Clive Owen as Walter Raleigh, whom she fell in love with but just weren't meant to be together.

Enjoy!

School: Week 5

2008-02-01T18:52:00.000+08:00

So, the 5th week of school came and passed.

As usual, a lot has happened.

In prefects, we, that is, the Top 6, were finally too tired to continue being nice to the near useless Form 4s. So on Monday we showed them what we're capable of. Some of us screamed our lungs out. I myself issued a few Borang Amaran, which is the prefect's disciplinary form, to at least 5 people for not paying up on time. Some yelled and yelled. One of them cried.

That really shook the Form 4s. They were unsure of how to go about. They were afraid to greet us. They were kinda lost. But we were fed up with them, seriously.

On Tuesday, we called 3 prefects into the Prefects' Room and lectured them. Since we already released everything the day before it wasn't that bad for them. They were lucky, 'cause they were the ones we wanted to screw. The ones who got it on Monday was just to show that even good ones aren't immune.

Then on Wednesday, we caught another Form 4 talking during his duty and then we proceeded by suspending him. We told him to think things through, to reevaluate everything. We gave him good advice. He was nearly in tears when he left.

Thursday was a nice day. We handed partial control to the Form 4s, to gauge how well they'll perform handling the board. They weren't good, but some of them have the potential. They just need more experience.

Then comes the nice part. Another Form 4 had to suffer our wrath as she did not greet us. As usual, we called her into the Prefects' Room, grilled her, issued yet another Borang Amaran, and then gave the same advice we gave the first one. Before we advised her she was fine, but after that she, too, was nearly in tears.

I should call this Borang Amaran week, really. We issued more Borangs than the whole of last year, I think. Not to mention, we did something every day except today (Friday). From scolding, yelling, to suspending. Not that we like it, but we just had to. They were stepping over our heads!

In class, I'm starting to enjoy Chemistry. My teacher's quite interesting. Today during English I gave horror writing my first try. Maybe in the next few days I'll post it!

At the beginning of the week the headmistress entered my class and started giving us a 2-period lecture. And after all that, she asked for the 3 points she gave us. THREE!!! When she babbled for more than an hour!

And just a few hours ago, I was told that I should join the school's debating team. My friends said that I can debate. Do you guys think so? Somehow, I'm not 100% sure.

Also, I've just started reading First Among Equals by Jeffrey Archer. It has a lot of political elements inside it, yet somehow I like it!

This weekend I'll be quite busy. Somehow, things just keep piling up!

I shall stop here, I think. I feel that there's more but I can't think of them now. When it comes I'll add it. And if I don't post before then,

Happy Chinese New Year!

Today.

2008-01-30T20:13:00.000+08:00

At first I thought I wouldn't post, but then since Athena posted such a short one I think I'll post one too. A short one, I mean.

Today was quite tiring compared to the past few days, where I've been slouching at home sleeping a lot and watching anime. Woke up around 8 something, which is pretty early for me now that it's still holidays.

I left house for the KTM station to KL Central, where some of my classmates picked me up. You see, today was one of our classmates, Jerry's, birthday. Without him knowing, we planned to surprise him at his house haha!

So anyway, we arrived at his condo after rounds and rounds of wrong turns, and his dad opened the door for us, telling us that he was still sleeping. The whole mob of 12 of us classmates tried to "tiptoe" as quietly as we could into his room. Then one classmate jumped on him shouting "Its your BIRTHDAY!" . I think the first time he saw us, he really thought he was dreaming, pulled the blanket and went back to sleep. The second time, he was too stunned to say a word haha!

Anyway, after the surprise barge-in to Jerry's house, we presented him with his "cupcake" birthday cake which consisted of small cupcakes decorated with a football theme, the football freak that he is.

We even went to Pyramid after that, before coming back at around 6. Was so tired I felt like my legs would break!

Overall, it was a more lively day compared to normal. =p

Ahh. p/s : I think I'll be getting my laptop on friday yayyyyy!

Rendition: A Must Watch!

2008-01-27T21:03:00.000+08:00

I watched Rendition yesterday.

It was a very nice show! It tells about how an Egyptian who has a green card in U.S. became a suspected terrorist.

The show definitely questions the States' ability to differentiate the good from the bad. A particular sentence got stuck in my head:

Out of all the people you arrested this way, how many were terrorists? One? Two? Seven?

Jake Gylenhaal said it. Actually, the Egyptian is innocent. When Jake's character finds out, he risked his career by getting the documents to free the Egyptian, Anwar. Then he called the press and told everything of his monstrous experience. The next day every major newspaper's headline reported the issue. The person behind it all, Corrine, portrayed by Meryl Streep, wasn't happy but what can she do?

You should watch it. I can guarantee that you won't regret it.

Here's Leave Out All The Rest by Linkin Park:

This song had changed my view of Linkin Park. I just can't get enough of the song now!

Cold ... Brr

2008-01-25T19:49:00.000+08:00

Hey everyone !

It's so cold here ! Just makes me want to go back to sleep in the mornings . So lazy ...

Anyway , today I went to the Malaysian embassy in Moscow . I must say , compared to the other buildings , our embassy is very small and simple . It's the first time I went to the embassy after being here for one and a half years . Surprisingly , most of the staff in the embassy are Russian but luckily they speak English .

Today one of my friends went back home ... Kinda wish I'd chosen to go back too but I guess it's an all new experience going on a self-planned trip with 3 other friends . Hope everything goes well !

MSSD, Here I Come!

2008-01-25T17:50:00.000+08:00

I just found out today that I'm selected for MSSD!!! I'm overwhelmed!!! I'm terrified!!! I'm excited!!! It will be on the 14th of February according to the teacher advisor.

A few scout letters that I sent previously were also approved. They were about camps and expeditions. So it means more work for me. I've made other strides this week, including completing most of my homework and being the Photographer for 'Pembimbing Rakan Sebaya'.

Not to mention, in prefects we the Top 6 are now given full power to suspend any underperforming Form 4 prefects. Before this we needed the teacher and Head of Students' Affairs to suspend a prefect but we can issue Warning Forms. Today we told this and we're now allowed to keep giving Warning Forms to any Form 4 prefects whom we see underperforming or not following the rules until they qualify to be suspended. Then we can suspend them straightaway without notice. In other words, we've just been given power.

Those of you who know me will know that I like having power. So, this is a wonderful opportunity to show it. Besides, the other Top 6 have complained that I'm being too lenient with the juniors as I don't really chide them. This morning the other 5 had scolded a few juniors. From Monday onwards I'm issuing Warning Forms to whoever it is who hasn't paid up yet. Sounds good doesn't it?

My Internet's malfunctioning. It's some Streamyx problem. No idea why it hasn't been rectified yet. I can gain access to some websites only. No idea why, though.

Tomorrow, I will be attending a driving course, after which I'll be taking the 'Undang' examination. I decided to take it early in case something unfavourable happens and I can't learn it yet or something else.

Troy, about the thing you told me last time, we're planning to have a house dana in March.

Athena, I must congratulate you on typing out such an informative post. Maybe one day I can achieve it as well. Aside from souvenirs, can you please take some photos and blog about your trip when you return? I'm sure we're all anxious to know more about those places! It's just a few photos and a long post only! Oh and for the example of questions, I have no idea which is the easier one! I couldn't even make out what some of the terms mean!

Kamma or pure dumb luck ? I'd say it's a little bit of both

2008-01-24T20:55:00.000+08:00

Hey everyone !

This is Athena after a loooooong break from posting . Just finished my anatomy and histology finals , couldn't believe that I managed to get a 5 for both of them . Soooo happy happy happy ! Especially for anatomy , because I totally did not study much until the night before but luckily for me , I got easy questions . Karma ?

Hmmm actually ah the exam system here makes it very easy to cheat in the sense that we somehow will manage to get answers to the mcq before we even sit for the exams . I don't know how my friends got it , from the seniors I think . So all of us brought a copy of the answers with us into the exam hall . Haha I know that it's not good to cheat and everything but seriously , I was desperate ! Imagine , on the night before the exams , I have to memorize more than 800 mcq questions . Amazingly though , the faculty does not change the variants from year to year , for example we have 4 variants , Variant 1 is the same as Variant 3 ; 2 and 4 is also the same . So we just took last year's answers to Variants 1 and 2 and voila , everyone passes ! There wasn't a single person who didn't copy in the Mcq test . So , we finished 100 questions in 1 hour .

Then , the best part comes . Our ORAL exam . Dang , I was sooo nervous . Ok , let me describe the situation . We had our oral exam in the lecture hall which is around 2 storeys . First , they will call our names and we go in and take our pick of papers containing different questions . This part is really down to luck as we are not allowed to look at the questions before choosing . Then , the teacher-in-charge writes down the number of our questions and we are then asked to put down our bags , but they do not tell us to not take pencilboxes , so you know la ;) . Wow at this point yesterday , once I saw my questions I realized that they were reallly reaaaaaaally easy . I mean , looking at other people's questions , mine were like 'kacang' . I was sitting on a row with a malay boy on my right and an indian guy on my left .
Okay , I don't know why I'm typing this here , but maybe you can make a comparison between my questions and someone else's :

MINE :

Question 1 :

a) Structure of joint . Classification of joints according to the shape of articular
surfaces , number of axes and function . Range of movements in joints .
b) Sulci and gyri of dorsolateral surface of hemispheres of cerebrum .
Localization of cortical centres .

Question 2 :

During the treatment of the teeth , the dentist puts a cotton tampon into the site of opening of parotid duct .
a) Where does the parotid duct open ?
b) In what region of the head is the parotid gland located ? What organs does
this gland border ?

Ps : Note the weird grammar ! They really did put it down that way !

Now some other questions ...

1) Muscles and fascias of leg : topography , function , blood supply and
innervation .
2) Anatomy of diencephalon : parts , internal structure . Localization of nuclei
and conducting tracts in diencephalon .

Anyway , my point is that the questions that i got only required surface knowledge , stuff that doesn't need much memorizing and understanding whereas the other questions required the others to actually have memorized the origins and insertions of muscles , their functions , for example turning the thigh outwards etc etc , the arteries that supply each muscle or group of muscles with blood and also the nerves which innervate the muscles . Besides that , they also have to explain the various canals and whatnots . I couldn't have done that !

So , back to cheating . People were talking and asking everyone how to do their questions out aloud . It was very funny because it wasn't an exam at all ! We're given some time to write down our answers and then our names will be called by any teacher except our own to answer orally . This also really comes down to luck as some teacher are tougher than the others . I was called by Svetlana , who is one of the better ones in terms of leniency . She didn't even listen to me while I was reading out my answers ! After that , we had to do 'pointing' which is where we have to point out certain parts / places on real preparations . We're supposed to do 10 pointings , but she only asked me 3 . WAH ! Lucky !

Okay , I don't know why I'm discussing my exam . However , I really think that kamma did help me some , and also chanting before entering the hall when I was really nervous . I mean , I could've gotten some of the really rotten questions and it wouldn't turned out very differently , but I didn't . I'm ranting I know but I wanna pour it all out la ! Exams are OVER !!!! YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY !

It's not a very satisfying way to end the exam cos I know I don't know a lot of the stuff which I ought to have known . Procrastination set in when I wanted to study and much as I tried not to get addicted to various series , the internet and just basically not doing anything , I couldn't and the result of it is that I left studying till it was very very late , the night before the exam . I musn't ever do that again . Somehow I just can't get the enthusiasm to study . Haih , I really really need to throw that habit away and start fresh this semester . Lighter timetable in terms of timing , but heavier subjects , subjects which cannot be learnt by fooling around all the time and studying only the night before the exam . *Knocks head repeatedly*

Gah , sorry for this loooooooooooooooong post , and the weirdness of it ! Miss all of you at home . Poseidon , glad you've got some of those things sorted out . Jia you ! You can do it ! Will be leaving for Berlin on the 28th so see ya'll ! Anybody want anything from Berlin or Dublin ? ;)

Happy winter everyone ! Heat in Malaysia is at it's peak but it's like -20 here , so argh !

Signing out now ,
Athena

Yay! Thaipusam

2008-01-22T17:09:00.000+08:00

I'm so happy that tomorrow's a holiday.

I'm catching up on homework but still need to finish my Chemistry folio. I need to hand it in by Friday so this holiday came at the right time.

About the MSSD thing, apparently the teacher told our names to that person and it seems that he isn't happy about it. It doesn't affect me as I've not been on speaking terms with him for more than a year, and I don't see the need to ever change that.

What I don't like is that he said he's not backing down. He said that he'll find a partner no matter what. And considering he didn't attend the tryouts, and is not a member, I think it's unfair that he gets to go for singles and doubles. But what can I do now?

Just wait and see, I guess.

Woman = Problems

2008-01-19T19:14:00.000+08:00

This is a very interesting clip. You guys should be able to understand it considering we all learn English and of course, Add Maths.

Funny, eh?

Anyway, today I had skipped English class as the teacher said yesterday that she won't be teaching. Instead, I went into the Prefects' Room along with books to catch up with homework I was so hopelessly behind in.

Luckily, I managed to complete a few. So I'm breathing a sigh of relief now.

I also only realised today that Wednesday's a public holiday. Good thing, too. I need to complete a folio for Chemistry by next Friday so the extra day is a bonus.

Today a few of us went to talk to the teacher advisor of the Badminton Club to 'fight for our rights', as one of us so nicely called it. We argued our case in just a matter of minutes, and the teacher said that she'll 'consider'. I hope it pays off! We only asked to get one person off the team. He did not attend the tryouts and yet wants to go for singles and doubles. Downright unfair, right? Anyway I'm not in good terms with him, so I don't mind him off doubles. He can get all the glory he wants in singles anyway!

Oh and Sabriel, I think this is my fourth consecutive post.

School: 3rd Week

2008-01-18T19:18:00.000+08:00

It's the end of the third week of school and I'm not happy. Not at all.

It's such an emotional roller coaster, eh? I was quite content last week but many things happened this week, especially today.

First there was the article. I just found out today that the school authorities know about it. I'm not concerned about what they'll do to whoever who wrote it, but how. I hope they do not ask the prefects to investigate the matter. We have enough to do as it is.

Which reminds me of prefect duties. So much happened this week. We had a spotcheck, various meetings for events and so on. Not to mention, I have to frame a photo up and buy a rack to keep our blazers. And since I'm the Treasurer, I have to collect money. Not just for one thing, for several.

In scouts, I was told that a letter I sent to the Head of Co-Curricular Activities was lost somewhere. So now, I have to re-print the letter and suffer the wrath of the troop leader. And I have to train my assistant, too.

I joined 2 clubs- Badminton and 'Pembimbing Rakan Sebaya'. I was elected Vice President in Badminton and have to stop training because it clashes with the school's badminton session and the teacher advisor has firmly told the board members that we have to attend every time. I need to Co- Curricular points, you see.

I tried out for MSSD today with my friend. We failed to make the cut, but we still have a chance because 1) All of us who tried out today are working together to kick out a few people who aren't deserving of a place and 2) The teacher has a meeting on Monday and if she succeeds in getting one more place it's us.

In class, I am behind homework. Most of us prefects are. I have no idea why, but we just are. You cannot imagine how much I have to do just to catch up. Chemistry notes, Chemistry folio, Biology notes, Moral, Modern Maths, Add Maths... And it's not just one exercise, it's several...

So it all adds up to one hell of a week. Not to mention the work I have from tuition. I'm barely finding time for myself. And there's replacement tomorrow for Chinese New Year! An extremely long, busy and stressful week.

I just want it to end and move on to next week.

SMKSJ- In Newspaper!

2008-01-16T19:09:00.000+08:00

I did not want to come online but after receiving news I just couldn't resist.

My school was featured in the opinions section of The Star on Tuesday 15 January 2008, page N49. It's not an article praising the school, though.

I got this from Star Online:

Ministry needs to monitor schools closely

THE segregation of boys and girls in co-ed schools is deeply ingrained in Malaysian schools. The two schools mentioned in your paper so far are only the tip of the iceberg.

I think many schools in urban areas, what more in rural areas are guilty of doing it.

Sekolah Menengah Subang Jaya, the oldest secondary school in the township with the highest density of computers in the country, has been practising this for so long that parents, think it is an Education Ministry policy.

Students are threatened with punishment – if they do not sit at designated tables, labelled “Putera” and “Puteri”.

The headmistress has also enforced many questionable rules and programmes. For example, during a recycling campaign last year, each student was forced to bring two aluminium cans per week. Some bought empty aluminium cans from the ice-cream vendors outside the school.

Students also have to sign a book to use the toilet and when the cleaners (both male and female cleaners wash and guard female toilets) are not guarding the toilet, visiting the toilet can take a long time.

It is high time the Education Ministry monitor schools closely.

AWAITING IMPROVEMENT,Subang Jaya.

I have no idea who wrote it. But I do disagree with some things. Yes, the signing of the book to enter the toilets are troublesome but the school authorities want to find out who practices vandalism or smokes in the toilet. But I think the problem is slippers. This year, there has been a lack of slippers. We have to wait outside for awhile after getting a numbered cubicle, which in itself is a long wait!

Mentally Exhausting: Price Tag Deception

2008-01-13T20:09:00.000+08:00

Sabriel I am really surprised that my post is not at the top!

Anyhow, did you mend that hole?

I played badminton for approximately 5 hours today. It was physically and mentally exhausting. Next time I'll remember to try not to waste too much energy at the beginning. Me and my classmate want to try out for MSSD, you see. And we've never partnered each other before.

We're hoping to be able to participate since it's our last year in school. The tryout's Friday. Wish us luck!

And since Sabriel posted about shopping, I thought I would too.

I bought a jacket and a T-shirt from Carrefour recently, for Chinese New Year too. The jacket looks like the ones bikers use when they're riding their bikes. The T-shirt was rather unique.

The price tag on the jacket was RM 49.90. I was fine with that, since it's pretty thick and looks nice. But when I paid, or rather, when my mom paid, it showed that the jacket only costs RM20!

Moral of the story: Looks can be deceiving. Price tags especially!

.

2008-01-12T22:12:00.000+08:00

Again Poseidon posted like 4 in a row. haha well. this'll be quite a short post.

went shopping today at Subang Parade for Chinese New Year clothes. i spotted a red jacket which wasn't too expensive. actually it was quite cheap. so i happily wanted to buy it. then mum pointed out that the quiality wasn't too good. there were quite alot of loose threads on the jacket you see. so i decided to buy it since it looked nice and cheap in the end, and just snip of the loose threads here and there.. and voila! it'd look fine.

sooo. when i got home i started trimming off the loose threads here and there while talking to my mum. guess what happened?

i wasn't paying attention and cut a hole in the jacket! -____-"

OMG.

mum was like "WHAAAATTT did you do to the new jacket!?"

..

fortunately it was quite a small hole and hardly visible.

Moral of the story:
The mind can only do one thing at a time. My mind, anyway.

Rendition

2008-01-12T19:44:00.000+08:00

I've wanted to watch this movie ever since I saw the trailer.

I saw the trailer for Rendition when I was watching another movie, National Treasure. But the story captured my attention and it did not leave my mind. When I found out that it was released I was thrilled. But I was saddened to find out that it's 18-PL.

This is the synopsis from Wikipedia:

When Egyptian-born terrorist suspect Anwar El-Ibrahimi (Omar Metwally)
disappears on a flight from South Africa to Washington, D.C., his American wife,
Isabella (Reese Witherspoon), travels to Washington to try and learn the reason
for his disappearance. Meanwhile, at a secret detention facility somewhere
outside the United States, CIA analyst Douglas Freeman (Jake Gyllenhaal) is
forced to question his assignment in an attempt to save thousands as he becomes
a party to the torture of El-Ibrahimi.

The way the trailer was made had really caught me. I particularly liked the ending, when they showed who the actors and actresses were:

Academy Award Nominee Jake Gyllenhaal

Academy Award Winner Reese Witherspoon

with Academy Award Winner Alan Arkin

and Academy Award Winner Meryl Streep.

With so many big names, how can a movie not be good? I mean, have you ever watched a movie with so many Academy Award Winners / Nominees?

Meryl Streep also said that the movie 'is very powerful'.

Hopefully, I'll be able to watch it.

Here's the trailer:

Weekends!

2008-01-11T20:27:00.000+08:00

Hello!

Referring to my other post, School in a Nutshell, it seems that my assumptions were unfounded. It seems that the teacher really was just warning only.

And plus, I've got an assistant in scouts so the work is now divided. So this week is indeed my lucky week!

Since I'm so happy, here's a video of Linkin Park's Breaking the Habbit. I have no idea why it's spelt Habbit instead of Habit, though. My friend recommended it to me. Sometimes when we find that we can't pay attention, we'll just chatter away, you see. Our topics can range from gossip to songs we like, to debates.

But anyway, enjoy!

Sentry and Lame Jokes

2008-01-10T12:23:00.000+08:00

Yes Athena, I'm the same as you.

So in school, of course we joke around right? Here's a lame joke I heard from a friend:

Question: You have a tomato and a beaker filled with water. What happens when you put the tomato into the beaker with water?

Answer:

IT GETS WET

Lame right?

Here's another from the same person:

Question: A bird was flying directly beneath the motor of a plane in the air. Why did the bird fall?

Answer:

It fell because it had to close its ears to block out the noise!

I know, I know. Extremely lame.

Here's one that I joked about when I was talking with a Form 4 junior prefect and a few of my friends. I can't really remember how it started but it's something like this:

Form 4: Is it possible to make my legs longer?

Me: Of course! Just stand in crutches! One leg touches the ground, the other doesn't. Slowly the one that doesn't will touch the ground.

Form 4: Where got such thing one?

Me: You see-ah, when your leg doesn't touch the ground-ah, it makes the gravitational pull on that leg stronger. So it'll pull your leg down. Means your leg'll grow longer-lah!

That drew laughs from everyone.

School, in a Nutshell

2008-01-09T20:55:00.000+08:00

I'm having a break from school since it's Awal Muharram tomorrow.

Unexpectedly, school has not been easy.

I'm the secretary for scouts. I'm the treasurer for prefects.

Every single day the troop leader asks me to do this and that, to be done by the next day. Sometimes I'm given a few extra days but it's very hectic. Plus the prefect duties and a normal student's responsibilities, my days are as hectic as ever.

I find myself having so many things to do that I barely have time for homework.

And not to mention, being blamed wrongfully by a certain teacher. Since this blog is rather public, I shan't write the whole story down, but roughly, it goes like this.

I'm a member of a club. I joined the club because my sister asked me to when I first came to the school, and I could relate to it. The teacher advisor is the teacher in charge of the textbook loan scheme.

I might be mistaken, and I stress on the point that I might be mistaken, but I think this teacher's blaming me and other members for not helping in the textbook loan scheme. After all, they just received lots of new books this year because of the new policy. But we're not even members of the textbook thing! I'm unhappy. Of course, it could still be just a misunderstanding, but I know this teacher's attitude. Very demanding.

In a nutshell I did not have a very good start to the school year. But I hope that it will improve. I certainly do. I have to.

Kyou Kara Maou.

2008-01-09T20:17:00.000+08:00

Hiii! well, to tell the truth i'm having a bad writer's block since i haven't really gone out much lately soo nothing to blog about. BUT since Poseidon posted 9 in a row haha, i'll give face (:

Kyou Kara Maou

It's the name of my currently favourite anime ! Literally translated, the title says "From today on, Demon King". In most parts of Asia, the english translated version of Kyou Kara Maou is titled "God (?) Save Our King !".

Here's a (not so) short synopsis of the anime from Wikipedia.

Yuri Shibuya was living a pretty
normal life. That changed the day he was dunked into a toilet after an attempt
to save a classmate from a gang of bullies. Instead of just getting a good
soaking, he's pulled in. The next thing he knows, he's in a world that vaguely
resembles medieval Europe. If that's not odd enough, he's told that he is to be
the next Maou, just because he has black hair and black eyes.
The Maou is the King of the Mazoku
(Demon Tribe), who are coexisting not-so-peacefully with the humans in this
world. Much to his subject's dismay, he's totally different from the rulers
they're accustomed to. He's kind, considerate, a believer in justice, and not
willing to use violence to solve conflicts. Not exactly someone they want
running a country on the very brink of war. Now, Yuri has to deal with trying to
become a good Maoh, while at the same time attempting to adapt to this land's
customs and culture, all in a world where the tension between the humans and
Mazoku is reaching its peak.

Personally, i think the name "God Save Our King!" is really apt, given that Yuuri is only 15 years old and he becomes king! Haha. Certainly, he's going to need all the help he can to rule the Great Demon Kingdom (Shin Makoku in japanese). More times than not, his decision is doubted by those older than him, but usually it turns out his way is just fine.

Abit on the other characters,

Wolfram "accidentally" becomes engaged to Yuuri quite early in the series. Although at first he seems appalled by the idea, he slowly grows (veryyyy) fond of Yuuri, although Yuuri treats him just as a normal friend.

Conrad, the best swordsman in Shin Makoku. He's one of the rare people who trust Yuuri no matter in what decision he makes and will risk his life to protect Yuuri.

Gwendal, on the other hand, is the one who always distrusts Yuuri's judgement. To him, Yuuri is just a 15-year-old who knows nothing about ruling the kingdom. Often, on the outside, he acts as if he dislikes Yuuri but by the later end of the series, he changes his impression on Yuuri. Oh! And he is very fond of cute things like plushies and knits during his free time. Weird hobby for someone who looks so tough -___-"

Gunther! He's quite a bishounen, but he seems to like Yuuri very much, maybe abit too much haha! Everytime Yuuri sneaks out of the castle, he'll be the one screaming "Heikaaaa! (Your Majesty!)" almost in anguish. Funny guy (:

Here are some images of the anime. Enjoy! (:

Yuuri slaps Wolfram hard on the face. What he doesn't know is that in Demon Tribe tradition, he just proposed to Wolfram!

Gunther and Conrad restraining a very jealous Wolfram with difficulty.

"Your Majesty!" screeches a horrified Gunther.

From left: Yuuri, Conrad and Wolfram.

Wolfram isn't very fond of boats.

Overall, it is an awesome anime. I'd rate it 10/10. So if you all are free, give it a go! (:

The Book of Dust

2008-01-06T14:48:00.000+08:00

The film adaptation of Northern Lights is out.

But what happens after The Amber Spyglass?

Philip Pullman has said that there will be no sequels as the trilogy is over. If you're disappointed, don't worry, there's still hope.

Here's a few paragraphs I retrieved from BridgetotheStars.Net:

Philip Pullman is working on a sort of companion novel to His Dark Materials,
entitled "The Book of Dust." This will contain various short stories about many
of the secondary characters in the series, such as Lee Scoresby and Serafina
Pekkala. There may also be information about Dust, the Alethiometer, the Subtle
Knife, and dæmons - all the things we wondered about, but weren't important
enough to put into the books themselves.

Despite his planned intentions, Pullman did indeed find himself writing about Lyra again. This short story, Lyra and the Birds, developed into the publication of Lyra's Oxford, a unique book containing the short story itself and several 'materials' from Lyra's world. Pullman has stated that he took this story out to prevent it overwhelming the other short stories in The Book of Dust.

However, it appears from quotes and interviews that Pullman is merely using Lyra's Oxford as a bridge to a larger story with her in the Book of Dust. The details of that story have not been mentioned, but the events of Lyra's Oxford supposedly set the scene, and introduce us to necessary characters in the new story. It seems Pullman cannot let Lyra go just yet.

So, what do you think?

Among other things that Pullman said might be in the book are:

~ How Lee and Iorek met
~ How Farder Coram and Serafina Pekkala fell in love
~ The story of how Coulter and Asriel met

I also found the correct way of pronouncing some words:

Lyra is pronounced LIE-ra, not LEE-ra. Alethiometer is a-lee-thee-OMM-eter. Iorek Byrnison is YOR-ick BEER-ni-son. It`s Pan-ta-LIE-mon. And it`s Bal-THA-mos, not BAL-tha-mos.

That was found on the man's website itself.

On Wikipedia, it was said that the book will not contain a story about Will and Lyra together.

The Book of Dust is going to be released in 2010.

And from Bibliobibuli, a blog I read often, The Times has made their very own list of who they think are the 50 greatest British authors since 1945.

1. Philip Larkin
2. George Orwell
3. William Golding
4. Ted Hughes
5. Doris Lessing
6. J. R. R. Tolkien
7. V. S. Naipaul
8. Muriel Spark
9. Kingsley Amis
10. Angela Carter
11. C. S. Lewis
12. Iris Murdoch
13. Salman Rusdie
14. Ian Fleming
15. Jan Morris
16. Roald Dahl
17. Anthony Burgess
18. Mervyn Peake
19. Martin Amis
20. Anthony Powell
21. Alan Sillitoe
22. John Le Carré
23. Penelope Fitzgerald
24. Philippa Pearce
25. Barbara Pym
26. Beryl Bainbridge
27. J. G. Ballard
28. Alan Garner
29. Alasdair Gray
30. John Fowles
31. Derek Walcott
32. Kazuo Ishiguro
33. Anita Brookner
34. A. S. Byatt
35. Ian McEwan
36. Geoffrey Hill
37. Hanif Kureshi
38. Iain Banks
39. George Mackay Brown
40. A. J. P. Taylor
41. Isaiah Berlin
42. J. K. Rowling
43. Philip Pullman
44. Julian Barnes
45. Colin Thubron
46. Bruce Chatwin
47. Alice Oswald
48. Benjamin Zephaniah
49. Rosemary Sutcliff
50. Michael Moorcock

I am embarassed to say that of the 50 names, I've only heard of 8 authors. But I'm glad that J.K. Rowling's above Philip Pullman! Not that I don't like his books, but hers are better in my opinion.

How about you guys? How many names do you know?