Monday, October 06, 2008

Back in UTP

Finally, I arrived safe and sound at my second home~~my beloved UTP.

Thankfully everything went on smoothly for me as this is first time I used a bus for such long journey. Travelling alone is much different than travelling in a group. In a group, we can keep a lookout for one another's belongings. Travelling alone, even going to the loo pose a problem as you need to be wary of your belongings lying out in the open. Plus, you have to be on the alert and can't sleep "dead" or you will miss your stop. Nevertheless, it's good that I'm exposed to this kind of hardship occasionally. I can't forever rely on my dad to pick me up and bring me back here all the time!

Using Plusliner, reliable and comfortable. Thumbs up! :)



Anyway, UTP is still in its quiet and deserted state. Seems like I had came back too early. Most people are coming back on Tuesday 2moro. All the same, I'll have one day to settle down and finish up some last-minute assignments.

That's all for now. I'll be expecting a busy week ahead of me. With all the given assignments, plus drama, Er Hu practises, and promises of new assignments, tests, and quizzes to come, my life will sure return to a hectic state. In the meanwhile, my blog shall resume its undisturbed slumber...

Sunday, October 05, 2008

Final update before holiday ends...

Life at home is a heavenly bliss. But every good things must end someday, which mean my one week holiday is over!!

I agree with Graham. One week of holiday is too short, the previous 7 weeks holiday is too long! Anyway, I'm heading back to UTP tomorrow. (actually it's today, it's way past my bedtime, but I can't resist the urge to blog!) Since my dad is on job travelling elsewhere, I had to catch the bus. (Haiz..I regret bringing so much stuff back here)

Time to reflect and summarise what had I done so far during the holiday.

Let's see... Most of the time I was out with my family. The outings are great. We went for dinner at "Fei Zai" Crab House. I never thought "fei zai", which mean fat, could be used to describe a crab but obviously the name of the restaurant shows it all. But a credit to them as they really proved it. The crabs were really meaty with soft tender flesh. Delicious! It's been a while since I enjoyed such cuisine.



Besides that the other night we went to stroll around the local night market or "pasar malam". The place was crowded and lively with people.

We brought some seedless grapes that only cost 10 bucks for 3 bunches. We also brought some satays and some 'kiuh" for the grand super supper, which had been a "tradition" for the family whenever we had a late outing.
(That explains my physical "well-roundedness") =p

Besides the family outings, I'm mostly at home. (Where else can I go?) Time flies when you're chit-chatting online, playing the computer games, updating your friendster and all that kind of stuff. If I'm not in front of the computer, I'll be in front of the television. Really miss out a lot nice shows. Other than that, just the mundane boring stuff. Doing assignment and studying a bit. (I'm not carrying all those books here for nothing!)


Just today I had my haircut at a hair saloon I never went before. The result: My haircut looks weird. As if too short in front and too long at the back. Don't know how to describe it but it really makes my face looks rounder. Or is it because I'm adding more extra fat during this week? Haiz... better stick to my conventional barber shop next time. No more fancy hair saloons for me!

Oh no!! My hair..Not gonna show any pictures here..

That's all from me. Really need to hit the sack or I'll miss the bus 2moro...

Thursday, October 02, 2008

15 facts you never know about me! (ok..maybe u know some)

The tagging frenzy is on! I didn't expect to get my second tag this soon. Oh well, these tags are starting to get on my nerves. But never mind. Since this is a holiday, I'll be generous with my time and join the bandwagon of tagging rage. :)

Anyway, here's the second tag, a more arduous task than the first I must say, because I have to rack my brains for 15 weird, embarrassing or little known facts about myself and expose them to the public! So here's the rule (which I don't really follow) ^_^

Rules:

  1. Each player of this game starts off with 15 weird things/ habits/ little known facts about yourself.

  2. People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 15 weird things/ habits/ little known facts as well as state this rule clearly.

  3. At the end, you need to choose 10 people to be tagged and list their names.
  4. No tags back !!!

1) The Hair Habit

I had this bad habit of curling my hair especially when I'm deep in thought. Not "curling" as in curling and grooming a lock of long hair (pls I dun have long hair =.='), but more to messing with and flicking them between the fingers.

I don't know why this habit had become such a compulsion that I couldn't get rid of it. It's more of an automatic response rather than a voluntary action. I don't find it amusing either and I'm dying to get rid of this habit.

Maybe my fingers (surprisingly it's the left fingers, not the right!) are "itchy" and need something to play around with. The only immediately effective solution is to cut my hair short. That's why I prefer a neat crewcut hairstyle! Nevertheless, that's just temporary because the habit returns when my hair grows back!


2) The "Dream weaver"

That name sounds fancy, don't you think? In other (less-dignifying) words, I love to daydream.

Sometime I'm caught gazing at a distance with a dull and blank stare at infinity. I usually idled away my time without realising it.



What am I daydreaming about? Sometime I remember a few. But mostly I'm thinking about life, the existence of life, the past and the future, my friends, my families, the society , about people living around us, why they do things to each other, their actions, and a lot more of why-this and why-that. Wow! I'm now daydreaming and writing my blog at the same time. Haha XD

Or better just call it night-dreaming.

3) The Distracted


I'm easily amazed and awed, especially by shiny objects, even though there are nothing more than ordinary objects lying around in our daily lives.



As a child, I used to collect coins, not different coins from different countries, but clean and shiny coins! Especially those big round shiny and silvery fifty sen coins. (The 1 ringgit gold coin get stained easily so I'm not so into it). I used to spends hours scrutinizing them and polishing them as if they can shine any brighter.

Plus, after a heavy rain, I used to stroll around the garden looking for water droplets that were caught among the leaves. Just look at them sparkle under the sun! I always wished I can solidified them, held those droplets in my hand and make a necklace out of it for my mother.

Now, I still felt a tinge of delight whenever I see shiny, sparkly objects on display in shopping malls (although I don't show it).

4) The biased animal lover

How do I explain this? I love animals, I'm a nature lover, but I don't love EVERY animals, and I'm not doing 100% I can for Mother Nature.
I take a special fondness in furry animals like mammals, especially cats! They are just so adorable, cute, soft and "huggable". I love dogs too but I never reared one so I never knew the experience of loving a dog.


I like insects, not as much as I love mammals. I don't specially care about them. But I do respect them as creatures of life. For example, if a stray bee flew into the house, I'll open up the window and attempt to let it out instead of whacking it with a sports racket. There's no need to kill it right? It's just a lost animal who meant no harm. Killing it would be more troublesome since you have to clean up the mess.

BUT, there's two kinds of animal that I hated the most. Mosquitoes and ants who are in places they shouldn't be. Mosquitoes which rudely interfered with my sleep and ants which invaded and spoilt my favourite snacks, I have no mercy for them. I'll kill, splash and spray them then kill them again if they weren't dead.


Don't worry, their population is too much that it wouldn't hurt Mother Nature to kill these pests. (Pls..don't give me the "bcoz I kill one mosquito, a frog will starve to death" that kind of theory) Finally, I'm the person who will save water and electricity to help Mother Nature, but too lazy to recycle and reuse. Am I still considered a nature-lover?

5) The Exaggerator

I'm the kind of person who gets nervous easily and worry too much. If something bad is about to happen, I always imagined the worst-case scenarios that could happen and the worst possible kind of consequences.

The over-concerning thoughts and worries could eventually spoil my good mood for the rest of the day. Even though I mentally reminded myself to think positive, I'll tend to sway towards the more negative.

In the end, I realised that most of the worst-case scenario did not happen. Even if it happened, the consequences are not as horrible as I imagined. Maybe my mind is preparing me to accept the worst of worst, but it's too stressful! >.<

6) Forget-me-not?



I had tried not to, but I often forget things. I often lost my stuff because of this. Sometimes i left my things behind or I can't remember where I keep it.

Worst, I forget people's name easily, what more to say what I know about them. Ya..I think by now I can't recall all the names of my previous schoolmates in Form 5. The names will just dissapeared from my memory if not used.

Sometimes I have short term memory loss. For example, if something is mentioned I'll listen to it but then I have to ask the same questions again because I forget, partially because I was not concentrating. I tried to be alert. But sometimes I forget to remember that I'm not suppose to forget. O_O"""

7) The disoriented


Opposite of my friend yi herng, I had a totally bad sense of direction. The only perfect map in my mind is the roads in my hometown Bintulu.

In Perak, my mental map consists of UTP as the central location, and all other locations that surrounded it are connected in series of broken dots and lines that I still can't figure out. (At least I know that to get to Taman Maju one has to turn right and drive straight on). Perhaps that's the main reason I'm still not confident in my driving. I had to watch the roads and know the roads at the same time!

8) The whistler


I love to whistle. Next to my Er Hu, my mouth is the most versatile musical instrument. I have no idea how I learn to whistle and when I started it. I just love to whistle since small.

I whistle everywhere I go, and with music, I'll get so possessed with the melody that I can't help whistling!

But my parents found my whistling annoying. My superstitious grandma said whistling, especially at night, is to summon demonic beings into the house. I never believed her, but I stopped whistling whenever she is present just for her sake.

I mean, what's so wrong about whistling? It's an enjoyment just as if a musician enjoy playing his or her musical instrument.

Of course, if my whistling is bad, that'll be another case because it could disturb the peace and harmony of the environment.

So most of the time I whistle alone, or keep my volume to a minimum. I not sure whether my friends are fond of my whistling or annoyed by it. XD

9) Cuddle me!

Hold on! I don't simply cuddle everyone I meet in broad daylight. I only need to cuddle something at night before I go to sleep.

When I say "need", I mean desperately NEED it. A night without a bolster or pillow to hug will be a big deal for me. I'll toss and turn unable to get to sleep. I don't know why this happens. Perhaps I would feel empty and lonely without something to hug. I think most probably I inherited this from my cats! They always cuddle and curl up into one another whenever they sleep in a bunch.


10) The stubborn skull

Most of the time I'm open-minded and believed whatever things people told me. But occasionally when the truth is too hard to accept, I'll refuse to listen to what others are saying even if they are telling the truth and drained their saliva giving convincing explanation.

Instead, I must find out the truth myself and see it before my eyes. Then I'll settle down and finally accept my defeat. I think this is quite normal for everyone. You had wished that the truth wasn't the truth so much that you held on to every tiny straw of hopes that things can still be changed.

11) Doing nothing is bliss

Who like to do nothing? Having nothing to do equals boring. But sometime I find it enjoying and relaxing. If I'm really really free, I'll take the night off doing nothing.

I would just go outside and sit at my favourite bench, then watch the night sky for hours. Who would want to waste a whole night sitting and doing nothing? Is this another way of me daydreaming?

But to me it's more like star-gazing, something we rarely do since there's a roof on top of our head. It's nice to sometime just forget about everything for a while and watch the night sky with its infinite distance and count the stars.



If it's a stormy night, just felt the coldness of the wind, listen to the rain, smell the scent of humidity around you or warm yourself with a nice mug of coffee. These are more practical ways of achieving tranquility and peace of the mind instead of expensive de-stressing sessions.

12) The 2-sided tolerance


I'm usually a tolerant guy who seldom gets angry or find faults with others. I prefer to withdraw rather than argue (not argument as in discussing homework, but argument that really hurt each other's feelings) and let them have their way.

Of course, I am no push-over and I have my limits. But mostly I can put up with people's behaviours even though they are bad because I tried to always to see the positive sides in them and assume their bad characteristics are just little imperfections that exist in every human. In other words, I accept people for who they are.

On the other hand, it is totally opposite when it comes to waiting. My tolerance is direly low. Not waiting for people (they have reasons to be late just as I do), but for machines to work. If the operation of the ATM machine is sluggish, I'll be impatient. If the computer lags or hang, I'll see red. When the elevator is slow, I'll be restless too. If really annoys me when things that are supposed to work didn't go according to plan. I seriously need to cool down..

13) Of heights and giddiness

I admit it. I'm scared of heights. Not extremely scared of it that it became a phobia, but just scare enough to make me dizzy, especially when I'm confined in a small space and I could topple over any moment!

It takes one moment for me to be awed by the spectacular view when I'm feeling great and on top of the world. Then another moment I'll look down and feel a pang of panic that I'm so high up! My head started to imagine the worst and I go dizzy and fuzzy.

Haiz.. It's really sad because of my ease to giddiness (perhaps the fluid in my brain is not balance), I really can't enjoy some privileges of life such as going for thrill rides on a roller-coaster and the spinner. Even the harmless oscillating pirate ship in Genting makes me dizzy!

14) The story spoiler

I had this habit of reading the ending of the book first whenever I just started reading a thick novel. I'll read the first few chapters first to get a general idea of the story, then I'll flip to the ending part to see how it ends!

Sounds like a waste of a nice thick novel right? But no. Because after that I'll start reading again, this time from the start till the end.

This not only apply to storybooks though. Even when revising my chemistry and physics, I'll always flip to the back pages and read something about other chapters that are unrelated to what I'm suppose to study now. But in this case, I do it out of boredom. My mind just got clogged if reading the same thing so I need to take a sneak peek at a fresh new chapter to keep me mentally awake.

15) The angel and devil in me

This illustration is taken from my favourite card game "Yu-gi-oh". Really suits the topic :)


Do you have these voices in your head that sometimes tell you what to do? No? Ok, you're a normal person.

I had this habit of talking to myself, not verbally loud, but just mentally in my head. These voices in my head are annoying yet helpful at times when I'm making decisions.

One side is usually the angel, another side is the devil. When I'm about to do something wrong, the good side will say, "It's wrong, don't do it!"; the other side will say, "Just do it! No one knows!".

When I had really done something wrong, one side will feel a sense of self-remorse and regret, "Look what have you done!", the other side will put on a self-defence and deny it: "It's ok. It's not totally your fault." These self-arguments keep going back and forth until I can rationalize a decision. Sometimes both sides agree with one another, "OMG! The food here sucks!" "Ya, they should..." Weird huh? Or is it better to just call them my conscience?


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Pheww!! I can't believe I did all that. This tag is actually quite fun I must admit. It lets you know more about yourself. More like a journey of self-discovery. But remember, just because you know these 15 little facts about me doesn't mean you know everything about me. Some secrets must remain secrets. Plus, there's something I don't know about myself that you know. Think about Johari's Window Theory.

That's all from me. Thanks for reading! ;)

Oh yeah. before that, I must find someone to tag. I don't know whether they had done this tag. if they had done it, just ignore it.

1) Steward
2) Catherine
3) Jasmine
4) Sandeep
5) Wei Han