Agenda

Realised that I haven't been utilising this blog as a journal much. So I thought I'd just update some happenings around me lately.

Saturday, 26th July

For the first time ever, Faiz sayang drove! So there it came, a sporty turquoise Gen 2 roving the quiet, run-down street until its driver noticed a rather 'spherical' shaped Homo sapien looking absolutely unkempt and dilapidated ambling two and fro under the scorching sun.

And so we had an EXTREMELY slow drive over to Mid Valley only to meet up with an exhausted, under-dressed creature we all know as sawo :) That poor fella had been roaming from one retail store to another just to search for a coat of his size-which, mind you, is extraordinarily difficult.

Faiz and I decided to be kind Samaritans and actually accompanied him to search over at some other outlets, only to feel even more crestfallen. Nevertheless, he managed to find it the following day over at Berjaya Times Square-so, enough about him.

Faiz, on the other hand, spent a whopping RM229 on a pair of GAP jeans. A classic incident of conspicuous consumption-a living example of Veblen's theory of consumption. Well, let's just hope its quality shows over time :) I must admit though, that the jeans did look rather attractive.

We strolled over to Gardens as well, and stopped by at a magazine shop soon after. I grabbed the latest New Scientist issue and shockingly found pics dictating ovulation. Boy, did it look like cod liver oil capsules. They stumbled upon this stunning natural process whilst preparing to carry out hysterectomy. Here are the clearest pics ever taken of this ever-occurring, life-sustaining process:

And Sawo's immediate reaction was: "Ewww..it's IN YOU sawo *adds disgusted and condescending intonation*"

And sayang was practically speechless.

Gee, I wonder if they have microscopic pictures snapped during ejaculation. HMPH

To carry on, it was 4 plus and was time for sayang to be all pious and pray :) We were absolutely shocked to discover that Gardens could be THAT ridiculous and religion-insensitive not to have a surau.

Before we actually did confirm that, sayang was making a hypothesis that this probably implied rich people don't pray. And when the guard directed us over to Mid Valley for the surau, we unanimously nodded in agreement and uttered, "Hypothesis accepted"

So, while sayang was praying, sawo and I had that sudden urge to learn some photography and begun behaving like tourists from other LDCs, photographing with my pathetic camera phone.

And the disastrous products are as follows:






We adjourned to Sushi King hoping to satisfy our growling stomachs but ended up only finding a bunch of impertinent, exasperated staff serving us. Oh well, nothing unexpected really. My only regret is the fact that I did not manage to snap a pic of their facial expression for blogging purposes.

Anyway, am worn out entirely. Shall visit slumberland. To be continued..(I just realised that I never actually do continue my post, do I? :P)

I Look To You

I'm enraptured to present: Whitney Houston's newest song (which isn't officially released just yet), sung by R Kelly. One of those rare English songs I fancy :D

As I laid me down,
Heaven hear me now,
I'm lost without a call,
After giving it my all,

Winter storms has come,
And darken my sun,
After all we've been through,
Who on earth can I turn to?

I look to you,
I look to you..
After all my strength is gone,
In you I can move on,

I look to you,
I look to you,
And when melodies are gone,
In you I hear the song,

I look to you.

(Intentionally Left Untitled)

So I've been doing a lil bit of thinking. The aftermath of my thoughts and my decision would probably be painful. But I guess I would tolerate this slight, temporary pain better than I would the pain begotten if I stubbornly satisfied my emotional cravings.

My policy is this simple. To me, if the probability is less than that 0f 0.5, no matter how difficult it is, I'd forgo these transient things of life. Everything is impermanent. The difference is its degree of impermanence-some things in life just last longer than others, but ultimately, they cease to exist.

I know my strengths, or perhaps the lack of it, and I certainly am sure of my weaknesses. Say that I have a self-inferiority complex, that's the least of my concerns. What I know is, I don't get myself battling in something that I'd never win.

I have decided. Coming to this conclusion itself is already adequately convoluted. I expect adhering to it to be even more challenging. But I'm up for this. I know I won't regret, as it'd at least yield more happiness than it would otherwise.

After all, to live is to suffer-in more than just one way.

Another Random Post

I seem to have difficulties giving titles to my posts. So, oh well, let's just stick to the word 'random'. I just returned home from my medical check-up and also a short survey of lamps for my newly-renovated, humble abode and man am I exhausted! Not only was the medical check-up colossal monetary wise. It caused great agony and unnecessary stress just waiting for two painful injections-one for the basic blood test and the other for my Mantoux test *nods vigorously* Yes I have injection phobia. I think they call it tryanophobia. Am just anticipating microscission to save me from all this trouble.

To be honest, I have begun to adapt to this through gradual exposure. I guess when one has set their expectations to be as such, he or she is psychologically-armed for it. So..GOODBYE TRYANOPHOBIA! Buah kakakaka!

Well, this post was not meant to be dedicated to encountering needles and the fear of it. It's objective is for me to opine on things I have seen and experienced. First in line, my working experience at HONDA.

I've worked there for a bit more than a month now and sad to say, I've actually adapted to their inefficiency and lackluster attitude towards work. To clarify on things, when I say I've adapted, I don't mean part of me has assimilated to these characteristics. What I really mean is that I've learnt to be more tolerant towards different people. I've had Bryan, who graduated in psychology from the University of Nottingham, sharing with me his working experience after having returned from the UK, venting on how different Malaysians were in social interactions and working ethics. I recall him warning me that the start of it would be a complete..hmm..vicissitude as compared to what I would have experienced over in the UK and that I'd feel suffocated. I could see he was speaking based on experience-and this one-month stint at Honda has convinced me that I'm yet to be prepared for such differences.

I used to think that I'd easily maneuver thru these differences and accept people for the way they are. After all, it is a diverse society. But I was wrong. Terribly mistaken as a matter of fact. I realised I wanted them to do things the way I did mine. And I realised in this self-centered world, one gets rewarded for a good job done, with more work and less gratitude. These people exploit laborious characters. In a way, I feel as if I've added no value to HONDA and worse, I feel as if I am to blame for the despicable work attitude of a few people.

Of course I have Chong Han who has worked there for 6 months telling me to be more streetwise. Thinking back, I was silly not to heed his advice. Nevertheless, I still managed to carve a forced smile on my face. You see, I believe that you shouldn't allow others' behaviour to influence how you feel, instead, you should influence their behaviour with how you react to things. Since I can't change the way they work and their morale, I could just stick to being who I am, apparently the ever-smiling-one, and hopefully influence them to be more motivated.

I guess I was wrong to rant and rave about not learning anything. To put things in perspective, no, I didn't gain any academic information. What I did gain however is a better panorama of human behaviour, and possibly patience :P I survived by Bryan's advice to focus on the similarities instead of the differences between people-more specifically those in Honda. It is a brutal fact that we humans, in general, can only practise the theory of self-interest, successfully I mean. We bother too much about the tangible things in life that we forget about the soft-sides, the aspects that truly matter. We're too engaged in the fast track rat-race in life that we've abdicated the values of humanity. Sad but true.

Would saying that indirectly imply nirvana is unattainable? ( I say this because Nirvana means freedom from all worries, troubles, complexes, fabrications and ideas) If we carried on living like this, well perhaps. But one of the four noble truths mentioned that nirvana is indeed achievable. Through nirodha-the unmaking of sensual cravings and conceptual attachments (I think!) is nirvana a feasible goal in life. I'm a terrible Buddhist to be honest. I do not understand these concepts, and even if I did, I have no confidence in being able to practise its believes. I cling on too tightly to transient things in life. I, sadly fail to grasp and implement the concept, 'matter is void, void is matter'.

I dare say that I have understood that life means suffering, and perhaps am beginning to comprehend the causes of suffering. But I'm still light years away from understanding the cessation of suffering and the path leading to it.

At present, I'm just a student who craves for ACADEMIC SUCCESS-which is impermanent. So, technically, I'm not practising the teachings of Buddhism. And I don't think I will be in the next 4 decades.

More to come on my reflection of life...after dinner *stomach growls* Itadakimas!

Just Artistic

So here I am with a terrible headache and still adamant on posting in my blog. The power of music, or art as a whole really. It seems to amplify your pleasures and numbs your senses.

Though many may not share my infatuation for Jay Chou, I still think his piano playing skills are second to none. As proof of my claim, I shall provide you with a grandeur Jay Chou performance, extracted from one of his recent movies, Secret.

Well, I certainly hope Jay will be around long enough for the next century to appreciate his music! Then again, time and tide wait for no men, teens of the next generation would probably fancy other music genres. That's what my parents say anyway..My dad would always go, "Imagine your children saying exactly the same thing to you!" whenever my bro and I rant and rave about him dancing to the 60's and 70's rock and roll.

I still remember the English SPM essay question I chose to answer was on music. I was elated when I saw that..and as usual I, being my garrulous self just meandered my way through :P Music is possibly one of the greatest things that has ever happened to me.

There were so many occasions in which music was my only companion-I would find myself locking myself in my room, crouching at a corner and just sobbing my lungs out if I were sad. On more joyous days, I would be hopping to the music with my bro. It really doesn't matter what the lyrics are like, neither does the language of the song play so pivotal a role. Music itself is a universal language already! Well, of course, the justified true belief is that the periodic table and maths are the ecumenical languages. I recall my aunt saying, "If you pointed K (in the periodic table) to an alien, they'd know exactly what to get you" :) Yes, she has rather vivid imagination.

Anyway, back to music! hehe..It's just always comforting to know that there is someone out there that comprehends your predicaments. Someone with empathy, and someone that expresses this understanding in a way so ambiguous for your personal interpretation. In a nutshell, with music, one would never be in solitude.

Oh dear me, I'd better get going! Have to practise for my singing class tomorrow..Don't forget to bring your umbrellas before leaving home! :D I shall attempt to sing *drumrolls* Whitney Houston's Run To You tomorrow, so am keeping my fingers crossed. For those who have never heard the song, enjoy the video attached

Mind Your Language

Do not be deterred from proceeding just right after you've read ye olde conventional, pap-talk title :) I really am just blogging about an old British comedy-and possibly one of its best

The title of the series is that of this particular post's-Mind Your Language. To just give you a rough indication of how well I rate this series, let's just say, I wouldn't mind paying for the TV licence over at the UK just for shows of this quality. Unfortunately, I doubt any production in this modern epoch would even match the magnificence of this one's.

If my memory does not fail me, I believe this series was aired between 1977 and 1979 over at the UK and sometime in the 80s over at Malaysia. Starring one character from each of the following countries; France, Germany, China, Hungary, Sweden, Spain, Italy, Greece, Japan, India and Pakistan, this show demonstrated the English stereotype towards these foreign immigrants. These common perceptions (and perhaps eventually discovered to be misconceptions) were brilliantly translated into one of England's best comedies in history.

I mean, you have the German interchanging her 'v' and 'w' pronunciations, the French focusing entirely on matters related to love and intimacy, the Chinese with impeccable grammar but just horrendous pronunciation for example,

English Teacher (Mr. Brown): "Su Lee, what do you call a female lion?"
Su Lee (Chinese National): "Rioness"
Brown: "You mean, LIONESS."
Su Lee: *tries enunciating again* "LRRIONESS"
Brown: "Su Lee, say..RIONESS"
Su Lee: "LIONESS"

The Spanish could only say "Por Favore" almost the entire season, and the Greek suffering from over-emphasis on his aspirates. You had acerbic names thrown all the time such as..hmmm..

(i) You INDIAN chapatti
(ii) You ITALIAN spaghetti
(iii) You SPANISH omelette

*sighs* This show kept me ALIVE during my final International Baccalaureate examinations. It's a pity Barry Evans died so tragically..for a comedian, he sure died in a very ironic manner. I'm sure some of us out there still mourn the loss of this established comedian.

Mummy's lame joke of the day

It all started when my mum brought Malaysia's renowned jackfruit for my bro, and asked whether or not I'd like some.

It goes something like this:

Mum: "Ah lui, would you like some nangka?"
Kor: "But mum, baby does not like jackfruit!"
Mum: "Oh so you don't like jackfruit, you like JILLfruit lar"

Kor and I burst into laughter, while mummy carries on singing "Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water"

This reminds me of an incident over at Tasik Kenyir 3 years back during CNY. The history of it is as such:

The entire family decided to go on a budget trip over to Tasik Kenyir and so my mum cooked some food to be brought over there. Naturally, we would have brought an ICE BOX along in attempt to preserve the food.

After lunch over at Tasik Kenyir, Kor and I were lazing around and lying back on the sofa watching some TV programme when my mum exclaimed,

"Children! Look! This is NOT an ICE BOX! *holds up medium-sized ice box with a SMILEY label* It's a HAPPY BOX!"

My bro and I were speechless for at least a minute before we realised that my mum was trying hard to make a joke.

Mum does make our day at times :D hehe!


I LOVE MY FAMILY..what will I ever do without them :)