Behind These Smiles

Xuan Xuan says

2010-05-09T20:37:00.000+08:00

Meet my 2-year-old niece, pictured here with her 2-month-old brother. My sis just talked to her through the phone this morning.

Xuan Xuan: Ni zai na li? (Where are you?)
Sis: Wo zai PJ lo (I'm in PJ)
Xuan Xuan: Oh...zai Tai Ping ah? (Oh, in Taiping ah?)
Sis: Bu shi bu shi...wo zai PJ. (No no, I'm in PJ)
Xuan Xuan: Oh..ni zai Tai Ping ah? (Oh, you're in Taiping ah?)

My sis laughed...

(Here's the boom)

Sis: So...ni you jing zu Mothers' Day mah? (Did you celebrate Mothers' Day?)
Xuan Xuan: shen me lai de? (What is that?)

Ice Kacang Puppy Love - A story about us

2010-04-25T13:45:00.003+08:00

My current confidence level towards our local film production is at an all time high. Most of the Malaysian movies today aim to showcase our unique culture and I would say, most of them have succeeded. To me, Yasmin Ahmad kick-started this trend with her Sepet, Gubra and Mualaf; not to mention, her string of unforgetable Petronas advertisements. And then, there's Tiger Woo Hoo.

Lately,local favourite Ah Niu took the movie industry by storm despite this being new in the field of directing (Some casts also made very commendable debut appearances namely Gary Chaw Ge).

His movie, Ice Kacang Puppy Love stood out from other local productions not just due to its lineup of famous casts but the fact that it is much more successful in consolidating scenes we can all relate to.

As Malaysians, we should feel very lucky for 2 reasons:-

1. We have the right person to do it.

2. He is willing to do it.

Ah Niu has the network. After decorating our entertaining industry for more than a decade, he is successful in his own right and has many strings to pull. He knows very well our old traditions and old school culture based on his very own childhood experience. He sees the need to capture all these in a movie. Of course, knowing our culture is one thing. Portraying it in a humourous and contemporary way is another. But when done right,the result would be amazing. And I'm proud to say, this movie did just that.

He just did all of us and perhaps even our future generations a favour as these traditions may very well become very less-known if not extinct in the future as urbanisation continues to pick up pace.

Old buildings, old notes, playing marbles, telekom phone booth, old police uniform, rotiman on wheels - they may be foreign to our grandchildren. As it is, we are already less 'adventurous' compared to our parents. How many of us can climb trees?

As a first-time director, it took Ah Niu 6-7 years of hardwork and lots of money to make this film possible. He poured in millions of his very own Ringgit and even had to made a demo of the film to convince others into joining his production (Yes, he still needed to go the distance to sell his idea despite his reputation in the industry).

Assembling such an interesting line of casts requires vigorous coordination effort but he pulled it off. It is heartwarming to see many Malaysian artists who made it big overseas, willing to spare some time to make this noble project possible.

The filming took place mainly in Tronoh (near Ipoh) while some scenes were shot in Penang. Oustanding cinematography differentiates this movie from the rest, especially the part which the camera shot from inside the river.

Some picturesque scenes were made possible by quality filming. And of course, the brilliant music added to the film's success in stirring various emotions out of the audience.

The ending wasn't exactly a fairytale one but hey, not every pupply love ends up down the aisle.

We should all be very proud of this production. Our local film industry has just been lifted up a notch and hopefully, Malaysians will continue to be entertained by more quality movies.

Hiking Broga Hill, Semenyih

2010-04-04T18:20:00.001+08:00

I don’t hike that much back home. In fact, I’ve seen more of Australia’s beauty through Kosciusko, Cradle, Ainslie and the many nature parks in Australia. Thankfully, today, I was able to enjoy Malaysia’s.

It was worth waking up at 3.30am this morning to enjoy my first sunrise in Malaysia with my sis and friends.

By the time we fetched the rest and found our way to the foot of the mountain, it was already close to 6.30am and it was still pitch black. A smart lady was there selling torchlight that has this special 3-in-1 or 4-in-1 feature. There were also stalls selling fruits and refreshing beverages but they don’t open as early.

A bumpy ground defined the initial part of the journey before the steepness started to keep us busy.

Some stretches were quite dangerous.

They do have strings at some points but hikers could definitely use a bit more safety measures.

It was rather cloudy this morning so we didn’t get to see much sunrise at all.

This was about it.

All was not lost though. The view from one of the few peaks was breathtaking especially after the sun rose.

Photographers who were initially disappointed with poor shots at dawn were able to snap some good pictures with a bit of help of the sunlight.

The beauty of macro-shooting.

Nice silhouette!

There were certainly more people than I thought!

Some regular hikers. Mind you they were actually meditating, not merely posing for me =p

We were lucky enough to see a few rainbows.

I asked my sis and her friends to pose as if they were hiking and they were very amused by this picture =p

Walking down was tedious in its own way as we have to watch out for some 'flying foxes'.

Notice that little kid

Boy, he was quick! Gave all of us a shock.

Sevvy was so traumatised that she immediately chanted some prayers.

..while my sis did her own 'flying fox' trick =)

How far was the hike? Well, it certainly felt more than 1.7km but 4.8km? hm let us give ourselves the benefit of the doubt, shall we? =)

On we way back, I noticed, located nearby Mr Bronga was the Malaysian Campus of University of Nottingham which I thought was pretty cool though unbelievably inaccessible. How can you not own a car if you were to study here? Location wise, it seems really pale in comparison with Taylors, Inti, Sunway and the like. However, it does give its students a bit more of a campus feel. And it is University of Nottingham at the end of the day. My, just the word ‘Nottingham’ itself reminded me of Hugh Grant.

Beside the campus was a Biotechnology Research Center which provoked a sense of pride towards my country. Innovation… we’ve heard of it countless times. Everyone seems to be slipping this word in their inspirational speeches these days especially following the announcement of the long-awaited New Economic Model by our PM. I wondered how many of research centers like this are there in our country…how developed are they..how much have they contributed. Biotechnology was one of the hyped-up choices of degree during my time, after Information Technology has had its glory days. Have government made good use of our biotechnology graduates? If Kai Xun, Jason, Su Yin, Felix, and other biotechnology graduates were to serve back home, they could be posted here, right here in Semenyih.

Ah…random thoughts. I did sleep in the car after that, while my sis was doing all the driving =p Terima kasih!

Last Few Days in Canberra

2010-01-09T13:43:00.002+08:00

On graduation day, I saw Elvin taking pictures on this lavender patch so I've decided to take a last stroll down to ANU.

I couldn't help but to notice how well they bloom in summer.

And as I was away in Melbourne, 3 new sculptures were placed around civic and ANU. This one was easily my favourite not only because of its cuteness, but the story behind it. It's located near the Civic carousel.

On the Staircase, 2005 by Keld Moseholm

"This bronze and cooper sculpture contrasts a series of small human forms with the architectural weight of an oversized staircase. The artwork has a philosophical aspect by reflecting on the effect of reading on the spirit -
the more I read, the smaller I feel.

Launced by Jon Stanhope MLA Chief Minister and Minister for the Arts on 6 October 2009.

The second sculpture is located just a few footsteps away from the first. It originated from a weird Greek myth.

Icarus Series, 2009 by Jan Brown AM

"These four bronze figures are inspired by the ancient Greek myth of Icarus. This in story, Icarus' father, Daedalus, creates wings made from feathers and wax for himself and his son to flee from captivity on the island of Crete. Icarus is warned by his father not to fly too close to the sun or the sea. However, exhilarated by the experience of flight, Icarus flies too high, his waxen wings melt and he falls to his death. Brown's sculpture
encourages sympathy with Icarus' unbridled exuberance and an acceptance of its inevitable tragic consequences."

Launched on 16 December 2009 by Jon Stanhope MLA, Chief Minister and Minister for the Arts and Heritage

This one, many of you may have noticed it during graduation since it's strategically located near street theater cafe. As for as I know, there's no story behind it.

Relic, 2007 by Rick Amor

"Bronze, corten steel base."

Launced on 10 December 2009 by Jon Stanhope MLA Chief Minister and Minister for the Arts and Heritage.

Also, thanks to organiser, Mr Daryl, we last a great time catching up just a day before Winnie and Lyon flew off. Btw, Daryl and Barney raced in Northbourne Ave =p

Just yesterday, attending the ANU pre-dep in Spore reignited the excitement I had during my first year, "What will I see upon landing in Canberra? Who will I meet? What events will ANU organise? etc"

Man, I feel so excited for the newbies! Coincidentally, Winnie upload the unforgettable 1st-year Indian dance =) Ah...I'm so gonna miss uni.

Books

2009-12-05T17:04:00.001+08:00

I just spent a good 3 hours in Newslink, reading about all sorts of things ranging from Tiger Wood's affair to 'Places to eat in Taiping'. There was this book about 'The Worst Invention of Mankind' and 'Karaoke' was surprisingly in the list. Perhaps I should go back and check out the reason.

These couple of years, I realised that I could potentially spend hours in bookshops. It's like I'm in a zone where almost every type of books appeal to me, be it self-help books, fictions, traveling magazines, etc. I remember telling Ann Bell, "I love buying books but would never finish reading them." She found it pretty weird but that sentence still very much describes me.

You see, I may be interested in a particular book when I first saw it but it may eventually lie untouched in my cupboard after being scanned by the cashier. Perhaps I have the ADD thingy that Barney has. My attention diverges too quickly. Thus, it may be best that I just pay a weekly visit to bookshops and flip through all sorts of books.

All books are interesting in their own way, addressing different aspects of our lives and representing the hard work of their respective authors. Unfortunately, their price usually puts potential buyers off. It may also be impractical to keep buying books due to storage issue and the fact that they may not even be re-read.

Yi Sung showed me his e-book about a week ago. I was really impressed by its features and practicality, though Sung said he would miss the sight of his bookshelves should e-book totally eliminates the need to print books in the future. Perhaps some of us would miss the act of flipping pages, the dog ears, bookmarks, etc. These could be some of the things we like about reading and e-book takes away all that.

I think in the future, I'll end up bringing my children to bookshops and let them discover that there's so much to learn and every book is special in its own way.

Candle in the wind

2009-11-07T17:14:00.003+08:00

The battle has ended. Just as I was drown with exams and studies, this news hit me hard. It did occur to me once in a while, “What if… she lost?” If you were to time-travel and told me my 4th aunt would only live till the age of 50, I’d say that it’s a cruel statement to make to a lady who was dear to everyone.

I find it hard to believe the hug I gave her last month was the last. The slight recovery she made when I was back home gave me hope, that I could one day see her normal self performing her daily routine and that I could one day, give her one tighter hug. I kept wondering what I would have done differently if I had known of this fact earlier.

Perhaps God has all this while been arranging a brief but merry life for my aunt. For those of you who were lucky enough to meet her, you’d remember how easily she made you feel belonged and how caring she was, even if you were not a close family member. At the end of the day, we’ve all been granted our wish, just in a slightly different way. She is no longer suffering but is no longer with us either.

All is not lost. Throughout her hardship, humanity has shone through her beloved husband, sister, daughter and family members who have been by her side, doing whatever they could to help. I admire them, deeply. Let us hope that she has regained her health and is happy wherever she is. In this trying time, may she guide her children though their exams and be there spiritually for her family who would find it very challenging to carry on living without her parental guidance and love.

To my 4th aunt, you have been an inspiration and will be deeply missed. We love you.

My first radio interview

2009-11-01T15:00:00.001+08:00

I've always wanted to hear my own voice in a radio ad, saying,

"My FM, ying yue wu sian, tie xin kong jien. tai ping, 100.2, wo shi yeam"
"988, you sheng you se. tai ping 98.8, wo shi yeam"

And while watching Skyfire last year, I scrolled through as many radio stations as I could to see if there was any Chinese radio station in Canberra. Unfortunately, zero.

Hence, when HL called me last week and said he wanted to do a recorded interview with me on behalf of a Chinese radio station, imagine how excited I was. Aside from the fact that I've never done a radio interview, this would actually be conducted in Mandarin when I could barely string a perfect sentence with it. The topic revolves around uni, cultural shocks, student organisations, plans after uni, Malaysia, and also a bit on relationship. Understandably, everyone is worried about my cannot-make-it mandarin so I was thinking of brushing it up but assignments and exam preparation took up most of my time.

So I was pretty nervous when approaching HL today and prayed hard that he didn't have to pause the recording too frequently as a result of my poor mandarin.

I was greeted by this front desk.

And a familiar face =) Nick actually runs his own programme though I can't remember whether it's a daily or weekly one.

It didn't take me long to realise (from the pictures on the wall) that most of the people operating this radio station were uni students. The main station is located in Melbourne but FM88 just recently branched out to Canberra last May.

While we can't receive signal of this 6-month old radio station in radios, we can still do so online.

The interview lasted for slightly more than an hour. Thankfully, HL didn't have to stop the recording due to my mandarin.

While he was busy editing the interview, I wandered around the station.

admiring the technologies

and capturing as many pictures as I could to remind my future-self of this historic mandarin interview.

I was really tempted to stay for Ellen's interview but it would just make her more nervous =p
Anyways, I'm sure she would do well given that her mandarin is way better. Thanks a lot to HL for the memorable hour! (and stay tune to FM88) =p

Bruce Hall looks pretty

2009-10-18T20:08:00.002+08:00

Small yellow flowers blooming on the grass patch just outside of extension. Not very obvious from this photo but you get the idea.

And I snapped my first bee pic today =)

breathe

2009-10-14T23:07:00.002+08:00

An email which I thought would be a generic chain mail turned out to be a sweet message from my dad. He reminded me of the saying I painted on the wall of my room. I suddenly felt as if there was a force field, shielding me from the noisy metropolitan, slowing down the world a little bit. It gave me a well-needed kit-kat break. I closed my eyes and pictured my blue cozy room. Then, reality honked at me. I was back in a noisy city with cars everywhere and people rushing to get to work.

Uni has been crazy lately. With all the assessments happening coincidentally at the same time, this week can easily be the most challenging one, academically, out of my 2.75 years here. Felt like I couldn’t catch a break (Hofstadter 2009). I’m surprised a sleep-deprived me has yet to form that two very dark rings though I have been spotted dozing off in classes.

My sincere gratitude to all who prayed for my aunt. It’s very sweet of you all to include her in your prayers. In his email, my dad said she is well recuperating everyday despite not relying on medication. Prayers and natural goodness from mother nature ie fruits, water, wheat have done her good. Here’s to an ongoing recovery to my aunt and a smooth-sailing assessment period to all students.

Cheers.

Family...it's bitter sweet

2009-09-28T10:35:00.002+08:00

Alert: These are random thoughts. Paragraphs may not flow.

In a span of three days, I stepped foot in Canberra, Sydney, Spore, Nilai, KL, Klang, and Taiping. That’s as to close to teleportation as I can ever get, I think. It feels very special when you’re busy with uni life in Canberra today and find yourself eating crab for dinner the next day in Nilai, listening to your parents reminding you to take Vitamin C, and hearing David Tao’s latest single from your sister’s playlist. For the past two years, I’ve always given myself a grace period of a few weeks (after my final exam) before flying back during summer, so the mindset is there, “I’m going back home.” But this time, I was pretty drowned with not so much studies, but performance, editorial work, etc. Before I knew it, I was spending a wonderful time enjoying (making fun of) the performances in China Night with Tim and Daryl on Thurs night, then appreciating the sound of mahjong bricks and family chats two days after. It’s special, really. As aforementioned, it definitely feels like I just teleported.

While I enjoy the food and company back home, reality slapped me right on the face. Not that it reminded me of the 3 assignments I have yet to touch. It was about the differences in mindset between my family and I, or more generally, between the younger and the older generation. We love each other despite the lack of physical expression. They watched me grow and have helped me in countless ways. My life would’ve never been the same without their love and care. It is not surprising that throughout my 3 years in Australia, the thing I miss about home (besides the food that is) is definitely the family atmosphere. Many times, halfway through lecture, I wish to be teleported right to the mahjong desk in my uncle’s place or to the Chinese New Year eve gathering dinner in my tua ee’s house.

Now that I find myself in that actually position, I’m happy, but far from contented. Language has been a great barrier when connecting with my family.. My tua ee took good care of my sister and I when my parents were busy teaching. She loves us a lot and well, she does show some physical affection. Eg before giving out Ang Pow during Chinese New Year, she kisses both of us. Every year, I see her white hair conquering a larger proportion of her head. I realised that I should treasure the time I have with her but I’m lost for words each time I try to start a conversation. My Hokkien is just too basic for any deeper conversation. There’s a lot that I wish to share with her but till today, I failed miserably. The only things I’ve done so far were standing/sitting beside her for a few minutes and getting her water while she works her magic at mahjong.

Even with my nephews and nieces, I wanna sit down and talk to them, about studies, friendship, etc. I wish to share with them the things that they can expect from the outside world upon completing school. Not that they can’t understand English, but it may feel a bit weird speaking English with them because Hokkien and Mandarin are the two mediums of conversation we used all this while. Also, it’s difficult to find the right setting.

Since heart to heart talk doesn’t really exist between the younger and older generations in my family, the elderly tends to judge us, teenagers too quickly, based on everything physical ie appearance, actions, etc. More often than not, we keep quiet despite the wrong impression that they have on us either because we’re too lazy to defend ourselves, doing so make us desperate, or we choose to ignore how they feel about us. To make matters worse, it’s too normal for human to remember more of the negative things that others do to them instead of the good. I don’t know, perhaps bad incidents just leave a longer-lasting scar in human heart. There may never be a practical solution. And we don’t choose our family members. Fortunately enough for me, the fact that majority of my family members are kind-hearted lots over-shadowed this problem. Hey, even friendships have their own set of conflicts.

Two days ago, I saw my sick 4th aunt. As I turned the doorknob, I kept saying, “This is it. This is it.” My sister a couple of days ago updated me about her situation just so I wouldn’t be too shocked when I see her face to face. It feels very painful to see one of the most kind-hearted women I know who appears to be fine in the beginning of this year but is now so frail. I can’t stop picturing her normal self. It’s just too difficult to digest the fact that cancer has consumed her terribly quickly within less than a year. The pain that she has gone through is beyond my scope of imagination. It’s scary to even think about it. Everybody questioned God. Everyone thought God picked the wrong person. But none of this can help heal her. For the past few weeks, we’ve been praying, releasing animals, and asking for spiritual help. During this trying time, the norm has been challenged. Priorities were shuffled. I’m glad everyone is sticking together.

To my dear aunt, you are the most selfless person I’ve ever met and I hope God quickly remembers that.

First Magpie Attack

2009-09-06T23:00:00.001+08:00

Bought McD breakfast this morning and a magpie approached me (near Packard), gently showing some interests on my mcmuffin and hash browns.

"Nope, nope, this is not for you," I said.

Half an hour later, on the way to sports hall, there was this magpie which flew just right above my head. (I have yet to freak out). Then it stopped and stared at me as if I'm its long-time enemy. And CHARGE towards me!

"Gosh, is this for real? Is there food on my hair?" I've never felt this panicked, not in ANU.

This time, its left wing actually hit my head. I shouted and started using my badminton bag to cover my poor head. It stared at me again before it started charging. I can hear it making contact with my badminton bag.

"Should I run? Should I run?"

I didn't...Thank God after charging for a couple of times, it left me alone.

I actually couldn't think of any good reason for the attack until Wei Min said, "Hey, could it be the same magpie you refuse to give your McD to?"Well, that makes sense but if that's actually true, then crows are so revengeful! (and it proves that they can remember faces very well)

Cool Plate

2009-09-01T08:49:00.003+08:00

Ah Boon came to Canberra last week. As we walked from Civic to ANU, he noticed this hilarious. I didn't even notice how funny it was until he pointed it out.

A Phonecall that Changed My Life

2009-08-19T15:03:00.001+08:00

It's never gonna be the same for the next couple of years.

To all parents

2009-08-08T11:56:00.007+08:00

When you are wondering if your children are coming back for meals, I get it.
When you are wondering if you should cook the vege now cause it may be cold already by the time your children get back but this is the only time you are free, I get it.
When you are wondering how much of your advice will actually make it to their brain, I get it.
When you feel like lending your brain to your children, just so they know what you meant by 'consequences', I get it.
When you are helplessly looking at your children going down the wrong path, I get it.
When you feel that there's a need to explain yourself but you're too tired to, I get it.
When you feel that your children are wasting their time doing nothing because by comparison, you are using your time more efficiently, I get it.
When you are wondering why your children can never get things done without you asking them to ie. nagging, I get it.
When you are upset that your children did not inform you where they went especially at night, I get it.
When you feel bad for scolding your children, making them think that you are furious and afraid of you when you are not actually that angry, you were just caring for them, I get it.
When you see your children spending money like nobody's business while you work so hard to earn a living, I get it.
When you wish you could just sleep a little longer but you can't, for your children's sake, I get it.
When you wonder why your children can never eat healthily on their own initiative, I get it.
When you feel like you are racing against time to drive your children to school (or anywhere else), sacrificing your leisure or work, I get it.
When you are upset that your children did not eat your cooking, I get it.

Stepped on sth

2009-08-07T21:47:00.003+08:00

Stepped on a chewing gum today in sports hall. Suddenly felt that my right shoe had a better grip.

"Nah..couldn't be chewing gum..this is Australia"

After 30 minutes, I realised it actually was. Can't remember that last time this happened.

Btw, I feel pretty tired of doing ppl favours. But life would be meaningless if it only revolves around me. I foresee this dilemma of helping ppl will continue for the rest of my life. God, please be with me. I know I'm doing the right thing but it's tiring.

Oprah House Performance

2009-07-14T08:36:00.000+08:00

Canberra Choir performed Beethoven's Ode To Joy along with choirs from New Zealand, China, and US.

Rehearsal in St Andrew's Cathedral

Choir coach, Jeffrey from Seattle, giving some advices. Very charismatic. Like Paul Chen.

Mass rehearsal in Angel Place Recital Hall

I present you, Linn Weeda with his 64-piece orchestra from Alaska! Linn has a classic look of a historian.

See what I mean?

And he sweats profusely due to some vigorous conducting movements.

This choir group was an enthusiastic lot. They warmed up by singing/talking to the person next to them.

In fact, the man at the bottom left, even talked to his imaginary friend.

Roughly 24 hours before the performance began, we received a notice to perform a Chinese song, Shi Jie Bo Lan (World Expo) with the Chinese Choir. I think they wanted us to help fill up the stage and also, they wanted to reflect unity.

So we were provided with this han yin pin yin which interestingly has another line of english translation since most english native speakers may not be able to pronounce han yin pin yin that accurately.

"I want you all to go out there with some excitement and do your best. I know you haven't rehearsed this before but I've looked at the chords. The melody's simple. You are performing in the finale of 20th Australian International Music Festival! This is gonna be the night that you'll never forget. I'm actually jealous! And don't be afraid to speak to the Chinese Choir. Be friendly. They know a little bit of English too."
One of them: "How to you say hello in Chinese?"
Me: Ni hao
Students: lol..miao miao...lol

After lots of funny moments and a few short rounds of rehearsal, we were set to go on stage with the Chinese orchestra and choir, following a breathtaking umbrella dance by the Chinese contingent.

It all went well with the song, after which all of us waved this flag with enthusiasm. I then found out that this song was meant to promote the World Expo in Shanghai next year.

It was about half an hour before the Beethoven performance began so we had a short break.

Look at the huge cellos!

I have to say the Oprah House Concert Hall didn't look that superb from the stage. But I'm sure it will be so from the audience's angle.

Half way through the interval, we re-entered the stage and got into position. The mass choir started off performing Gloria (before Beethoven). And since a few of us didn't know that piece, we have to pretend as if we did, by moving our lips and flipping pages.

Linn then introduced the four solo singers for Beethoven's piece and the mass choir gave it their all.

After the performance, we received a huge round of applause.

We shook hands.

It felt great. Months of hard work finally boiled down to this moment and we weren't disappointed. It is indeed a moment of our lives which will not be forgotten.

SGI schoomates, read this =)

2009-07-12T07:28:00.003+08:00

Imagine not seeing a high school senior for at least 5 years. Then all of a sudden, you spot him in a foreign country. He looks a much buffer than before.

A Keanu Maybe?

2009-06-11T13:16:00.004+08:00

The threat human poses to environment is real, everyone knows that. Perhaps it’s due to this exact reason that many of us do not even bother doing anything about it anymore. Strong advocators of environmental issues are deemed as nagging individuals who has nothing better to worry about (chiak pa boh su cho, sek pau tang si oh).

We owe it to our future generations for not being able to think on their behalf, for letting them reap what we sow. Development has always been occurring with the expense of the environment. The balancing point is a grey area that is forever up for debate. In a matter of decades, the next generation will face the horrible consequences of our selfish actions.

Just today, a Star article “Conserve water from now, Klang Valley folk warned” caught my eye. The first sentence goes, “Water rationing could start next month for Klang Valley residents if they do not conserve water from now”. Typical Malaysians would’ve had their jaws dropped at this point till they glance through, “At the moment, the water levels at most dams in the country have not reached the critical mark.” With a sigh of relief, it’s business as usual for them from then onwards.

Drainage and Irrigation Department Hydrology and Water Resources Director (longest title ever), Datuk Lim Chow Hock advises Malaysians to, “water your garden less frequently, do not let water run when you are brushing your teeth, use pails instead of a hose when washing your car.” While all those are sound advices, I can’t help but to wonder if he actually practices that himself or is he just saying it because he’s the director of (the longest name).

Our lists of priorities are growing day by day so much so that ‘taking care of the environment’ is never anywhere near the top. It takes a lot of effort and commitment for someone to be environmental friendly. For firms, it also involves money and typically, ‘being environmental friendly’ means increasing cost and shrinking profits. I guess it’s fair for us to assume that environmental-friendly policies are one of the last things they’ll accept with open arms.

Of course, there’re lots of responsible companies and individuals, fighting for the betterment of mother nature and I’m proud of them. I see lots of shoppers in Supabarn using green bags, MASCA NSW introducing a refreshing “We Are Going Green, So Can You!” concept, Bruce Hall initiating a four-minute shower effort, Shell finding a way to safely store CO2 underground, Honda producing hydrogen-driven cars, Readers Digest printing a blue issue specially devoted to water matters, Times publishing a list of food that requires lots of energy of produce, etc. Whether or not they’re doing it for the sake of good image, I choose to be optimistic. I pray that we won’t be outnumbered by profit-driven companies and short-sighted individuals who may ultimately offset these noble efforts.

It never stopped occurring in my mind that we need a Keavu Reeves to come down to earth and threaten humans, ending our fragile existence on the poor Earth. By that time though, it may have been too late.

Gardening

2009-06-06T14:18:00.005+08:00

Doing gardening with Bruce Green has been an eye-opening experience. Cleaning the Green House, planting onions and baby carrots, setting up the irrigation system and touching dirt again reminds me so much of Kemahiran Hidup. Here are some interesting things I saw:-

ANU's organic garden

A cool garden car

A compost bin made to breed worms

Another version of scarecrow (note the marble eyes)

I even ate a flower

But I guess one of the best thing is the range of people I'm mixing with.

This is a new German friend of mine holding a pumpkin partially eaten by a mouse. Today's probably the last time I'll be seeing him since he's on exchange for this semester only.

I've also befriended my very first Mexican friend and had a shock when he pronnounced his country as meh-hee-ko instead of max-see-ko. Last Monday, when Jun Sang said meh-hee-ko and made the whole class laugh, I thought he was merely making fun of the country. Now I know it's actually the local way of pronouncing it.

Hit Hard By A Change

2009-06-02T18:57:00.001+08:00

This is something you'll usually ignore in lecture, thinking that it's just another policy a hopeful candidate is trying to put forward in an upcoming election to fish for votes.

However, when you stare at this bad news for a couple of seconds and realise that it is actually for real this time and there's nothing you can do about it, it feels awful.

I guess that's how a firm will feel should its investments turn obsolete someday.

Btw, an important announcement that ANU students must read, http://timetable.anu.edu.au/H1N1Flu.pdf

I Couldn't Sleep So I Sat Down and Posted This

2009-05-28T01:22:00.000+08:00

I felt pretty sick yesterday and decided to call it a day at 9.30pm. Instead of sleeping soundly through the night, I struggled in my dream and woke up at 12.30am, mentally exhausted.

In my dream, my sis was driving me around in Penang.

Instead of being in the car, I was actually on the outside with both my legs tied on the bonnet. Can't remember why.

The horror started when the road suddenly went vertical and super narrow with cracks everywhere. I was shouting to my sis, "No, no, no! You're not driving up there! I'm gonna fall...even you're going fall". I think she couldn't hear me. Anyway, she kept driving but surprisingly, the car didn't fall. Me on the other hand, hung on to the car the best I could.
Minutes later, my arms began to shake and were about to gave way. I imagined myself hanging in the air with my legs tied up the car...

Then I woke up. And couldn't fall back to sleep...btw, the vertical road was shaped like an intestine and linked the highway to the Penang bridge.

Living It!

2009-05-15T09:08:00.003+08:00

Picture at times, exaggerates the true beauty of nature or even human. You scrolled through some awesome photos of destination you were about to visit only to be disappointed that the real place didn't live up to your expectations. You would be standing there thinking, "Darn, I could've sworn this place looks a hundred times better in photo!"

But when it actually does, you'll start to feel as if you're living in a dream. It soothes your emotions and temporarily deviates your attention away from whatever stress you're having. Cycling through campus every single day during autmn has been such a wonderful commute. I'll be riding my bike saying, "Wow..it's like I'm living in a poster...everyday."

ANU is currently experiencing its very own version of Sakura Season. It doesn't take an observant student to notice how quickly the colour of the leaves changes from green to red/yellow/orange, and finally brown, sometimes only in a matter of days. Soon you'll start to notice that the leaves start to fall and the tree that took your breath away yesterday is starting to balder and balder. Looking at the pile of leaves on the grass makes you feel like lying down on them and make a swimming action =p

As time goes by, you'll start to notice any particular tree that stands out amongst the rest.

And you hunt for the sole leaf survivor when most of its "colleagues" are already on the ground.
Aw..how I wish Taiping Lake Gardens could experience autumn.

Pengalaman Band yang Pertama

2009-05-10T07:55:00.003+08:00

Melibatkan diri dalam sesebuah band sememangnya tidak mudah. Namun, itulah impianku selama ini. Kutidak mahu asyik bertungkus-lumus mencari karaoke lagu-lagu kegemaranku sama ada di Youtube mahupun di pasar malam. Lagipun, pengalamanku akan lebih bermakna jikalau band tersebut terdiri daripada rakan-rakan seperjuanganku dari ANU. Justeru, apabila Tim dan Lili ingin menubuhkan band sempena pertandingan Avenue of Stars, kutidak melepaskan peluang untuk menyertai mereka. Tambahan pula, 2009 merupakan tahun terakhir kami di ANU.

Seperti yang dijangka, konflik tidak mengambil masa yang lama untuk menjejaskan sesi latihan kami. Aku pasrah apabila beberapa cadanganku ditolak tanpa diberi pertimbangan yang sewajarnya. Sampai minit yang terakhir, ada lagi ahli kumpulan yang masih belum menghafal lirik-lirik dan nota-nota muzik sepenuhnya. Selain itu, kami tidak habis-habis menghadapi masalah untuk memilih antara persembahan dan persahabatan.

Pada malam persembahan tersebut, aku melakukan beberapa kesilapan di luar dugaanku. Salah seorang ahli kumpulanku berasa amat marah akan apa yang berlaku. Sebenarnya, aku sendiri turut kecewa akan kesilapanku. Pengalaman semalam memberi gambaran seolah-olah apa sahaja boleh berlaku di atas pentas. Tidak kira betapa gigihnya seseorang itu berlatih, kebarangkalian berlakunya kemalangan tidah mungkin dapat disingkirkan. Yang penting sekali adalah reaksi kita terhadap apa yang berlaku, seperti apa yang dikata oleh Stephen Covey, "10% of life is made up of what happens to you while the other 90% is decided by how you react." Mana-mana ahli kumpulan yang tidak berpegang pada prinsip ini, sudah cukup untuk menjejaskan prestasi sesebuah band dan mencemari perngalaman sekumpulan sahabat yang cuma ingin melakukan aktiviti yang bermakna bersama-sama.

Sekiranya diberi peluang, kutidak pasti sama ada kuakan melibatkan diri dalam kegiatan sebegini pada masa akan datang. Menjadi kawan karib dan menubuhkan sebuah band adalah dua perkara yang agak berbeza. Kita mampu bertolak-ansur dengan perwatakan negatif rakan-rakan kita tetapi setiap manusia mempunyai had masing-masing. Apabila kita perlu bekerjasama dan meluangkan lebih banyak masa bersama-sama, barulah kita berupaya memahami sikap mereka dengan lebih mendalam. Malangnya, persahabatan yang dahulunya kukuh menghadapi risiko untuk menjadi makin rapuh dalam tempoh ini. Mungkin sebab inilah kawan rapat kadang-kala menjadi musuh setelah tinggal lama sebumbung.

Walau apapun,pelbagai aspek tentang band telak kupelajari dan memori-memori manis bersama rakan-rakan seperjuangan sudah kuperolehi. Aku turut bersyukur kerana mempunyai penyokong-penyokong yang meluangkan masa, tenaga dan wang masing-masing untuk menghadiri malam tersebut. Ada di kalangan mereka yang memberikan kata-kata semangat yang sangat bermakna buatku. Jutaan terima kasih kepada kamu semua =)

This Quote Rocks!

2009-05-09T20:27:00.001+08:00

If every person in the world was given 1/4 of an acre of land
The whole of the worlds population would fit into Australia
With the rest of the worlds land left over

Source (no one would've ever imagined): http://www.user-guides.co.uk/Compaq/CompaqCDDownloads.asp

Sis Got Lucky

2009-04-21T09:44:00.004+08:00

Last week, my sis was sent to Spore for work. When she flew back to KL, guess who was boarding the same flight.

Mr Archuleta! He was in KL to promote his latest album.How much better can it get? =p

The Day When Everything Went Wrong...well almost

2009-04-15T22:28:00.007+08:00

I was quite pumped up at 5am today when I made sandwich, grabbed my Uncle Toby bars, and headed to Ellery Cresent. Since a couple to days back, I imagined this day to be filled with wonderful memories of a smooth hike up the tallest peak in Australia, peeing in Australia’s highest public toilet, taking a group picture up the summit, and gazing at my ‘I climbed Mt Kosciuszko’ cert while enjoying McD on the way back to Canberra.

Well, God has its plan. It turned out to be nothing as I had pictured.

The journey was fine. The bus driver played Rabbit-Proof Fence, an multiple award-winning Australian movie. Not too boring.

We stopped in Cooma for breakfast. Didn't stop in McD again on the way back as originally planned since everyone just wanted to go home straight away.

Just before arriving at Thredbo, we were greeted by a nice scenery.

Then, Glen our tour guide introduced himself, along with the bad news: the wind was too strong (about 134km/hr) that it would be too dangerous to hike up Mt Kosciuszko.

So we had to branch out from the main route into a safer one which doesn't lead us to the toilet and peak. Not sure if it has better scenery but one thing for sure: bye-bye to Australia's highest summit and public toilet.

As we were taking the chair lift up from Thredbo, the wind was so strong that I thought the chair was about to give way. A couple of hours later, the chair lift system was shut temporarily because of the weather and we had to go down via a 4-wheel drive. Boy, that certainly felt a lot safer!

While hiking, the sudden strong gust almost blew me away, seriously. Some of us had to had to resort to squatting and walking at the same time.

Gust and the minus one degree temperature probably caused this man's leg cram. We started to lose with touch our hands and our ears began to hurt. Instead of enjoying the walk, we were merely surviving it. One of the Chinese students up ahead even asked Glen for help when the wind blew his glasses away.

It was amazing how this Italian dude survived with just his three-quarter pants. He later changed into his jeans before we departed home but still, he was up the mountain with a portion of his leg exposed all the time.And Glen, our tour guide in red still had the mood to explain about species of flora up the mountain when some of his words got lost in the wind if you know what I mean. The best thing was this fairly old hiker didn't seem to be shaken much by the strong wind, admirable indeed.

Understandably, it wasn't long before Glen received a call from the control centre, asking us to turn back. Apparently, some trees ahead of us were falling down because of the wind.

So I bid goodbye to the last scenery which somehow reminded me of LOTR and made a U-turn.

We were compensated with a free bobsled ride.

Going up sucks. It hurts your backbone but the journey down was awesome.

Lots have gone wrong today but thanks to this trip, I got to take a picture with these cute baby bear sculptures, know some people like Min Poh better and befriended a few Chinese, 2 Italians, and 2 Filipinos, one of which happens to know Jason, Kai Xun, Su Yin, and Dianne =p

And despite the wind, the numb fingers could still snap me a few nice shots up there. So with $70 bucks I paid, I ended up with a lot more weird adventures than I thought.

Oh, have I mentioned about this guy in green jacket with his precious teddy bear (lets call him G)? As we started to alight the bus in Thredbo, I heard someone screaming at the top of his voice. I thought perhaps there was an accident along the road but all of my tour-mates were staring at G. He looked just fine to me. No sign of anger. Ann Bell looked at me in confusion,wondering what just happened. I threw the same look back at her since I couldn't even make up what G said when he was screaming. "Was that actually mandarin?" I thought.

Just a few seconds later, G screamed again. Awkward silent followed and the bus driver had had enough. He went and talked to G. Guess he must've said, "Hey, no screaming in the bus boy". Couldn't help myself, I then asked Alex Fong what happened. According to Alex, the guy sitting beside G touched his teddy bear, thus agitated him. Wow...talk about overreacting.

Oh well, here's to a day I'll never forget. Cheers.

How to Get to Malaysian Embassy

2009-04-13T20:29:00.004+08:00

Option 1 (credited to Safuraa)
1. Take Bus 2 (or 932 on weekends) from City Interchange heading to Woden.
2. Alight at the 3rd and last bus stop on Hopetoun Cct (Point A)
3. Walk for about 15 minutes to Malaysian Embassy (No. 7, Perth Ave – Point B)
4. Landmark: There’s a mosque in front of our embassy.

Option 2
1. Take bus 300 (or 900 on weekends) which heads to Woden.
2. Alight at the first bus stop after Commonwealth Avenue (Point A)
3. Walk for about 25 minutes to Malaysian Embassy (Point B)

When You See...

2009-04-12T00:27:00.003+08:00

an empty driveway..which is usually crowded on Friday mornings

and no one on the bus which is driving on one of the busiest routes,

you'll know that it's Good Friday. Now we all see how badly this great long weekend is needed =)

Invigilator says

2009-04-08T22:36:00.001+08:00

"Anything else besides your pencil, pen, student card, and your apple, should be placed underneath your table."

And I laughed till the adult Masters student turned back and laughed together with me =)

Mystery Behind ANU Balls

2009-03-28T11:19:00.003+08:00

Like University of Sydney and possibly many more, ANU has these gigantic balls scattered around the campus. We, ANU students have jumped, posed, kicked, and did many stupid stuffs with them. So as you can see, they're an essential part of our uni lives =)
I've personally wondered why I couldn't push or even move them one tiny bit.

When Sze Ching, Audrey, Weai Jiet, Stef, and Wong paid Canberra a visit last year, they didn't miss out on those balls. Now note the one Wong was standing on.

I realised it was missing 2 days ago and wondered where it went..

Until this happened yesterday. I could finally see it for myself how ANU move the balls.

And I figured out why I couldn't move them.

Updates

2009-03-24T17:24:00.006+08:00

Just before going to class, I secluded myself from the world for a few seconds. I stood still at the side of union court at 1pm on a sunny day with a little breeze, just looking at people doing what they do and listening to the sound of non-stop chatting. It's relaxing =)

These lockers may have been here for long but I've never noticed them till a couple of days ago. Out of curiosity I asked ANU Union about the rental rates: $30 per 6 months, $50 per year.

A guy wearing an Adidas with a cool short-essay. I was pretty much staring at this throughout the class.

Bruce Hall's never-ending supply of hilarious advertisements!

My favourite tofu & soymilk brand, doing delivery today at Kinloch.

The chopped tree trunk I saw on the way to Calvary Hospital. Can't help but to be reminded of Eugene's photograph.

With friends from Macquarie Uni who came down for a four-day Global Leadership Programme

Think You're Kiasu? Beat this

2009-03-19T17:10:00.002+08:00

My first year coursemate:-

1. types his tutorial answers nicely (in proper paragraphs, not point forms), prints them out and
brings them to tutorial.
"I lazy to write"

2. copies from his printed answers during close-book tutorial tests. His answer sheets are placed
right one the table so it's impossible that my tutor doesn't realise he is cheating. He is probably
just closing one eye.

3. freaks out if his answers were not long enough or if he missed a point.

Sky Without Clouds

2009-03-18T15:56:00.003+08:00

Ever seen a sky like this?

It always bugs me that Australian sky has no clouds sometimes. It's that dry, eh?

Lecturers Combination

2009-03-17T21:36:00.003+08:00

I have:-

- a Spanish
- a Korean
- an American
- 2 Australian

lecturer(s). A good mix, don't you think =)

Never Felt This Way Before

2009-03-11T21:10:00.003+08:00

Famished this evening, I ate a packed lunch which had fried prawns and chicken on fried rice. Cheap..only $4. I ate too quickly and paid dearly for it. It wasn't long before my stomach felt weird and indigestion kicked in.

The unexpected thing was the allergic reaction about 2 hours later. It started to get itchy all over. I thought a shower might wash of the dirt but it got worse exponentially after showering. I became as red as I am when I get drunk. I felt sudden burning sensation in different parts of the body at different times. My whole body was swollen. My temperature rose. It felt like I was going to burst anytime. I couldn't smile properly.

Now as far as I know, this is not my first time eating prawns but it certainly is my first time getting this sort of hives. Is it really the prawns....I wonder..

In Some People's Eyes, We Are of One Bangsa Afterall

2009-03-06T19:47:00.000+08:00

Had a chat with two China Masters (CM) students this evening.

Me: So where are you from?
CM: China. U?
Me: Malaysia.
CM: But you look Chinese...
Me: Well, I am a Chinese. My grandfather's from China.

I felt pretty weird since I've never really tried convincing others that I am Chinese before.
The Chinese couple looked bewildered, probably thinking that I was a Malay initially. Hm..should've asked them why.

Condom Makers Better Off During Bad Times

2009-03-05T19:26:00.002+08:00

I attended my first Econometrics Tutorial today.

Coincidentally, Maha and Shalini were sitting beside me. Since the tute ended rather early, we stayed back and browsed through The Star.

Maha was laughing away while reading this article.

"...people were unwilling to forego the pleasure of having sex during recession but were unwilling to shoulder additional commitment such as having children."
Source: http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/3/5/business/3248048&sec=business

Is this goat still halal?

2009-02-28T05:41:00.001+08:00

Guess not!

Spore's Too Famous

2009-02-27T09:22:00.000+08:00

I went back to Calvary Hospital today for volunteering purposes and told them I was back in my hometown during summer

Staff: So where to you come from, boy?
Me: Malaysia.
Staff: Oh, is that where Changi is?

Talk About Cute Packaging

2009-02-25T21:24:00.003+08:00

What an adorable 1kg pack of Jasmine!
You don't have to worry about preserving its freshness after opening a 10kg bag of rice.

Ignorance Membawa Padah

2009-02-20T22:55:00.004+08:00

Bruce Hall Packard Wing has a good laundry facility. All the four washing machines are working well and they're near to my room. Nothing to complain about.

All this while, I am well aware about the above notice. It's certainly understandable. If I were to live next door, I'd be pissed off with the idiot doing laundry during wee hours and waking me up in the process.

But I was ignorant. I constantly delayed my laundry routine to nighttime. After a day in uni and a dinner, you just don't feel like doing laundry immediately after that, you know...especially if you wash your clothes once every 3 days.

Last year, the Duty SRs (Senior Residents) were not that strict with the timing. Residents get away with doing laundry at 3am in the morning. I know that because I did it (and saw others doing it).

This year however, they pulled up their socks. Perhaps there were too many complaints flooding their mail box. At 11pm sharp, the Duty SR shows up in the Laundry Room and turns off the power supply.

"Dear Resident, I turned this machine off during lock up. This is because noise from the washing and drying machine disturbs residents in nearby rooms and so they are not to be used between 11pm and 7am. Please wait until tomorrow morning to finish your washing. Thank you for your consideration." -Duty SR-

Last night, I did my laundry at 10.55pm. I had the shock of my life later when the lids were all lift up. I peeked into the machine and watched helplessly as my clothes was still in the process of soaking.

Immediately, I felt anger. "Bastards! How can they let my clothes soaked for the whole night! How can they disrupt my night routine!"

The idea of waking up at 7am to continue doing my laundry was just absurd. Of course, I can do so later in the morning but I didn't want to hog the washing machine for a few hours just in case some early birds want to do their laundry.

I returned to my room, greatly dissatisfied, cursing the Duty SR. Then, God kicked some sense into me. Logic sank in. It served me right for ignoring the well-being of the nearby residents for the whole of 2008. I felt shameful, extremely. What kind of example am I setting? An ex-MSO President doing this?

Sometimes you really need to trip before taking the trouble to avoid the branch next time.

Catchy Ads

2009-02-16T13:51:00.003+08:00

1 Utama always has interesting advertisement boards =)

A Perspective on V Day

2009-02-16T02:05:00.003+08:00

"Girl, gift is not the only thing Valentine's Day is about."
A mum said to her little girl who was looking at a set of flowers with cute teddy bears on it in Ang Moh Kio Mall.

In Hokkien, My 60-plus-year-old Barber Said...

2009-02-13T19:15:00.003+08:00

"Extra short this time, boy?"
When I told him I'm leaving Taiping today.

"Flight is certainly better than taking a bus. You won't have those bumpy experience like you do in a bus riding on a bumpy road."
Maybe he hasn't experienced turbulence =p

"I'll see you next year, boy!"
At the end of the session, he smiled at me and said.

Ain't A Typical Villageman

2009-02-12T23:33:00.006+08:00

My mum brought me to a shop to get some anchovies and dried prawns. I had this embarrassing conversation with the 50-year-old-plus shopkeeper, Mr Saw:-

Mr Saw: So where're you studying, boy?
Yeam: Canberra, Australia.
Mr Saw: Fuh...the summer...and the forest fire....so terrible!

I didn't want him to think that it's an act of God since arsonists caused it. But doubting that fact that he understood what 'arsonist' meant, I instead said:-

Yeam: It's not an act of God you know...it's caused by human.
Mr Saw: Oh, those arsonists!

On our way home, my mum told me that Mr Saw was a graduate and his child is currently pursing Actuarial Studies. Fate has it that his dad asked him to take over the shop.

An Jing - Jay Chou

2009-02-10T00:11:00.003+08:00

I heard this ringing tone in Putra LRT. I saw a bearded Malay man answering his phone.
I can't help but to smile.
Music transcends language barrier.

Chinese New Year Eve

2009-02-02T13:00:00.005+08:00

The day before CNY starts with the praying of my maternal grandparents in my 5th Uncle's place. This ceremony actually occurs in the afternoon but since I usually spend my whole morning sleeping, this is literally the first significant thing that happens on CNY eve.

A variety of mouth-watering dishes will be served on the table, much to the delight of our grandparents I believe. After everyone prays, a pair of items will the thrown to reveal 3 informations about my grandparents.

This means that my grandparents are angry.

My grandparents are laughing.

My grandparents have finished eating.
Only then, can we all burn the offerings and keep the dishes.
I find this ritual amusing.

The lunch that we have later on are basically the same dishes that we served during the ceremony. Of course, there's more where they come from.

At night, we'll move on to my eldest aunt's place.
These are my cousins and sister, mixing Lou Sang ingredients. This is one of the most symbolic occasion during CNY.

Spot the salmons at the top!

Wikipedia says, "The dish is served as an appetizer to raise ‘good luck’ for the new year. Families and friends gather around the table and, on cue, proceed to toss the shredded ingredients into the air with chopsticks while saying auspicious wishes out loud to mark the start of a prosperous new year and it’s customary that the higher you toss, the greater your fortunes."

We'll then proceed to our reunion dinner. A meal with close family members is always something to look forward to.

My cousin will then celebrate his Chinese birthday. It's certainly nice to be born during festive seasons. Might not be desirable when his mum had to endure the pain and deliver the baby many years back but at least he gets to celebrate his Chinese birthday annually with all his siblings.

Catchy Sights

2009-01-27T01:33:00.001+08:00

While in Singapore, I couldn't help but to notice these:-

People sleeping on the stairs in Raffle City.

I certainly applaud this move.

Now this is not the first time I've seen this but haven't really figured out the logic behind it. Why don't they just state "16th-22nd Jan, 10.00-10.30"

What have you got to say now?

2009-01-25T00:41:00.003+08:00

Since Dec 27th, Israel defended their move (attacks on defend-less Palestine), saying that they were merely targeting the Hamas. Women and children who were killed, were at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Today in The Star (24th January), I read an article by Shahanaaz Habib (The Star's Reporter in Gaza) that was really difficult to digest. Below is the summary:-

"It was past noon on Jan 7 when Khaled noticed three Israel tanks in front of his house. One of the soldiers, who spoke Arabic, told the family to get out. Holding a white flag, Khaled stepped outside with his mother, wife and their three daugthers - Amal (2), Samar (4), and Soad (7).

At that time, 2 soldiers were outside the tank eating chocolates and chips. Khaled and his family stood outside after they were ordered to empty the house. Then, another soldier came out of his tank and started to shoot the children.

He started with the youngest, Amal before shooting Samar in the stomach, and then Soad. Khaled's wife was so shocked that she fainted. Later, even his mother wasn't spared; shot three times in the arm.

Khaled's asked help from the ambulance but the soldiers crushed the ambulance with a tank. A few hundred metres away, they saw a donkey cart. Its owner came down and offered help but a soldier shot both the donkey and its owner. They then had to walk 2.5km before they managed to find a taxi that brought them to the hospital.

Khaled's mother is now recovering, his wife is still mentally traumatised, Samar is totally paralysed, while the other two daughters did not make it."

Sometimes, I can't help but to wonder how do the Israel politicians face the press. How do they even face other human being? The same goes to the soldier to killed Khaled's family, crushed the ambulance, and shot the donkey and its owner. Such bad karma.

Newpaper Letters

2009-01-23T01:04:00.004+08:00

Newspaper letters are always interesting to read since it's one of the sections in which readers get to express their views in a level of English that's easier to be understood.

This sms is hilarious! I have to agree that banning concerts is a very conservative move by PAS. It's as if our youngsters are that easily influenced and doesn't have a mind of their own. And if boycotting US's goods and services is the reason, this move will never ever solve the current Gaza crisis.

This's not a reader's letter but I simply wanna highlight it because that's my primary at the background =)

3 days ago, Wei Liang made his voice heard when his Proton article was published. I'm sure this is not his first article on paper, isn't it Wei Liang? =p

Five years back, I was quite enthusiastic about seeing my name on papers so I tried and succeeded twice. The editors usually reduce the length of your letter by half and change the title of our article. Well, it's understandable.

English is Not A Religion!

2009-01-16T04:28:00.004+08:00

Most of the points contributed by Singapore's The Straits Times on 14th Jan 2009:-

Till today, there're still Malaysians who think, "Buat apa kita nak cakap bahasa orang lain?"
They see English as part of a Western Culture or more well known as Budaya Kuning.

This is bad. 35% of Malaysian teachers can hardly speak English. The truth is it is high time Malaysians see the mastery of English as a productivity issue, not religious, political or whatsoever. Most of the country's 50,000 jobless graduates can barely sustain a two-minute conversation in English. How shameful!

Malaysia, Truly Asia. We've heard it countless times. According to The Star, Malaysia has the largest Chinese population outside China and Indian population outside India. Also, Malaysia has an ideal Islamic lifestyle outside Middle-East. It is no wonder that Malaysia is "Truly Asia".
But how are we going forward when development is held back by conservative mindsets. Politicians who have studied overseas and are currently serving the country are supposed to inculcate openmind-ness into our country. Till today however, we see little effects. Did they really try? Only God knows.

One wonders how much more time will be squandered revisiting pointless linguistic arguments before Malaysia realises that the country cannot embrace globalisation unless the people at least partially master English.

ps: I dreamt of Yee Hong last night. Wonder how's his busking life going....

Reflection

2009-01-07T11:26:00.006+08:00

In 1987, I was born.

Judging from the pictures, I was playful,

not photogenic (my sis is)

and heavily influenced by superheroes and anime.
(I was opening my shirt, transforming into Superman)

A recent trip to my school made me thankful than I previously was about my upbringing and path in file. My teacher confessed that students are now harder to control than ever before. Normally, out of 6 classes, the first two consist of good students while the third and fourth can still be saved, if you know what I mean.

Today however, even the second class starts giving headache.

"What is going to happen to our future leaders?"
"Our school's performance and discipline are going down...slowly but surely."

Those were exact words from Pn Zura and Mr Oon respectively. Apparently, this phenomenon is occuring throughout the whole country. A random thought hit me: are they to be blamed entirely? At their ages, it's so easy to ignore the importance of education. But then again, how else are they going to spend 6-7 hours of their day? When I pray, I wish for a one-year exchange programme between a say 13-year-old and his 21-year-old self. That way, perhaps they will know how much difference a strong foundation of knowledge can make.

Also, I recently found out that three of my friends tied the knot with another two on the way. How scary...being tied down at such young age with no steady job, income, still so much to achieve before bachelorhood closes its chapter.

In the environment I was brought up in, I've experienced a normal childhood in a small town. With both my parents being teachers, I was raised with strong values. Everything seems right but still, there's so much to be thankful for: a healthy circle of friends and family, scholarship, achievements, life path, etc.

I could've been a smoker, furniture seller, a full time worker in Genting Highland Casino. I could've studied Form 6, pursued Engineering in UTM or Mass Com in Taylors. The principle of Butterfly Effect suggests that a minor change in specific turning points of our life can potentially carve different endings. Upon graduating from secondary school, our common highway branches out to countless exits. Some dark, some bushy, some crowded, some...less taken. I'm glad mine led me to ANU. It all boils down to the choices we made in life I guess.

I may not be the smartest but hey, that's not the end of the road. As long as I can be there for my family, friends, and help develop a country that has so much potential with as much birokrasi, my life has found its meaning. Couldn't have expressed that in a more cliche manner.

In a nutshell, growing up in Taiping made me appreciate the development I came across in INTEC and ANU.

Growing up with a closely-knit family rewarded me with fond memories I will forever cherish & inherited me with family values.

Growing up with so many types of friends made my realised how cruel but most of the time, how amazing the world is.

I never wish to be brought up any other way.

America's Talent maybe?

2009-01-05T23:53:00.001+08:00

Can anymore make sense (grammatically) out of "America's Got Talent"?

Roadtrip to Taiping

2009-01-03T16:33:00.004+08:00

Jared, driving his Avanza

Jia Yun, Jason, Chia Yuen, Daryl, and Xiu Qi embarked on a one-week roadtrip from Segamat to Penang via Melaka, KL, Ipoh and Taiping.

I brought all of them went boat-paddling.

Besides Jared, I think this duck-paddling experience is the first for all of them.

Good thing they all enjoyed the short ride and sweated profusely =p

Popiah

Cendol

Chicken Rice (one of the Top 10 Chicken Rice in Malaysia)
They tried all the above..

And best of all, they even got to experience the heavy rain Taiping is super famous for. Poor umbrella!

That was it! After a few hours in Taiping, they headed to Penang and ushered the New Year there. Hope you guys enjoyed Taiping!

Uncivilized

2009-01-03T12:37:00.003+08:00

I read about
- Xmas revellers creating chaos in Gurney Drive
- a 60-year-old ignoring the importance of catering for the disabled (who knows she herself might need the facilitites one day)
- Unslightly party ground upon each celebration. Penang City Council initially gave up cleaning Gurney Drive, knowing that no matter how many times they clean, people will start throwing rubbish in no time. This New Year though, The City Council pulled up their socks and did a wonderful job cleaning the New Year mess. But the root of the problem is still the people.
- people unaware of the environment destruction.

Grow up for goodness sake! Why not make this your New Year resolution instead, huh! It's so sickening reading about all these attitudes on papers when we have better things to worry about.

Oh, Happy New Year btw.

Randomness

2008-12-29T00:30:00.003+08:00

During my stay in Spore, I spotted this Mannequin in a pretty odd position.

And a shoe brand named after me! This box has been here for at least two years. Don't know who the owner is.

Drama Queen in the House

2008-12-26T14:27:00.005+08:00

On Christmas Eve, my cute little niece was busy unwrapping presents. Despite being only a year old, Xiao Xuan (as you can see, written on the present) understands joy of receiving.

She tore the wrapping paper into pieces. Not too gentle. Anyway, that's not the point.
She tried eating a tiny piece of the wrapping paper she picked up from the floor. My cousin, Joyce spotted that and scolded her.

Xiao Xuan then solemnly stared at Joyce.

...about to cry.

My other cousin trying to console her.

..didn't take.

She started crying.

She cooled down.

but continued that STARE...look at her lips =p

INTEC Reunion

2008-12-23T11:49:00.003+08:00

To AUSMATians,

Yee Hong is organising a mASSive reunion in KL on 14th Feb, 6-11pm. Exact location has yet to be decided. For more info, click me

ps: Just in case u're wondering, yes, Yee Hong is still pursuing his passion for music =p

Gatherings

2008-12-16T14:50:00.004+08:00

In PC Fair, I met up with some secondary school friends, Jia Chen, Kok Leong, Chen Ye, Ferdinand, Tiong Ming.

Met up with INTEC and Macquarie friends in Sunway Pyramid, to surprise Quanyie in conjunction with her 20th Bday.

Boy, it was an entertaining journey to Sunway Pyramid with appropriate human sound effects as the sky turned dark at 4pm and rain started pouring, accompanied by some loud thunders.

And just yesterday, caught up with Sze Ching and Nat in Times Square. We complained about Yee Hong bragging about his iphone in FB =p
Oh, we also watched The Day The Earth Stood Still. If you really like special effects & Keavu Reeves, this is the show for you.

A Well-Written Confession

2008-12-14T23:38:00.000+08:00

I am a female Chinese Malaysian, living in the Washington DC area in the United States . I have read many of the letters that often talk about foreign countries when the writers have no real knowledge of actually living in those countries.

Many draw conclusions about what those countries are like after hearing it from someone else or by reading and hearing about them in the media or after four years in a college town in those countries.

I finished STPM with outstanding results from the prestigious St George's Girls School in Penang . Did I get a university place from the Malaysian government? Nothing. With near perfect scores, I had nothing, while my Malay friends were getting offers to go overseas.

Even those with 2As got into university. I was so depressed. I was my parents last hope for getting the family out of poverty and at 18, I thought I had failed my parents. Today, I understand it was the Malaysian Government that had failed me and my family because of its discriminatory policies.

Fortunately, I did not give up and immediately did research at the Malaysian American Commission on Education Exchange (MACEE) to find a university in the US that would accept me and provide all the finances. My family and friends thought I was crazy, being the youngest of nine children of a very poor carpenter. Anything that required a fee was out of our reach.

Based on merit and my extracurricular activities of community service in secondary school, I received full tuition scholarship, work study, and grants to cover the four years at a highly competitive US university.

Often, I took 21 credits each semester, 15 credits each term while working 20 hours each week and maintaining a 3.5 CGPA. A couple of semesters, I also received division scholarships and worked as a TA (teaching assistant) on top of everything else.

For the work study, I worked as a custodian (yes, cleaning toilets), carpet layer, computer lab assistant, grounds keeping, librarian, painter, tour guide, etc. If you understand the US credit system, you will understand this is a heavy load.

Why did I do it? This is because I learnt as a young child from my parents that hard work is an opportunity, to give my best in everything, and to take pride in the work I do. I walked away with a double major and a minor with honours but most of all a great lesson in humility and a great respect for those who are forced to labour in so-called `blue collar' positions.

Those of you who think you know all about Australia , US, or the West, think again. Unless you have really lived in these countries, i.e. paid a mortgage, paid taxes, taken part in elections, you do not understand the level of commitment and hard work it takes to be successful in these countries, not just for immigrants but for people who have lived here for generations.

These people are where they are today because of hard work. (Of course, I am not saying everyone in the US is hardworking. There is always the lazy lot which lives off of someone else's hard work. Fortunately, they are the minority.)

Every single person, anywhere, should have the opportunity to succeed if they want to put in the effort and be accountable for their own actions. In the end, they should be able to reap what they sow.

It is bearable that opportunities are limited depending on how well-off financially one's family is but when higher education opportunities are race-based, like it is in Malaysia; it is downright cruel for those who see education as the only way out of poverty.

If you want to say discrimination is here in the US, yes, of course it is. Can you name a country where it doesn't happen? But let me tell you one thing - if you go looking for it, you will find it. But in Malaysia, you don't have to go look for it because it seeks you out, slaps you in your face every which way you turn, and is sanctioned by law!

Here in the US , my children have the same opportunity to go to school and learn just like their black, white, and immigrant friends. At school, they eat the same food, play the same games, are taught the same classes and when they are 18, they will still have the same opportunities.

Why would I want to bring my children back to Malaysia ? So they can suffer the state-sanctioned discrimination as the non-malays have for over 30 years?

As for being a slave in the foreign country, I am a happy 'slave' earning a good income as an IT project manager. I work five days a week; can talk bad about the president when I want to; argue about politics, race and religion openly; gather with more than 50 friends and family when I want (no permit needed) and I don't worry about the police pulling me over because they say I ran the light when I didn't.

Have we seen the light at the end of the tunnel yet (Annuar Ibrahim) ? Or is it the head light of an oncoming train ? Lets hope its the former for the sake of all fair minded Malaysians.

Regards
CK

Twilight

2008-12-10T02:25:00.003+08:00

Twilight is officially the first movie I watched back in Malaysia!
RM8! So worthwhile! It lived up to my expectations, though I have to agree with my cousin, Jin that they build the suspense very well but the climax was a bit too short.
Having not read the novel, I didn't really know much about the plot till I actually watched the whole movie. It was a good thing...kept the suspense going.

I appreciate the fact that only in Malaysia you get to watch movies with both Mandarin and Malay subtitles. I tend to miss some lines when the characters speak like a bullet train. Unfortunately, 20% of the film was polluted with mixed up subtitles - unforgivable error. Such a widely-anticipated film and this happened.

And when Edward was about to kiss Bella, I had the shock of my life when Edward suddenly distant himself from her.

"What the...."

Thanks a lot Malaysian Censorship Board! There's no place like home!

ps: To Bubbles who introduced this movie to me, hope you enjoy the film as much as I did =)

Bubble Tea in Taipei

2008-12-06T11:41:00.002+08:00

Tada! Easy Way from its origin.

This is a Taro Milk Tea. Cost only AUD1 as oppose to AUD5 in Sydney. The colour wasn't purple but tasted exactly the same. The way the made it was a bit more traditional.

Btw, can someone make sense out of "Nature's Way To Beautiful"?
Shouldn't it be "Nature's Way To Beauty"?

Dogs in Taipei

2008-12-02T11:29:00.008+08:00

5-day holiday in Taipei was amazing. Not too short that it makes me want to stay longer. Not too long that I actually feel bored.

Dogs are very common in Taipei. And the good thing is that they are well taken care off. Only a handful of the ones I saw were stray dogs. The one above takes care of a blind Er Hu player.

Is this a husky?

Dogs with lion head!

Stray dog.

A cute little dog sniffing everything it came across. Surprisingly, its lady-owner on the right is not one bit embarrassed. Maybe she has got used to it.

A shy dog hiding behind its owner.

This one looks a bit like Hush Puppy.

There was this restaurant which featured its dog has its main attraction.

This dog was tied directly in front of the restaurant during its opening hours, attracting lots of passerby.

Understandably, this is a boring routine.

This owner puts on red jackets on two of his three huge dogs. They attract a crowd wherever they go.

Cute fashionable dogs!

Updates

2008-11-26T00:37:00.002+08:00

Packing was such a pain! Seriously can't imagine how much stuffs I'll have by the end of next year. And Canberra weather was crazy! It rained non-stop the night before I flew off. Even a short walk to the bus station seemed so difficult.

In Darwin, it was the total opposite. Humidity & the really hot weather caught all the transit passengers by surprise.
Oh, thanks to Didier, Khim, and Jay Seng, I had fun playing cards in the plane (for the first time btw).

In Spore, food like Prata, Chicken Rice, Bachok Mee are not imaginery anymore. And since Janice, Rhian, and her hometown friend, Min Zhao were there, we watched Madagascar 2 together. Look at Tim's and Janice's new haircut. Yisi had hers too but she was too front. Didn't manage to snap a picture of her.

Doughout toys which looked so real!

I'll be flying off to Taiwan in a couple of hours. When I'm back, I promise to upload more obscene videos of charades specially dedicated to Dianne and Chia Yuen =p

Charades

2008-11-20T21:59:00.003+08:00

Charades is so much fun!
Look at Jason attempting Hancock!

Monty Hall Problem

2008-11-17T11:21:00.005+08:00

This might sound extremely lame to some but it still amazes me how a probability can be doubled just after one single incident ie a change of variable.

Now imagine you're in a game show and there're three doors in front of you. Two of the doors have a goat behind each of them while behind the remaining door lies a car. Your job is to choose the door which will get you the car.

Say if this happens:
1. You choose Door 1.
2. Instead of being anti-climax and opens Door 1 straight away, the host opens Door 3.

3. You're lucky! Behind Door 3 is a goat!
4. Now the host gives you a choice to choose a door again.

Would you choose to stay with Door 1 or switch to Door 2?

For the solution, go here

Sydney For A Day

2008-11-16T01:03:00.006+08:00

Look at this nice Xmas Tree in Queen Victoria Building!

Spend quite a while observing people at the special circle in Darling Harbour. For sure, I'm gonna bring my parents here! It's breathtaking sitting there, soaking your feet in the water, enjoying the breeze =)

A couple enjoying a romantic stroll.

A team-building, amazing race activity.

And the most interesting one: three Korean(I think) mothers with their toddlers

Exploring things =)

They are so cute =)

And Sydney's Chinatown has this street market every Friday night.

If you've been to Sydney but didn't know about this market, it's worth scheduling your next Sydney trip to a Friday.

They sell souvenirs, food, and many more.

There's even this Mamak Team selling teh tarik, roti canai, roti telur, teh ais, chicken satay, etc!
They just seemed a bit pricey =(

Talk About Bad Omen

2008-11-13T21:05:00.002+08:00

1. Stomach ached before the exam.
2. Lost my ruler on the way to the exam hall. Resort to using student card to draw straight lines.
3. Forgotten to bring my glasses in with me

The exam was unpredictably hard. It was almost as if the lecturer gave all the student a tight slap on the face. Every single student was caught by surprise since none of us expected it to be that tough. What a disappointing end. Destroys your day when you should be out there celebrating temporary freedom.

Oh well, at least the first four papers were ok =)

Tien Fen

2008-11-12T21:46:00.002+08:00

Sze Ching menyerlahkan bakat terpendamnya:-

Math exam this morning, (5)
seriously wth man (7)
super duper hard (5)

It's 4 a.m now,(5)
Taking a break from cramming(7)
Dont wanna study(5)

I humbly suggest (5)
all the comments for this post(7)
be in haiku form!(5)

Yes Im going mad(5)
but i find it fun haha(7)
lalalalala(5)

Seriously, for someone to come up with 4 hilarious haiku-s in such a short time, now that's talent, my friend =p

Dr Aki would be so happy to read them!

Japanese Poetry

2008-11-11T18:48:00.004+08:00

Presenting you my Econometrics lecturer:-

Dr. Aki Asano...Amongst all my lecturer, he's the only one so far who doesn't use power point to teach. Probably because of all these experiences, he now writes pretty fast and nicely.

He inherits all the traits a typical Japanese should have: hardworking, funny, naturally cute, enthusiastic to spread Japanese Cultures. Rice, Miso Soup, Iron Chef...these terms are all in his notes.

He even had this Poetry Competition called Haiku which is a form of Japanese poetry, and the English version consists of three lines with 5-7-5 syllables.

And there's also Henku, the poetry of similar format, which is meant to be a reply to a Haiku.

Sadly, not many of his students participated in this contest...but nonetheless, the winning entry and reply is pretty funny =p

Haiku:

N said to his son, (5)
'Do not date 2n-plus-1. (7)
She is very odd.' (5)

Henka:

His son's name is i, (5)
She said to him, 'I'm odd but (7)
You aren't even real.' (5)
If you can't get the joke, the points below might help:-
- An odd number has a general formula of 2n+1
- i is an imaginery number.

Why la scrap off the pearl?

2008-11-09T10:34:00.004+08:00

Many months back, I was delighted to see the design of the second Penang Bridge as it has this distinctive viewing point at the middle span of the to-be South East Asia's Longest Bridge.

The design bears a resemblance to the osyter shells with pearls, inspired by Penang's position as the Pearl of the Orient.

With the two-level platforms, travellers can then enjoy the scenic view of Penang mainland and the island itself. There will even be parking bays at the lower level and a pedestrian crossing, connecting both platforms.

However, the project's special task force has scrapped these two pearls from the orginal design in January, probably as a cost-saving initiative. The first package tender now cost RM2.2bil instead of RM2.3bil partly due to this. Yes, yes..the economy is not as robust now. Government wants to save as much as they can. But it is seemingly pointless to build such a significant bridge without an attraction of its own.

The updated design of the bridge which is strikingly similar to the first Penang Bridge.
What a disappointment....
It really seems like the Second Penang Bridge has lost its identity...its main feature which would encourage people like me to drive all the way to the Pearl in order to enjoy the view. When I was young, they used to allow travelers to stop at the side of the First Penang Bridge. I can vaguely remember my family taking pictures at that spot.

The first phrase of construction has begun yesterday by China Harbour Engineering Company and the bridge is due to open in January 2011.

I want those pearls back!

Taiping: Hear Me Out!

2008-11-08T11:38:00.004+08:00

I came across an interesting letter in The Star.

While reading, the name Datuk Lee Chong Wei caught my attention. I was shocked for two seconds but then recalled, "Hm...he is indeed a Datuk since a couple of months back." It's just that the sports section does not address him that way which is understandable in a way. It would be awkward for sports articles to become very formal. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't mind being addressed as Chong Wei in that section.

But what's really interesting about this concise letter is the honesty potrayed by someone is aware of what's going on despite not being politically inclined. It is indeed encouraging to realise the perspective that this letter has to offer. It aptly sums up current local and global situation.

I seriously think we people, especially those from non-city area should learn to speak up and put in effort to keep up with the ongoing news regarding our country and beyond.

Saturday November 8, 2008

Much to learn from Obama’s win

THE triumph of Barack Obama against all odds has caused the world to erupt in cheers. Never has there been so much attention focused on the presidential election and so much hope expected of the winner.

Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, is the closest to being in charge in the Oval Office. But sadly, in the local scene, we are not really taking the cue from the historic revolution unfolding before us.

Constant bickering concerning races and rights give rise to the feeling of distrust among even the best of friends. The superficial smile we wear on our faces hides the growing tension among the people.

I cheer whenever Datuk Lee Chong Wei and Datuk Nicole Ann David fight to bring glory to the nation. I share the agony of defeat of our athletes in the world scene. But that is within the sports circle.

Politics has driven us into race extremism. We tend to care less for others but are overly sensitive when it comes to our own racial group.

I know little about politics but I know the damage it has done to our country. While we abhor racial segregation and reject discrimination, deep inside we feed on that in the name of our own narrow political ideology.

I do not speak for any particular group. To me Malaysia is a great country to live in and I am happy to be where I am. I am just not that happy.

HASNULS,
Taiping, Perak.

Otak ku

2008-11-07T09:29:00.005+08:00

My poor brain was so worked out yesterday...

I drilled it for 3 long hours, digging everything I can remember. I guess the disappointing part is that you understand the concepts but if you can't really show it mathematically, there's not much point, isn't it...at least when it comes to exams.

After a 12-hour sleep and a couple of strange dreams (I dreamt of visiting a farm during a holiday with my family. Halfway through I fell into a swamp and struggled to get up. My family thought I was playing a fool), my brain is good to go!

4 more papers!

An insult to single mothers

2008-11-06T00:55:00.002+08:00

I'm not sure what Government's exact rationale behind this move but for now, it really seems absurd. Read on:-

From The Star, 5th Nov 2008

I AM utterly disgusted by the report “Malacca may give RM1,000 to men who take them as second wives” (The Star, Nov 1).

The move is tantamount to selling off a single mother for the price of a mere RM1,000.

I lost my father when I was four months old. My mum was never that desperate that she wished to re-marry. To me, she is the greatest mum in the world. She is tough, kind, patient and determined.

Needless to say, my mum was very disappointed with the report.

The decision by the Malacca Government is an insult to all single mums, especially those living in Malacca. They perceive every single mother is desperate to re-marry. And this move will only encourage polygamy among men in Malacca.

The Malacca Government may have good intentions in making the suggestion but it must understand that single mothers are not stocks that can simply be sold off.

Single mothers, just like everyone out there, have dignity. What single mothers really want is to live a quiet life and bring up their children well so that they will eventually be able to take good care of her.

I truly believe that single mums are tougher and I urge the Malacca Government to seriously re-consider the move.

There are more hard-pressed matters to focus on during this time of recession. If the Malacca Government has so much money, why not give the RM1,000 or more directly to all the single mums in Malacca?

CHUAH PING SHIEN,
Kuala Lumpur.

Hilarious!

2008-11-04T23:13:00.005+08:00

Spartos is a day we recognise the excellence in sports. Almost every single residential hall in ANU has this celebration. Since it's a pretty big event, posters were pasted everywhere in Bruce Hall, reminding people to RSVP and not to miss out =)

You see, the great thing about posters at times is that they can really cheer you up...Imagine coming home from uni..you might be a bit disappointed, not being able to catch whatever the lecturer just mumbled in class..as you open the door, you bump into this:

Wouldn't this put a smile on your face? =)

Random Dream

2008-11-03T12:26:00.001+08:00

Last night, my soul traveled all the way back to my secondary school days.

Instead of being late for classes due to prefectorial duties, we were actually late because we were saving the world! Khairizan and I were in the navy guarding the sea =) As we stepped into the class, Mr Chin Kong Chiao has already started teaching but didn't even nag us for being late since we were busy saving the world =p

Then our classroom has weird-looking stairs like Harry Potter like that..
- imagine an empty room
- fill it with chairs and tables
- then add some row of stairs here and there..uh so strange..After entering the classroom, i have to climb up stairs without any railings (can touch the ceiling d) then walk down another stairs to reach my seat.Oh, the person sitting next to me was Chong Jin!

Young Start

2008-11-02T10:32:00.011+08:00

We see so many young artists colouring the world of music across the globe nowadays.

Connie Talbot - turning 8 this Nov 20th
Runner Up of Britain's Got Talent

Matt Corby - 16
Runner up of Australian Idol 2007

Diana DeGarmo - 21, birthday very near to mine =)
But was 16 when she emerged as runner up of American Idol III behind Fantasia Barrino)

Bianca Ryan - 14
But was 11 when she won the debut season of NBC's America's Got Talent (finally a winner!)
I have no idea why she placed her hand that way..

But the one most recent one that I found out (thanks to Sze Ching) is:-

Charice Pempengco from Philippines - 16
She started singing at the age of 4 with her mum being her teacher. Her childhood was bitter as her violent father left the family when she was about 3. Struggling to make ends meet, Charice did her best to financially ease her mum's burden by joining as many singing competition as she can and using the proceeds to continue surviving.

Despite all the experience, her breakthrough only happened this year when Oprah Winfrey and David Foster discovered this fantastic young talent via her youtube video (believe it or not).
According to David, when she first arrived in US, she couldn't speak English that well but after 3 months of English lessons, her level of spoken English sounds even better than mine! Her singing now has no accent whatsoever.

Thanks to influential networks by both Oprah and David, Charice is now one of the world's most seek-after performers. She finally had the opportunity to meet her idols like Mariah Carey besides performing with Andrea Bocelli in Italy and Celine Dion in US (Celine Dion rocks!)

For hardcore Celine fan like Kar How, her live duet with Celine in Madison Square Garden 2 months ago is a must watch! They sang Because You Loved Me dedicated specially to Charice's proud mum.

A clearer version can be found in Oprah's website.

Seriously, hearing such a loud voice originating from such a young small gal can be quite scary at first. Although she tends to manipulate her high notes too much at times, everyone is still stunt everytime she hits the stage.

Regardless, I'm sure her mum would be extremely of proud what she has achieved so far.

I just wonder if her mum has ever thought that all these fame have led to Charice having a totally different teenage life and spending even less time with her mum compared to the times when they were poor. Measure of wealth is not neccessarily money you know...But I guess her mum is untimately relieved that her daugther can now look forward to a brighter future under the wings of big shots like Oprah and David.

How Familiar

2008-10-31T12:06:00.004+08:00

I don't know why but at first glance, this gal really looked like Quanyie on Sydney Morning Herald and Daily Telegraph. But after I saw the picture online, she doesn't look like Quanyie anymore.

I think Sze Huey will go, "You crazy ah? Where got look like her? Cha pieh che moh tuo?"

I think the boy looks like Wang Lee Hom too.

Oh btw, this couple was robbed in their own apartment. In their attempt to escape, they jumped off from the third floor. Unfortunately, the gal didn't survive while her bf suffered serious injuries, hence the frontpage title.

Opportunely

2008-10-30T22:33:00.001+08:00

Gosh there's actually such a word as 'opportunely'
It means 'at the right time'.

Just...don't consume too much of them...

2008-10-29T15:13:00.007+08:00

When exams are approaching but you're still burdened with heaps of assignments, stress piles up even more compared to normal circumstances.

Despite the fact that assignments are meant to assist us in understanding the course, majority of the students want quickly get it over with and move on to their respective exam preparations.

Hence, when you're slapped with such schedule:-

TO DO list

it'll definitely be difficult to start revising since you're way too "indulged" in assignments, not to mention, all the sleepless night you have to go through in order to complete them.

Coffee, instant noodles, chips...they're what students usually resort to given such situations...
To be fair, they taste good...instant..no hassle..and have been good companions to us as students since as long as I can remember...

(Source : www.oliverdunne.com/alldone/)
But just bear in mind that too much of everything always bad...so Tim, cut down that 'surviving with 4 cups of coffee per day' policy! =p

Go buy some grapes..cut some fruits and munch them

On that note, just wanna introduce Momofuku Ando, the founder-chairman of Nissin Food Products Co, who was widely known as the inventor of instant noodles (picture and info courtesy of The Age)

What a legend, right?

He was inspired to develop the instant noodle after coming upon a long line of people on a cold night shortly after World War II waiting to buy freshly made ramen at a black market food stall, according to Nissin. The experience convinced him that "Peace will come to the world when the people have enough to eat."

I don't personally agree but if it's that simple, I'm happy =)

Lapuk....

2008-10-27T14:14:00.011+08:00

Tanpa disedari, Bahasa Malaysia saya sudah semakin lama, semakin lapuk.

Dalam Kursus Integrasi yang diadakan baru-baru ini, saya cuba mengajukan soalan dalam BM tanpa menggunakan perkataan daripada Bahasa Inggeris. Namun, saya mengambil masa yang begitu lama untuk membentuk sebaris ayat.....kerana saya memerlukan beberapa saat untuk memikirkan perkataan yang sesuai untuk menyambung ayat yang tengah dibentuk.

Saya sudah biasa mendengar ayat-ayat yang mempunyai pelbagai bahasa tetapi dalam kursus itu, terdapat beberapa ayat pelik yang keluar daripada mulut fasilitator and pelajar....hampir ketawa saya dibuat mereka.

Saya faham...Oleh sebab kita semua sudah lama tidak menulis karangan dan bertutur dalam BM sejak keluar dari Sekolah Menengah, majoriti daripada kita berfikir dalam bahasa ibunda masing-masing ataupun BI. Kadang-kala, walaupun kita cuba berbahasa kebangsaan sepenuhnya, terdapat perkataan-perkataan Inggeris yang amat susah digantikan oleh BM dalam sekelip mata.

Masa saya menonton Heroes Musim Pertama, saya memerhati Noah sengaja berfikir dalam Bahasa Jepun supaya Matt tidak dapat membaca fikirannya.

"Eh, bolehkah kita bertukar bahasa ketika berfikir?"

Sejak itu, baru saya sedar bahawa manusia sememangnya berupaya berbuat demikian.

Kefasihan kita dalam sesuatu bahasa akan menentukan kepantasan kita dalam membuat tafsiran. Ketika berada di dalam tandas tadi, saya cuba berfikir dalam Bahasa Malaysia tetapi asyik tersekat. Tidak produktif langsung. Tiba-tiba, perasaan malu mula menyelubungi jiwa. Bagaimanakah tahap BM seorang bekas pembahas jatuh dengan begitu mendadak? Bayangkan betapa kecewanya Pn Zura, Pn Noorsinah, dll jikalau saya tidak lagi mampu untuk bertutur dalam BM dengan fasih.

Namun, saya masih dapat menepuk dada kerana ada lagi rakan-rakan yang tidak "memulangkan BM kepada guru mereka". Sebagai contoh, dalam blog mereka, Wei Liang dan Jingguo mengarang dalam BM dari semasa ke semasa. Malah, Jingguo menyeru kawan-kawannya supaya cuba menggunakan BM dalam blog mereka sempena Bulan Kemerdekaan 2 bulan yang lalu. Arjun juga mengambil initiatif untuk membentangkan hujah-hujahnya dalam BM walaupun dia menyelitkan beberapa perkataan Inggeris di bahagian yang pelik.

Tidak dapat disangkal bahawa BM tidak begitu penting jikalau dibandingkan dengan Bahasa Mandarin, Arab, Sepanyol, Inggeris, dan Perancis. Kalau diberi peluang untuk belajar bahasa lain, BM tidak tentu berada dalam senarai pelajar tersebut. Namun, BM merupakan Bahasa Kebangsaan Malaysia. Mahu atau tidak, BM akan tetap dipelajari di sekolah selain BI. Justeru, gunakanlah BM dari semasa ke semasa terutamanya ketika menghadiri kursus-kursus MoHE. Campuradukkan bahasa lebih baik daripada melepaskan sesuatu bahasa itu sepenuhnya =)

Ducks

2008-10-26T20:48:00.003+08:00

Ducks are prospering in ANU... you can see so many cute little ducklings lingering around their parents...taking small but quick little steps =)

Do ducks milks? or are they simply hiding below their mum for warmth?
Notice the poor abandoned child =(

Kursus Perpaduan dan Integrasi

2008-10-25T16:33:00.006+08:00

It was that time again when Ministry of Higher Education of Malaysia organises a programe which has an unappealing title.

Worse, it was held in a middle of university chunching period when students are running out of time to complete their assignments, let alone studying for their upcoming exams.

Yet, this Kursus was scheduled on Wednesday and Thursday and MoHE expected a good turnout. Hence, it was the same dejavu feeling again... not wanting to attend but felt obliged to.

Dr. Jamaludin, Head of Quality Department in UKM.

En Amer, ex-Special Officer to a few ministers and is currently attached to UPM.

They were the facilitators who initiated discussions regarding the current level of unity in Malaysia and the 97 Asian financial crisis.

The discussions were really productive I have to say...

Although the second topic (Asian financial crisis) was not a really fair topic for the science students, it was eye-opening listening to what students have to say.

Free tea, dinner, supper, enough to keep Chi Yao busy with his food but not enough to stop Xin from posing non-stop.

I'm pretty sure at least a handful of students understand the good intentions of MoHE organising this. They want to hear it directly from us what we think about our country. It was a good effort but bad timing. Hopefully they'll arrange a better time next year (yes, it's gonna be an annual thing) Good job, MASCA, MSO, and MASAC for co-organising this while putting up with the crappy timing.

!@#~$%^&**()_+

2008-10-22T10:42:00.006+08:00

When this happens in movies, I don't usually feel a thing since it's such a common scene.

But today, as I was crossing the road, I adjusted some papers in my file without realising that some of my papers slipped out of it. Within two seconds, my lecture notes and tutorial materials were flying vigorously in the air thanks to the unusually strong wind. With the help of some kind passerbys, I recovered some of them but the rest landed on Northbourne Avenue and disappeared almost instantly.

I stood beside the traffic light...frustrated...wanted to vent but didn't wanna look stupid at the side of Canberra's main road. In anger, I crushed some of my notes...blaming my carelessness...cursing the wind (although it's not the wind's fault)

Zip Up

2008-10-21T22:40:00.003+08:00

I don't know why but I always forget to zip up..usually I notice it before anyone does but during a meeting with the new MSO Committee just now, it was the other way round..uh embarassing...

I think I need to do is to zip up first next time instead of tightening my belt..

Onions

2008-10-20T17:25:00.002+08:00

Don't you just hate crying while chopping onions?

How I wish there are ways to stop it..

Meanwhile, I'm gonna stick to this method =p

Meeting Dr M

2008-10-18T23:07:00.009+08:00

Behold the only man on earth who can make Wei Liang stammer!

Dr M!
The one shaking hands with him, that's Wei Liang.
It's not that I'm a super big fan of him but never in my wildest dream I imagine...

..sitting a couple of seats away from Dr M and wife

..taking a picture with him..be it personally

or in a group

But thanks to The Seminar Pembangunan Insan held last week in University of Melbourne, I gained this golden opportunity. I hesitated to extend my stay in Melbourne just to attend this but Wei Liang insisted, "Hey, Yeam..once in a lifetime you know. How often do you get the chance to meet him?"

To all INTEC readers, guess who we met?
It's Madam Laura, our English teacher! Who would've guessed, right?
She's in Uni Mel doing her postgrad starting this year.

Shahir and Atuk were also there

Kak Sha and her mum!

They were there because Kak Sha's brother(in red tie) was the emcee that day.

Marvin and Pei Ryn
This event showcased a good mixture of working adults and students be it amongst the audience or organising committee. As long as you're a Malaysian, you're entitled to come.

The first speaker:
JACK DELOSA
Jack Delosa bought into a marketing company at the age of 18. Within 12 months he was working with two of the Top-Ten Fastest Growing Companies in Australia, as noted by Business Review Weekly (BRW) at the time. Taking the company from $300,000 in debt to being profitable, Jack was recognized by many as a young and talented entrepreneur.
Paper Title
The Winner's Edge

Second speaker:
PROFESSOR DANNY SAMSON
Danny Samson is a Professor of Management at the University of Melbourne, Associate Dean (development) of the Faculty of Economics and Commerce and also the Director of the Foundation for Sustainable Economic Development. Professor Samson regularly provides industry and executive seminars and has participated in a number of committees and industry bodies.
Paper Title
Business Challenges of The Next Generation Leaders

And the last speaker was of course, Dr M.

Keynote Address
Challenges Facing Youths Today to Make The World of Tomorrow

He surprisingly didn't speak too long..only for half an hour..when the first two speakers spoke for an hour and a half each.

With Amir, Rhun Kiet, and Dr Ali, the representative of Malaysian Students' Department in Victoria.
Thanks a lot to Amir and Rhun Kiet for securing a place for me in the seminar since the waiting list had at least 100+ ppl in it.

Tun Dr Siti Hasmah speaking to some of the students.

Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir was also there =)

For a very detailed entry regarding this event, please refer to Wei Liang's blog. I think every single detail of the event is in there =p

Spring

2008-10-16T21:31:00.002+08:00

After spending two weeks in Melbourne, I arrived back in Canberra, greeted by some nice flowers.

What a change 2 weeks can bring! Those purple flowers look like grapes, dont' they?

Of course not all the flowers have blossomed.

But many had

Look how nice the ground is =)

10&11th Dec 2009.....one year to go

2008-10-14T12:13:00.005+08:00

Reading Chi Yao's blog makes me wanna graduate =p

I called the ANU Graduation Office today and found out that the tentative graduation dates for Dec 2009 are 10th and 11th Dec.

So mum, dad, sis, u can start scheduling your trip! =D

ps: Graduation is a process I never pay great attention to as I stepped into ANU in 2007. But after being on the verge of failing some miserable stats courses the past two sems, I started taking graduation seriously and actually view it as a form of achievement.

While people keep stressing, "Degree is not everything in Uni", no one can deny the fact that it is one of the most important thing we get out of uni. Afterall, academic achievement is (no matter what) the first thing employers scrutinize before looking at your other qualities/comparing you with other hopeful applicants.

S'pore Day

2008-10-12T15:42:00.010+08:00

This is how long a queue would be when you have a good event FOC. I was in this line for an hour before finally being able to enter.

They made me happy for a while as I was patiently queuing.

There were so many freebies..it was only normal for a family to leave the event with all these bags.

Phua Chu Kang entertaining the crowd

Look at the impersonator behind =p too bad the kid's mole was on the wrong side

A superb performing team from the army...it felt pretty weird watching a muscular guy dancing in red with a wide smile.

Now that's more like it

Army Exhibition

Free FOOD!

Again long queue..seriously, if you wanna try out all the food, you could possibly be missing all the performances and end up queuing the whole day.

A competition for children.

An origami-like session to make cute little animals using clothes, pin, rubber ban, etc..look at the white rabbit in the middle of the table

My laksa!

Rosie with Aloy's latest gf in the show

Chu Kang arguing with Margaret as usual

First Asian Idol, Hady Mirza

They came out for a while for photo-taking session.

Rosie doing Winnie's pose..haha

Dick Lee performing the patriotic song he wrote, Home.

PCK pretending to throw his yellow boots away

There was this veteran Singaporean Singer who sings Frank Sinatra kind of songs..think my parents should know him.

Overall, a great event..professionally managed =)

Faculty Games (I Games)

2008-10-12T15:09:00.005+08:00

Hey Kuok Hau and Calvin, guess who's backside is this =p

It's Jeremy, my primary and secondary school friend!
He was one of the organising committee of I Games in Melbourne Uni.

His attempt to raise the spirit of the team.

There were basketball, football, badminton (which Ken Jin effortlessly won) but all attention went to dodgeball!

Look at Qin Yao's (in blue) long hands reaching for the ball.

Captain of Commerce Team giving instructions.

Preparing to shoot. Spot Ken Jin in light blue =p
He was the bidan terjun that day since the team was short of players. Regardless, he was one of the backbone players... u know how hard he can throw la =p

Tembak!

The team posing with a trophy that they curi for a while..reminds me of Lyon
They didnt' win thanks to a dodgy rule but their matches were still entertaining.

This was how they posed once they were hungy and exhausted.

Dirty Ken Jin trying to pull Kim Chew's shorts in the changing room =p
Like Grill'd, everything here is also in red.

MASCA should consider introducing dodgeball in NCG next year... I can imagine Winnie enthusiastically joining =p

Friends from Melbourne Uni

2008-10-12T14:39:00.005+08:00

Thought of surprising them by hiding in the bush but they spotted me as they were crossing the road..so anticlimax!

Had lunch in Grill'd with Ling Sing, Tzu Hui, Daphne, and Zhi Han

This restaurant really likes red, doesn't it?

A couple of days later, Daphne came up with an idea of having a bbq, spurred by a bottle of Satay Sauce she received during Singapore Day =)
The person behind her is David from Taiwan, also doing dentistry.

The lamb hotdogs were really good =)

As we were no experts in bbqs, it was already dark by the time we finished bbq-ing and eating.

Just yesterday, I met up with some INTEC and a new found friend.
Zi Hao, Ashiwinna, Sam, Wei Liang, Rhun Kiet, Syazwina, Geok Lin.

Don't you think Geok Lin looks a bit like Kenny Sia =p

Trip to Monash

2008-10-10T13:31:00.003+08:00

Nooi Hoay experimented with my camera =)

So did Ryan =p

Then he syok sendiri and took this. Haha..

Deakin Hall also has a shower timer!

Chau Wang, Justina, Shea Chuen, Nooi Hoay in front of the Monash Library

Met up with Chean Ying

Yeu Sheng and her partner, Daniel

Had a great time playing badminton that night.

Pity it was only for an hour. Thanks Cheng Khoon for hurrying back from the city to play =)

Special thanks to:
Nooi Hoay - for showing me around, taking the initiative to book the badminton court and spread the news that I'm coming =p
Chau Wang - for letting me spend a night in his room although he wasn't feeling well, showing me the anatomy lab and other parts of Monash.
Justina and Shea Chuen - for spending some time to tour the campus and play badminton with me
Ryan - for cooking the kou lou yiok =p
Chean Ying - for peeling the pear

Thanks a lot for allocating some time for my trip in the midst of completing your countless assignments.
Hope you guys had fun karaoke-ing with the songs from my laptop =)
All the best with the assignments!

Family Day

2008-10-01T21:22:00.007+08:00

Had such a fantastic time catching up with my extended family member in Melbourne today.

Meet Brooklyn and his grandfather.

As he just turned one month old, his grandfather performed a simple ritual and say a little prayer in front of Quanyin.

Caroline (the mum), 2-year-old Brandon, the grandpa with Brooklyn and grandma

This only who one who wasn't in the picture was him!

This charming (and mischievous) 4-year-old is the eldest amongst the three boys.

Can you tell that he's a future cam-whorer? The onced camera-shy Joshua now automatically says, "Cheese, cheese" whenever he sees me with my camera.

Being a young boy of the 21th century, he lives up to expectations by asking lots and lots of "why" questions and running around the playground aka paradise. Poor grandpa had to keep an eye on him.

Nonetheless, he always manage to cheer both his grandparents up. As he was riding on this narrow stationary pole (it's actually a horse if you look from a bit farther), he keeps saying "Ouch, ouch"
My only guess is that his ****** must've been hurting. Mine would too if I were to sit on that and keep moving forward.

Like me, Brandon and Joshua adores Wall-E =) while Brooklyn is too young to know what it is.

In this Caribbean Pavillion, I spotted the most unique-looking creature....

this! I don't even know what it is..wasn't labeled.

Oh and I learnt today that Tigerairways terminal Melbourne Airport is actually located outdoor...what a change from the norm..

They Came!

2008-09-30T21:56:00.006+08:00

Holiday has so far been great not only because of the yellow boxer incident and explosion, but the fact that my college-mates paid Canberra a visit for the first time!

Sze Ching, Stefanie, Weai Jiet, Audrey, Kuan Yuen.
Stefanie's right hand seems to be at a very strategic place.

We went to the Nara Candle Festival, a celebration of Canberra's sister city relationship with Nara

Nice, right

We then ate this bak kut teh which I boiled for 6 long hours but still didn't taste nice..must've been the brand..

Sze Ching doing the dishes with an interesting posture

Oh, Chong Wee and Wen Jun were here as well with a different group of friends

The windy Mount Anslie offered them a nice night view of Canberra

Weai Jiet showcasing his love to Wong

Back in their apartment, I realised how much the three guys love flying paper plane..look at the white zone created by sze ching's plane

Today, Meiji suddenly sms-ed saying that she's in Canberra for a one day trip. So I showed her group around ANU and recommended them a Korean Restaurant for dinner.

In 8 hours time, it's my turn to be a visitor! I'll be flying off to Melbourne to meet my extended family, Ken Jin, Nooi Hoay, Daphne, and many more!

The Most Special Tag

2008-09-30T21:42:00.003+08:00

..customized by Khirul

If I could vote for the US Presidential Election (Nov 4th 2008)...
I'll pay more attention to news.

My favorite drink is..
filtered water, Brita brand.

Ideally, my life after graduation..
win a lottery, set up a company selling ikea-like products made of recycled materials and start kicking in some awareness regarding the environment to Malaysians

But realistically..
I'll be busy choosing the right department in Central Bank.

The color of my..
life is rainbow

If I weren't in college..
my parents would've disowned me by now

When men reach their hands down to 'fix the parking'..
hey khi, what does 'fix the parking' means?.

But when women fix their bras..
I'd be wondering why they do it in public.

I go to the gym..
if there's one below where I live.

The most disturbing movie I've seen is..
28 weeks later. Go watch it! It's lovely!

With a dollar..
I'll check if it has a special design at the back

With 10 dollars..
I'll grab the roast chicken from Supabarn.

Girls open their mouths when they apply mascara because..
it isn't what they imagined.

What Luck!

2008-09-30T21:13:00.004+08:00

If yesterday's incident was not embarrassing enough, a bottle cap exploded when I tried opening it at noon. I didn't shake it and it shouldn't even be gassy. Up till now, I still have no idea what the cause was.

Thanks to the explosion, my whole kitchen and body smelt of.....

this

I swear I'm not going to buy that ever again.
The smell awful just in case you're wondering.

Embarassing!

2008-09-29T11:04:00.002+08:00

I
1. arrived home
2. changed into my yellow spongebob boxer
3. decided to do laundry.
4. realised I forgot my keys and cellphone
5. too late, I've locked myself out
6. called Senior Resident using Will's room phone but no one answered.
7. hesitated to head to the front reception to take the spare key since I looked wonderful wearing a pair of sunglasses on my head, a nice billabong t-shirt with colar, a yellow spongebob boxer, a pair of socks and crocs.
8. But since I was in a hurry, I gathered my guts and ran to the reception.
9. noticed some funny glares along the way. Met Su Yin, Kai Xun, and Veng who had a great laugh.
10. Finally got hold of the spare key and lead my normal life.

Tagged by a Gal Who Just Turned 21, Ling Weng

2008-09-28T23:21:00.002+08:00

My 8 lovely habits:-

I....
1. set time 15 minutes ahead
2. am unpunctual (The 15-minute-early thing is a family tradition)
3. love bathroom singing. That's when I sound the best!
4. aim for a 4-minute shower time
5. rarely msn
6. am prone to grammatical errors
7. stammer a lot at times despite not being nervous
8. don't mind being tagged but don't usually tag people in return.

Language Ball

2008-09-28T00:49:00.005+08:00

Last Thurs, I attended a ball which showcased the most diverse set of performance I've ever seen!

The food wasn't all that great but healthy and mostly home-made which explains the $10 ticket price.

The fun Chilean Dance!

A Japanese gentleman playing different sets of instruments

There's even such thing as Backwards English

This band seriously rocks the house =p

Winnie and Lyon didn't miss the chance to rock the dance floor. So did the veterans whom I thought would never have the vibe to do so! Winnie, Lyon and I agreed that it's rare to witness this atmosphere in Malaysia.

This cute baby gal was engrossed with this band

Australians singing a song in German

This Italian sang his national anthem with amazing spirit...of course he has nice voice as well

Halfway through, Lyon diverted my attention to candle..
"How come candles on other tables remain high while one of ours are already so short?"
I have not much clue about that..must it's sth interesting to be thought about.

Winnie and I didn't miss the opportunity to perform!
Finally get to sing Hao Xin Fen Shou =)

And the amazing thing was Ian Chubb actually remembered our performances despite having watched more than 10 performances that night.

*All smiles*

Behind These Smiles

Xuan Xuan says

Ice Kacang Puppy Love - A story about us

Hiking Broga Hill, Semenyih

Last Few Days in Canberra

Books

Candle in the wind

My first radio interview

Bruce Hall looks pretty

*breathe*

Family...it's bitter sweet

First Magpie Attack

Cool Plate

A Phonecall that Changed My Life

To all parents

Stepped on sth

Oprah House Performance

SGI schoomates, read this =)

A Keanu Maybe?

Gardening

Hit Hard By A Change

I Couldn't Sleep So I Sat Down and Posted This

Living It!

Pengalaman Band yang Pertama

This Quote Rocks!

Sis Got Lucky

The Day When Everything Went Wrong...well almost

How to Get to Malaysian Embassy

When You See...

Invigilator says

Mystery Behind ANU Balls

Updates

Think You're Kiasu? Beat this

Sky Without Clouds

Lecturers Combination

Never Felt This Way Before

In Some People's Eyes, We Are of One Bangsa Afterall

Condom Makers Better Off During Bad Times

Is this goat still halal?

Spore's Too Famous

Talk About Cute Packaging

Ignorance Membawa Padah

Catchy Ads

A Perspective on V Day

In Hokkien, My 60-plus-year-old Barber Said...

Ain't A Typical Villageman

An Jing - Jay Chou

Chinese New Year Eve

Catchy Sights

What have you got to say now?

Newpaper Letters

English is Not A Religion!

Reflection

America's Talent maybe?

Roadtrip to Taiping

Uncivilized

Randomness

Drama Queen in the House

INTEC Reunion

Gatherings

A Well-Written Confession

Twilight

Bubble Tea in Taipei

Dogs in Taipei

Updates

Charades

Monty Hall Problem

Sydney For A Day

Talk About Bad Omen

Tien Fen

Japanese Poetry

Why la scrap off the pearl?

Taiping: Hear Me Out!

Saturday November 8, 2008

Much to learn from Obama’s win

Otak ku

An insult to single mothers

Hilarious!

Random Dream

Young Start

breathe