Exclamation_popcorn

Ode to 08

2008-12-20T02:52:00.002+08:00

Alas, I have awoken from my blogging slumber...

So my excuse for this long absence has been my crazy crazy schedule and commitments that have pretty much kept me going for these few months... blogging happens when your naturally bored with no obligations and free time and where your thoughts start to wander to blog-worthy topics (such as now)

But this is probably the last post of the year for me... with xmas celebrations going on and such. But to truly reflect on this year, probably the best year of my life so far. Between turning 19, to joining my fraternity, to meeting new people and experiencing new things... its definitely the year of new things. And having done all the college extrapolates how these memories will be fondly kept and returned to for the rest of my life. There will no doubt, be a million crazy stories from this year.

My highlights of 08
- Becoming a Delt, and sharing it with my kick ass pledge class
- Getting my own place... with my own bed, and desk... and experiencing toilet plunging
- Finaly deciding my career goals... med school oh ya
- Making Shrimp Fra Diovolo and Penne Bolognaise that came out really good
- Reconnecting with the ol' gang and having an awesome summer of '08 (and spending some meaningful family time)
- Becoming one of those involved freaks... Housing OA, Source OA, Club Tennis, Ski team, Research, SAC, Adopt-a-school, delt stuff....
- the 100+ parties this year.... and beasting it at cocaine (the drinking game.. not the drug)
- Going to new york for spring break
- More?

And i just recalled that it was a rough start to 08 when i feel alseep through the countdown alone in my dorm room......

A look forwards to 09. I hope for stronger friendships, more awesome stories and hangs, maybe some new gadjets, contuining my 4.0 quarter and perhaps... just perhaps...a non-lonely valentines...

Anti-Depressant TV

2008-11-14T08:58:00.002+08:00

So if your ever feeling kinda down, watch MTV True Life. Im not saying you shud gain joy from other people's misfortunes, but sometimes when you emmerse yourself in someone's else's life who have bigger problems then the petty ones you currently have, you'll realize how lucky you are. Yea im taking a chapter our of the ultimate cliche book, but its true. So feel better about your life, cuz chances are its not that bad.

Halloween Update in 5 quick words

2008-11-03T04:08:00.000+08:00

Awesome, Drunk, Fun, Surprise Complications......sigh*

Mission Partcomplished

2008-10-28T11:20:00.002+08:00

So remember that mid year resolution. I actually did one... i did a half marathon. The Columbus Half Marathon was AWESOME, i did a solid time of 2:00:32 for a 13.1 mile run and it was exhilarating and I'm definitely excited to do another. But more importantly, i actually followed through with something i wante.d

I'm getting crazy involved on campus. Fraternity, Work, Classes, 2 majors 2 minors, club tennis, ski team, SAC, Adopt-a-school, it goes on...i shouldn't do this to myself really...

erm i suck at updating... but ill find time to actually blog some time

I forgot about this, i wrote this in JFK a few days ago

2008-09-15T00:36:00.001+08:00

Another grueling grueling 20+ hour flight gone. Another tired tired traveller eager to just turn in to bed eventhough it is only 2pm in the afternoon.
So JFK airport is another dud... what is up with these big american airports being kinda terribe and old and run down? I would ahve to say Cincinnati airport wins big in the style department when it runs up against JFK and LAX. and so far, i've only been missing home... food, people, family, friends. But i guess that was how i was when i first came back to Asia anyway, i'll get over it.
C u in Cbus

Happy 19

2008-09-15T00:28:00.002+08:00

So it was a pretty decent birthday. I mean honestly, i've never had a good track record of birthdays and have never really had a serious celebrations so i'm not too knocked up about it. Being at a party with friends and watching the game (eventhough we got absolutely trashed) is good enough for me and its fun.

good news... my house is semi furnished.. and semi clean... so awesome!! going to ikea today.

2008-09-03T20:22:00.002+08:00

Im listening to Into Dust by Mazzy Star (dreammy, so so deamy)... and it makes me really miss The O.C. Sure I know what your thinking, tean soap opera, wtf rite? bu there was just something abt that show... it just was so relatable for me, the characters, the situations. For some reason, every episode kinda made me really sad. I dunno, it was a realy good show nevertheless (eventhough it was cancelled, but the show without Marissa Cooper wasn't the same...) .

So bascially Im just missing alot of things right now.. and I haven't even left yet..=/

Life's Weird... Not Incest Weird, More Like Sarah Silverman Weird

2008-09-01T22:39:00.004+08:00

I came into summer with expectations. I expected things to be alittle weird, seeing these familiar faces once again after being seperated for so long while each of us have our own seperate lives, friends, experiences. I expected home life to be upsetting, fustrating, head pounding, you know, usual stuff. I expected people to change, to have seen the world and experienced new things and now have become different individuals. I expected to be monumentally bored.

Sure, all of these expectations turned out to be somewhat true one way or another, but truth of the matter is Summer of 08 will probably go down as the best 3 months of my teen years (yes i still use teen, because i have the chance to, cuz once i hit 20, teen hardly sounds appropirate anymore). That was something i never expected. Having been to USA, the USA, i've expereinced so many new things and met so many new individuals, it kinda really sucked leaving there and comnig home with all these negative expectations hanging over your shoulders. 3 months did not sound fun at all. Sure the first 3 weeks kinda turned out to be a dud, and I quickly found myself counting down the days till my imminent departure but things changed. They kinda changed for the better, you know, hanging out with people got more enjoyable and less of the awkward catch-up small talk. I started remembering why I love hanging out with these silly silly people I call my friends and why JIS was truly memorable (albeit all the depressing moments). You know, we kind of made what we could of Brunei, we did things I don't think I would have normally done elsewhere but we did just because it was us, young and dumb. Family life got more nejoyable, espaically if you keep thinking of how there is going to be less and less time to spend with them. And the lack of curfew; turly remarkable.

So here I am, desperate for more time here in a complete reversal of my feelings 3 months ago. That's why life's weird. Or life's kinda sadistic and twisted. I dunno, you be the judge. So now that I have 5 days left, I truly began to reminisce the times we spent together, the photos we took, (the posters we stole, the pinnacles we climbed, the flying fishes we desperatly grabbed on to) and I can't help but to feel kinda bummed. I guessed I should be glad that things worked out
cuz truly, summer08, will never be forgotten.

Glam.

2008-09-01T21:59:00.002+08:00

For some reason, I'm going through a Glam rock-ish phase... without any David Bowie. Here's some high-pitched, theathrical songs that maybe you might enjoy (or hate) too.

Filthy and Gorgeous - Scissor Sisters
I Turn my Camera On - Spoon
The Past of a Grotesque Animal - Of Montreal

City Love (John Mayer) & English Girls Approximately (Ryan Adams)

2008-08-30T22:47:00.004+08:00

I never do these, but this one is pretty cool (stolen off tiny).. p.s i did this twice... thus two answers... just wanted to see
INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Put your iTunes,Windows Media Player, etc. On shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. You MUST write down the name of the song to the question no matter how silly it sounds..

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
- Golden Slumbers
(The Beatles)
Colder
(Travis)... k i just thought so dirty things....

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
- 1999
(Prince) means im retro?
Hands Clean
(Alanis Morisette) why my i do wash my ahnds regularly

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
- Strange and Beautiful
(Aqualung) very true....
The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived
(Weezer) okay.....

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
- King Of Carot Flowers
(Neutral Milk Hotel) that means im feeling dandy

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE PURPOSE?
- Daft Punk is Playing At My House
(LCD Soundsystem)
- Kids With Guns
(Gorillaz) nuuu bad purpose...

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
- Year of The Rat
(Badly Drawn Boy) bad motto?
Hell
(Foo Fighter) ......

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
- Personality Crisis
(New York Dolls) ohoh....
Fix Me Now
(Garbage) .... antoher ohoh...

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
- Are You Gonna Be My Girl
(Jet) hmm.....
Vegetable
(Radiohead) erm...

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK ABOUT YOU?
- Good To Know That If I Ever Need Attention All I Have To Do Is Die
(Brand New) no comment....
Doorman
(Stereophonics)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BESTIE?
- I Was Meant For The Stage
(The Decemberist)
We Can Work It Out
(The Beatles)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
- Hide and Seek
(Imogen Heap) how true
I Don't Trust Myself With Loving You
(John Mayer) hm....

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
- Rest Easy
(Phantom Planet)
Soul Meets Body
(Death Cab)

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
- The Way You Wear Your Head
(Nada Surf) not really.....
Wait
(Death Cab)

WHAT SONG WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR WEDDING?
- You Won't Know
(Brand New) omg... infedelity premonition?
Ruby
(Kaiser Chiefs)

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
- Who Makes You Feel
(Dido) hmmm
Your Legs Grow
(Nada Surf)

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
- Temporary
(Rogue Wave) scarily... very veyr true.. (read past posts)
Could I Be You
(Matchbox Twenty)

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
- Cold Day In The Sun
(Foo Fighters) that wud be scary.....
New Candles
(Death Cab) those are scary too....

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
- Sowing Season
(Brand New) ... oh nouww!
My Hero
(Foo Fighters)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
- Christmas Is Going To The Dogs
(Eels)
Wouldn't It Be Nice
(Beach Boys)

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
-City Love
(John Mayer)
English Girls Approximately (Ryan Adams)

... and We Keep Summer Dreaming....

2008-08-24T22:04:00.002+08:00

Its begun to hit me, I'm leaving in 2 weeks. I'm permanantly leaving my childhood home, the place I grew up, the place where I first made memorable friendships, the place of all my memories. But most importantly, I'm leaving my friends, and who knows when i'll ever see them again. Heck it wud be a long time and it wouldn't even be that sad if i knew I was retunring in a year but I know im not, and i won't be for a while. I'll be leaving my family, through the anger and tears, I'll still always miss them no matter what, they're my fmaily after all.
2 months ago I couldn't have waited for summer to end, now I'm dreading the end. All I want, is to keep dreaming... and dreaming of smmer.

The crazy crazy (but awesome) world

2008-08-13T21:58:00.009+08:00

So I've stumbled upon a few really cool websites. One of them: www.stupidiotic.com has really cool shit. Ranging from Black Toilet Paper, Laser Scissors, Fake Security Cameras to a Aquarium Toilet Bowl Tank. Yea its kinda kooky, but really cool. Heres an image I found particularly funny on their site. Think about it......

Anyway, so I've never really been aware all of these ingenious and really really cool new designs and products people keep coming up with. Add that to the mind boggling construction projects been done in Dubai. Man Made world islands? Indoor ski resort? World's tallest building? Yup thats Dubai for you (awesome place to visit some day). Heres just some images of what I'm talking about

Just a real estate on a Man made island..neat idea?

A neat kinda unique looking car. And when I say kinda, I mean... hell yea.

This is a tower being built in Dubai that is able to change it's shape (yea you heard me). Every floor rotates individually around a central axis.

A semi-submerged house?

A satellite picture of Dubai, highlighting the crazy aspects of the city and how big they are on construction.

And finally my personal favorite.... a really innovating design for measuring drinks . haha I know what you guys are going to say...shhhh...

Ohio State Graces Sports Illustrated Once Again.

2008-08-08T19:42:00.003+08:00

As hated as we are (jealousy often spawns criticism ;), we nevertheless have graced magazine covers and have made a big name for ourselves. Heres a look at all the really cool covers

Aren't you tired of these summer titles and themes?

2008-08-06T12:48:00.007+08:00

Note: This is really just for my personal reference.

Cuz I sure am.... Yes yes summer is awesome, summer is relaxing, summer is the much wanted time to do the things we didnt have the time to do. But its sort of going into overkill right now. 2 long streched out months do not sit well with me, and knowing that I have to go through ANOTHER one...*gasp.

So basically, just like my last summer (of '06), I made a list of things that I wanted to do with my time-
1. Figure out what to do with summer
2. Learn about raising rabbits
yea, I had a rabbit phase where I wanted one for the upcoming year, but it turns out that they are very high maintenance (much like....*stare at ceiling). Also, turns out they're serial pooping machines (case of diarrhea?)
3. Play lots of video games
And boy have I been successful. From finishing Heroes V: TotE, to a brief Runescape affair and now to my
neverending lust for Warcraft. I've returned to my childhood hobby that I love love love.
4. Find a Summer Job
Earn alittle bit of extra cash, forwarding my summer'09 europe cause. Turns out I'm occupationally undesired. Its illegal for me to work in Brunei (illegal screams uptight parents) and my little stint with Singaporean Biotech companies failed. As of now, I just hope I'll be employable when I return to ohio.
5. Become an Accountant, budget!
So 2007-8 wasn't excatly the most fiscally wonderful year. I managed to overspend by a thousand (yes a thousand) dollars. No thanks to online shopping and pub outings. So basically, I took the time to budget my future expenses, count my previous quarter expenditures. Lesson I learnt? I overspend on food.
6. Future my Europe Summer'09 Campaign
Im due for another trip to some exotic location (think Cambodia trip times 5- a realistic number as apposed to a million). So currently, Im planning Ireland, England, Belgium (possibly) and most importantly, The Netherlands (think Coffee Shops). Currently, this campaign is poorly funded (and when i say poorly funded, I mean, there isnt one) and it doesn't help that transatantic flights have crazily expensive (with the exception of Aerlingus which flies into Ireland for around $500 return). Hopefully, I'll hook some friends into going with me and I'll meet up with some friends in England.
7. Clean up iTunes library
Basically 5 hours of artwork addage and tag corrections.
8. Learn to Drive and Cook
I can drive now! No licence, but the ability to drive is always there now and I'm pretty excited about it. Possibly getting my Ohio-an licence this fall. My cooking ability isnt great, but at least I know I can fix something up when I need to.
9. Become more employable
Upgrade my CV, fill in more accomplishments (and at least I have some)
10. Love the tests
Considered the ACTs which I am no longer doing, however, the GRE is in my future at some point
11. Interior Decorate!
I compiled a list of Ikea (gotta love the Ikea) furniture that I will get when I move into my new place in September and planned out everything in my bedroom. Im going bold with the standing clothes rack instead of an actual dresser and Im going with this awesome desk with lots of compartments. Its going to be...awesme. (and expensive)

Passionless (Warning: Not a Cocktail Drink)

2008-08-05T23:28:00.002+08:00

That pretty much sums out how I feel right now. A whole heaping bunch of non-passion. I began evaluating my interests after watching all these creative fashion designers talk about how they love doing what they do and are geuiniely striving to stay in the industry that they adore. As I go through my laundry list of past, present and potential future interests, Im basically crossing out more and more things that I no longer feel passionatly for or have a luke-warm desire for it. There was music, art, design, fashion, science, pyschology. The crazy thing is I go through the same process with every single one of them. I dwelve into it, I really enjoy it, I seek for more, Then I get slightly bored, then I lose complete interest. Yea, I have the passion-span of a not-very-passionate-goldfish. I mean, its nice to be knowledgable in them and enjoy them once in a while, but a life lnog career is asking too much out of me. It explains why Im flipfopping with majors and minors. Its crazy!

The only thing that I still love trhoughout the years is tennis, but that ship has sailed past, docked on a distant port and took a spaceship to some far far far planet. yea that means
Ill most probably definitely not become aprofessional player. Tragic rite?

It just gets me a little worried. What my future is to be. Am I going to be in a moderately satisfied job because i selected a major that i was interested in at that moment but lost passion for it when I graduated? Does this translate into potential love lives? I just really need to establish something that I really enjoy doing... maybe Animal theraphy is my thing.....

The Mid-Year Resolution

2008-07-23T22:38:00.004+08:00

No one ever follows through with their New Year resolutions right (I don't even remember mine, albeit if i even set any). So Im going to try for something different. Its a Mid Year resolution that will aligns with the academic year schedule (i.e. August to May-ish). I mean why not? I'm ambitious right? And I love making lists anyway (as i recently found out from one of my childhood notebooks, I love lists and i wrote them all the time as a child. I still go, theres a folder of lists on my computer... I dunno, List fetish?)

1. Run a Half-Marathon
This will be really easy to accomplish since I jsut signed up for the Nationwide Columbus Marathon thats running in Oct 17th. Im training for it right now and I've always wanted to run one of these. I'll work towards a full marathon in the future, but for now, 13.1miles is already a
handful for me.

2. Run a Triathlon (or more accurately, run, swim and bike)
Along the same lines but I love to swim and bike anyway. I know Columbus does throw a few of these and I've always wanted to do one and be able to say I did one.

3. Obtain Driving Licence
Im currently learning to drive (thanks pops) and Im pretty decent by now. So work towards that coveted Ohio Drivers Licence. Perhaps as an extra goal, obtain it without failing once? That would be truly awesome.

4. Get to 10% BodyFat or below
Haha one of my more superficial goals but nevertheless, having single digit body fat is awesome. I have no idea where Im at right now (will go find out but I was at 22% a year ago but then again I was alot, erm, robust a year ago). The first two goals certaintly complements this.

5. Obtain a administrative position in my Fraternity
I'm definitely geared towards working for the better and making positive changes. This will probably help me in the long run anyway, and definitely improve on my managerial skills after my, erm, decent run as president of the Tennis Club at INTI. I'll definitely help with setting up our philanthropy event (which we are currently lacking in)

6. Obtain a Research Position, Stick to It, and Work on my own Project
I've tried this once but worked under a field in which I wasn't all too excited about. I guess plankton and zebra musells aren't really my thing. So this time, I'm going to be alot more picky with my choices and work on my project. At the same time, I'll earn some extra $$ for goa no.7

7. Go on many many Trips.
Canada with my pledge bros? Sounds awesome, but you also have Winter and Spring breaks in which there is much exploring to do. Perhaps some Floridan sun? Some beach fun in the Carolinas? Skiing in Colorado? Oh and don't forget that yearlong (or will be yearlong) planned trip you want to take in the summer to Ireland, England, Belgium and Holland (coffee shops anyone?). Seeing that the cruel occupational world refuses to give you any form of long term breaks, might as well seize the remaining ones that you have right?

8. Obtain a B+ Average for Micro Major Courses and an A- Average for INtl. Studies Major
Kinda realized how competitive grad school is, and with my aspirtations to go to one of the UC schools or UWM/UIUC, I really have to up by major GPA. With a 2.63 Average at micro right now (a B- barely), I need averages of A- for the rest of my 5 courses to get a B+ average. If I get A average, I get a 3.5 averge which is really good. Haven't started any Intl. Studies classes, so definitely possible.

That's all I really have so far.
I'll return in a year to see what I've accomplished (I usually accomplish most of my wishlists).
Yes yes, list-eftish.... now you all know

Ah That's More Like It...

2008-07-20T19:47:00.002+08:00

Summer is changing. No, Im not implying that we are facing an impending natural phenomenom. The ice caps aren't melting, polar bears aren't starving and forced to eat eskimos and no, pengiuns aren't starting to fly away for colder grounds. Summer is starting change for me. Its just becoming
more 'self-discovery'.

So basically its my last stay in Brunei (probably forever) and its not really the same hospitable place that i remember. For one my parents are alot...nicer? Perhaps my year long absence has thought them that the heart grows fonder in the absence of others? Or perhaps they are sugaring me up. Haha well I've only got into a big argument once, which well to be honest really little for a 2 month span. But within that one argument I learned alot about their past and perhaps this has rendered me to become a little more understanding.... Perhaps I've just become equally soft.

Friendships..... just like any kind of ship (i know, haha, im a comedic genius) sinks. I've always known that being a floater in High School was terribly unrewarding and has led be to become more distant with my high school buddies. Thankfully, there are those who I still hang out a bunch with and it feels like nothing ever changed. Im thankful for relationships like that. As for others, its become a little awkward and its blatant that our interests have drifted way way apart that its strongly reminiscent of the Breakfast Club. I've slowly become excluded in some groups which I don't really care about because I completely expected it and I was going to say that its sad when I think about it, but really it's not... and frankly, I don't really care that much. Im probably not going to see them for a long long time albeit ever again. Friendships are all about prioritizing, your best friends come first and your aquitance-like friends are at the bottom. (Disclaimer: If you read this blog, your probably way up at the top. I never tell anyone, i mean anyone about this... think freedom of critical speech)

Another good thing coming out of all this free time, a better appreciation for Columbus and my close buddies at Ohio State and also, my Dad is teaching my how to drive. Perhaps some much need parental bonding that I always soght after with my Mum and Dad. Summer 08 is not a lost, its just much needed and even though Im enjoying it, Im still longing hard for it to be the day where i set foot back in Cbus, and have a freaking good time with my friends.

2008-07-18T09:58:00.001+08:00

Sometimes you realize that the monster you despise was a monster because of you. And that not everything works out as beautifully as you hoped.

2008-07-17T22:52:00.002+08:00

Transformers was my favorite summer movie last year, this year, even though i've only watched a few, i know it will hands down go to The Dark Knight. It is probably, the most disturbing, ambitious, thought-provoking and enthralling piece I've watched in years and definitely one of my favorite movies of all time. It left me speechless at the end as well as during parts of its plots where surprises are thrown at us time after time. It was 2 hours and 30 mins of an emotional rollarcoaster and it was never ever predicatble or cliche and was captivating throughout. Christian Bale is thus far my favorite Batman and his portrayal is subtally genius. However, this movie was compltely owned by Heath ledger. Reading that he spent a month in a hotel room alone pefecting the entire stance, mannerism and speech of the Joker is just amazing and shows you his dedication. Noone will be able to perfect the Joker like he did in the movie; he was fightening, distrubing, relatable, hilarious all at the same time yet funnily, never despised.
Hands down, the best movie I've seen in years and one of my favorite movies ever.

Listen to these songs!

2008-07-14T21:56:00.001+08:00

My current favorite songs:

1. Karma Police- Radiohead
2. Eleanor Put Your Boots Back On- Franz Ferdinand
3. Play- Flunk
4. Vida la Vida- Coldplay
5. Selfish Jean- Travis
6. I Kissed A Girl- Katy Perry

And when we finally get time on our hands, we don't know what to do with it

2008-07-05T22:59:00.002+08:00

So how do i spend my days in Brunei? Tedious hours of computer surfing (alas, internet has now been associated with work-like routine behaviour), a couple hours of tennis watching (as we speak, or rather as I write, Venus has championship point), some book reading, some much needed exercise and finally the sweet sweet release of sufficient sleep (good riddance to baggy eyes).
Occasionally a coupe of trips to gadong.
Yup, and slowly, summer 08' passes by day by day.

Oh and Im going for it. Double major in Microbiology and International Studies, Minor in Philosophy and Forensic Science.

Honestly....

2008-06-15T07:43:00.000+08:00

Why are all books these days about murder mysteries......

My Life Smells of Unfufilled Potential

2008-06-14T18:31:00.005+08:00

Summer is a time of self-discovery..... well thats what they say about every period of the year. Im guessing some of the anglo-french humor is rubbing of on me (the dry satirical kind) but anyway, I have just completed Stephen Clarke's third novel 'Merde Happens' which turned into a really really satisfying novel that just leaves you grinning for more at the end. Its reflective of peoples lives in a sense. Shit happens and new opportunities arise (the optimistic viture).

Its a this moment Im wary about wasted opportunities though. As this is probably my last summer (ever maybe?) at Brunei, it might also be the last opportunities i get to really spend time with my parents and my high school friends. And honestly, whoever said that life is always running out of time was probably wasting his on qoutes like these, we have plently of time, we just don't really make the best use of it. So im just trying to make my best of these 3 months and not waste any of them. Time that needs to be valuably put towards not only my family, my friends from high school, my friends in college but also for myself. Time used wishing is time wasted not doing.

Finally, I once again get serious doubts concerning career choice. They say that when your start calling your career a job is when you stopped living your dream. Reading about Paul's tea house and gallavanting across the states promoting British tourism in a kilt (yes yes, absurd sounding no?) and all his talk about dreams has got me thinking again about it. Recently, I've had a bout of scholarship applications and i realize how
underqualified I am with so many of them. Life and jobs seems to be a series of events that helps
promote the later. We get good grades in high school to get into a good college where we get good professors who will give us good referrels so we can get into a good professional school where we write good thesises so that we can get good jobs where we get good references so that we can get other such 'good things' in life. But yet I am currently struggling with mediocrity. It is unlike myself to strive for the average but yet I am unmotivated to do more. And I realize it was because I don't really wish to strive to become a good microbiologist or a good FBI agent. Its just not my true dream. Maybe my parents have led me down the wrong path (the cursed path where asian parents doom their children to either engineering, science or business) but I can't really blame them for I myself still have no idea of what my true dream really is. After all, I am the guy who currently has a double major in Microbioogy and International
studies, has a minor in Philosophy (and considered majoring in it). Wanted to major in Interior design, Journalism (Photo and Sports), Kinesiology, Law, Medicine, Sport Studies and Psychology. I often joke that I would dream of
being a professional student but if that is what i could really be to figure our what I truly love doing then it would be compeltely worth it. But until then, I will keep figuring it out and maybe till that day comes when I get my revelation, I keep going with what society and family comforms me to be.

Till then, its summer and its time to live.

2008-06-10T06:43:00.001+08:00

Blogging from Singapore International Airport

So summer begins. Its four grueling (and i mean grueling) months of infinite boredom, everlasting naps, minimal motivation and a ton of internet surfing and tv watching. Thats right, its the summer as always.

The difference is now i'm returning from a 9 month adventure from America (which I wholeheartedly adore and admire), having gone through so many telling and life changing experiences. Yes I drink alot more, yes I'm alot more outspoken and confident and yes I am that much more sociable. But these are qualities that I wish to embrace and utilize and has come about from my time in the states and all the friends I've made there.

When I first arrived there 9 months ago, admitingly a little scared, thinking I was walking blindly into a whole new world and frankly, a little lonely but eager to form friendships. However, I can confidently say that I was able to make friends really easy and it wasn't hard to relate to them at all. April and Von and GJ might be some of my best friends that i have made from my 17 years in Asia, but I have made so many more and its kind of eliminates the loneliness that was once my persona. There wasn't really any culture shock as I really did feel truly at home.

I now sit about 1000 miles and 12 hours ahead of all that in a tiny island about to embark on my last voyage back home. I've spent about 4 hours in the airport and there are just so many things I have noticed. For one, I don't feel that nostalgic or upset as i usually do, but maybe thats because I don't feel as lonely as i usually do and I DO look forward to seeing my parents and my brother. However, I kind of feel like I'm experiencing a kind of counter culture shock. Its just the personality and persona that the people I'ma round now exubirates. Its so different and well, alittle cold and impersonal. The biggest thing I've noticed is how many Malaysians and Singaporeans stare at you. Every little activity you do, they will blantaly stare at you with little care or shame. The two neighbouring occupants of my 17 hour flight were prime examples. Every magazine page i turned, every movie i watched, every movement i made, looks (and not just our usual sneaky eye look, but actual complete 180o head turn-right-in-your-face looks). I wash my face at the bathroom, same deal. It is well, kind of annoying to be honest. I do honor my privacy and eventhough everyone stares, do they ahve to make it so obvious?

Impersonality also comes when everyone seems to be so afraid to speak up or voice their thoughts. I know i was always a prime victim of this and many people just seem to be afraid of saying the simplest of phrases such as excuse me or sorry. Of course, all these examples have exceptions, but these are obvious cases

Maybe its the cynical critic in me. But its just some things that I have noticed. I guess thats what makes cultures so different and interesting.

2008-06-06T07:11:00.001+08:00

My first year at OSU is over. Theres an amount of happiness and relief for making it a whole year and getting some darn decent grades. However, theres also abit of nostalgia that comes with that and i'll definitely miss the dorm life and my greek brothers but I'll be back in 3 months to cause some more tomfoolery and 2008/9 will be the shit!

See ya on the other side of the world

2008-06-02T03:34:00.000+08:00

May 31st 2008 - Kappa Class offically became men

1 week till initiation...

2008-05-22T15:34:00.002+08:00

In 3 weeks, I'll be on the oppsite side of the world, in a whoe seperate continent, doing who knows what...
that's going to be INCREDIBLY weird.
I've lived here for 9 months know its almost my world and it's definitely my home. But I guess I've grown acustomed to many homes but I definitely lvoe it here so much and I can't wait till I'm back in the fall. But till then, I'm going to go home and enjoy my summer with friends and family and make the most out of it.

2008-05-12T05:16:00.003+08:00

Maybe it is the fact that Greek Week is over or the fact that I'm going home for the whole summer in 1 month.. but I'm getting a weird weird sensation and everything just seems so nostalgic.

I sometimes fear that the future that i plan for will never come because destiny wil call for me earlier than I'd hope... but maybe thats being too pessimistic..but yet, it could very well happen.
For now, i'm looking forward to meeting all my old buddies and i will definitely miss the guys ...

2008-05-08T11:07:00.002+08:00

"...to bring about that happy life..."

It seems everytime i visit this blog is when events in my life have fluctuated. I mean i guess that's the purpose of this blog, to keep people and myself updated when things change in my life. But theres more to it I think... this helps me express things so much better and I hope to look back at these posts some day and be able to learn from them. Yes I'm still a kid (behold those years where we would adamantly deny being kids). I'm still maturing and Im constantly changing as a person. And thus, I hope i cna develop into the great person i always wanted to be and still leave for myself things I personally desire.

One year in America is nearly up and I'm going to be away for the entire summer. I now reflect apon those 9 months and I can see a real personality development. I've become alot selfless and have worked towards my own goals and aspirations. Perhaps endorsing the American mentality of self-satisfaction (don't get me wrong, i love these people more than any other culture, but this is how they are). I've perhaps lost abit of that selflessness and reliability that makes peope come for me for help and I've become a little more blunt, abrasive and dislikable. Thats the balance i guess, trying to become the best you want in yourself and trying to be the best you want other people to see you as.

I've perhaps achieved so many goals since I've been here and have socially advanced myself in ways that i've always dreamt about. I'm not going to lie, I'm atop the social and academic game here in college and i'm leaving some of the people i live with behind. I guess that naturally draws resentment towards me. Which is understandable i guess. But sometimes i feel like people think I've become this stuck up person who thinks he's better than anyone else (i got my first personal hate post on juicycampus.com). But I really don't think i've ever done or said anything to intentionally convey this persona. It is my misunderstood nature i guess... that striving for bigger and ebtter things and trying to be above everyone gives off such an air. But I hope people will eventually realize what is really going on here.

I think the one biggest thing that has changed in my life is the closeness i use to share with my clique of people. Having always the ability to call one of them up when I have issues and just talking and going out and having fun together. I've lost that. I could have just called someone right now instead of posting this but i really can't think of anyone who understands me enough to call and talk through. Its not a great feeling. Its a lonely feeling but i think the one thing that prevents me from sinking in depression right now is my fraternity life and meeting all the brothers and having fun with them. None of them are realy what i'd consider really good friends but its only been a month and I need time. Time mends and sculpts everything. So i'm optimistic (for once!) that things work out.

Addemendum: Its Greek Week so I hope us Delts kick some ass and win!

2008-04-27T04:28:00.002+08:00

So Mtv's Real World is an awesome show. Its not what you would expect out of an MTV feature (trashy, scripted shows : Tila Tequila) It just shows you raw emtions that i love.

Spring quarter has been amazing so far. it's opened me up to so many new experiences and so many new kinds of people and i'm learning alot about myself and how i've come to be myself. Despite the fact that relationships with the people on my floor has stalled and i lost respect and relatability with many of them, I'm not sad in the sense that i know i'll meet more great people that i'll be friends with for the rest of my life. Those are the kinds of relationships that really matter and makes you who you are.
And though I know I'm not perfect, I can't excuse some of my abrasiveness that comes off very negative to many people. I've felt like i just need to take a step back and listen more.

2008-04-26T08:06:00.001+08:00

My mum's quote:

"Not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck"

In response to my previous post, i think this is the right way to look at it.

Bad Tidings

2008-04-23T05:59:00.002+08:00

I got rejected from Exercise Science. Not my finest hour right now and I'm upset considering how I've planned this for more than a year and built my whole career aspirations around it. To know that I keep getting rejected from things (UW, Fiji and Exercise Science) continually fustrates me and sometimes this doesn't do good for esteem. But right now i'm (trying to) remain optimistic. I mean i got rejected from UW and got into OSU, i got rejected by the Fijis but got into t
the delts. So i guess i should keep trying. This by no means that i settle for my second choices, but rather, it taught me that there are better things out there that i can get involved with. Still i'm pretty bum with this whole situation (i threw the letter away)

I'm at this kind of crossroad where i seriously doubt my career choice. Does becomnig a researcher and scientist really appeal to me? No. Its something that appealed to my parents and i sorta of saw but i really don't feel like i can be completely happy with this career choice. I don't know what else i can major at at this point when i'm so near
graduation. I guess its just something i really have to contemplate and figure out.
Any suggestions guys?

Friends ForeveR?

2008-04-20T13:43:00.002+08:00

I've bid farewell to those lonesome nights, sad melodramatic music and mopiness. At least for now.
This quarter has been extremely different. The weathers different. My Social Life is different. People are different. I've no longer felt stuck and enveloped by the hall of people i've associated with. But now have spread myself to better and bigger things in life. I'm currently pledging a fraternity which has greatly improved my social life including my social weekends! haha. Its bound to produce some timeless stories (and it already has) and i really enjoy the new friendships being formed. As for the old ones? You treasure the ones you respect, and release the ones you don't. Thats how life is right? Lifelnog friendships are the process of a lifetime of weeding and extracting and the ones that make it out of this cruel, sadistic filtration process are the ones you know you can hold dear and true. Be glad to know that at least some of you have made it pass the pores of murky water so far (at east i'm relieved to know there are at least some).
Friendship get complicated sometimes. Its definition is broad and vague and means different thigns to so many different people. Does friendship include the people you live with and associate with? Does it include the people you hang out with eventhough you have lost a little bit of respect for them? Or does it purely segragate in favor of those you call your close friends. To a floater, it means the people who care about you and you know will be lifelong friends and buddies. All others, with deplorable personalities, don't really mean anything anymore. You hang out with them for the sake of hanging out and perhaps so we aren't so lonely in life. That's how life goes rite? I mean, we get so afraid of loneliness, we'd cling onto anyone who
resembles a friend. Until one day, when maybe that specila person enters your life and everything changes. I hope to be a hopeless romantic and wish that things like that do come true. In the meantime, i wait it out and resist the waves and bumps that continues to trhust onwards and onwards onto our shores.
Until then, i hope to keep discovering things about people and make lifelong and true friendships and i can treasure and share with for the remainder of my life.

2008-04-13T05:38:00.003+08:00

So things have been interesting and different lately. I would not have thought this is how spring quarter was going to go honestly.. I'm in a fraternity, i'm partying hard every weekend and i'm meeting so many new people. It is great really, but its abit sad that relationships with the old ones aren't as good as they were. I mean me and geoff harrdly ever hang out anymore and i don't hang out with the girls as much anymore. Its almost like I'm at some kind of cross road where i have to choose my future and my life.
Choose old friends or new friends. Well wat i can safely say is this is no new thing for me, i've always evaluated friendship on its longivity, and I really care only about those that mean something special to me. I mean look at all my high school friends, i don't talk to any of them except for april and von basically. INTI peeps, i also still chat with the gang and i dun bother with all the other guys from AUP and stuff...and just like that i feel ike im weeding out those that i don't really care about. I've realized last quarter how many people i kind of dislike because of their personality, and i'm not going to hate them or anything but im not gonna put as much effort into the relationship anymore. Thats how i see things i guess... right or wrong... i have no idea but it gives me an idea who my true friends are.
Choose your career. I recently started having heavy doubts as microbiology as a career path. Espically research. it just doesnt appeal to me as it did after actaully going through the process. I just don't know what to do with my life anymore i would love being a philosopher but i know its not a path my parents woud necessarily support. I really do hope that i get accepted into exercise science eventhough i feel like i won't contribute as much to society if i did went down that path but it would be something that i would enjoy alot more.
It seems like i've embraced abit of the american culture and have become abit more self-aware and desirious of things for myself. Don't worry guys, i'm really not that much different then i was, just aliitle more outspoken with the things that i think.
Hopefully, things will work out well. I hope for the best.

2008-04-09T10:46:00.009+08:00

Its time for another humoungously long post to catch everyone up again. Yea i know i do this but life in college is just kinda busy, and i do mean busy

So spring quarter so far has been really awesome. But even before i start mentioning about that, i spent spring break over at new york... and that was pretty tight and i do definitely miss the big city and living in one. Props to nick for showing me a good time.
So spring quarter has begun, the flowers are starting to grow, the weather is warm (finally!) and
basically everyone is out on the oval enjoying themselves, wearing near to nothing and engaging in their invididual tom-foolory. But i've decided to kill my leisure time by being as busy as possible.
1) I'm taking 3 courses, 2 science, 1 writing... Microbiology 581 has perhaps scared me that i couldn't imagine working in the field of science. I mean, with all the transcription factors, and rna complexes, it drives you absolutely insane and i have no idea how i'm going to keep all this up till my graduation. Philosophy 367 has been thoroughly enjoyable (thanks to our extremely dorky but funny professor) and has reconfirmed by love to the field of rationalism and i would definitely lvoe to major in it if i fail to get into exercise science (results out in a few weeks!)
But yea, academic life... not so much fun right now
2) "Work... work..... work" qouting our favorite grunt from Warcraft... I'm putting down my Office Assitant position by taking needless shifts. Its stupidity on my part for working 1-4am on two occasions, esp since i have to wake up at 8am the next day on both ocassions. Work sucks... but its pay....something that i desperately need
3) Research position, i now work under Dr. Culver and his research on limonology. Not excatly the most riveting topic to me but its somewhere that i can get started. Thus far, its been microscope work and i really have no clue about the kinds of projects that is going on and the work that i would possibly have to do. Somehow i always dread going there maybe because i feel so awkward around the current staff. I feel like a battered ram stepping into a cage on starved ram-desiring North Korean street urchins. Hopefully it will get better, but it does mean i have to dedicate around 4-6 hours of lab work a week.
4) Fraternity! Yup i got my bid so i am officially in the kappa pledge class of the beta phi chapter of the DTD fraternity! I'm so glad i got in and i hope things turn out well. So far its been great and i've had awesome parties so there is my social life basically.

So basically, i've hardly had time to just chill out and have fun (not true, i spent 2 hours playing frisbee on the oval) but you get what i mean. Its been a really eye-opening, revealing quarter so far and i'm discovering alot of things about myself that i really should have found out in high school and i'm discovering alot about people, relationships (others) and the nature of life.

2008-04-05T23:06:00.002+08:00

So Im now a Pledge of Delta Tau Delta.

sweet!

2008-03-26T17:32:00.001+08:00

Take 2. I'm trying some things over again. Maybe things will work out better.

While some things arise
others crumble
whether you take the time to fix those pieces is up to you

2008-03-09T18:24:00.001+08:00

There was a blizzard over here last night...we went sledding down the south oval... it was really fun...

Requiem for a Dream

2008-03-02T11:22:00.003+08:00

So life is kinda... 'bleh'... thats the real only word i can describe things right now. Sorry GJ, its not going to be another emo rant which i guess its a good thing. But really, life is kind of ..'bleh'
Im sort of tired with humanity and living the 'proper' way right now..the higher education, jobs, family.. its just daunting thinking about it. And as i approach graduation, i feel all sorts of pressure pilling in onto me, and at that though, i squirm and futily resist with all my will.
So my parents are retiring in 6 months. That thought alone just fills me with dread. To think that it would seem life has lost a purpose after you stop working.. what will we do? how shall we spend time? Now that we are no longer contributing memebrs of society, what purpose do we hold> i guess as i keep thinking about it theres so much more to life than jobs, but it seems like our society has now made it a mantra to life. Something everyone has to go through but yet
all some of us want to do is just live life and learn. But at this moment, i feel so lost.

Im tired of people really.. the things they put you through. The selfishness people exhibit. Its another daunting process of our lives. Im already expressed my displeasure with humans, and i don't think i'll change my oppinion on that till someone proves me otherwise. Best friends who are never there for you, buddies who aren't there when you need someone to talk to. Its kinda sasd really. Its just one of those lonely feelings i guess.

Life is just so daunting and yet we live. We live through it, we overcome any barriers thrown into our arms. We try to make it through the day, somehow hoping that the next will be different. And things will finally work out.

2008-03-01T07:34:00.001+08:00

Away for the weekend... paintballing at geoff's

2008-02-26T16:39:00.000+08:00

So i've always had a fascination about the end of humanity and bizzare techno/biological theories about the end of the human race. Check out these weird happenings regarding bizarre animals attacks (courtesy of GQ magazine)

- In four small english sea ports, seabirds started targeting people
- In Sonoma County, chicken populations started attacking children.
- Elephants in Africa killed over a thousand victims over the last decade and destroyed fourty four nigerian communities in a single migatory season
- In bombay 2008, a pack of leopards entered the town and murdered a total of twenty two peope
-90,000 people in Beijing have been attacked by dogs and four have been shot by dogs over the last two years.
-A pack of 200 dogs descended out of the Albanian mountains and attacked people
- A community of Chimpanzees in Senegal started to fashion spears.
-Attacks by dolphins have increased, killing two in Cancun
- Sea lions in Alaska attacked a fisherman and drowned him
-Chimps in Uganda and Tanzania started stealing human babies when their habitat started getting destroyed
-Beavers in Belarus started attackign people
-A jogger in North Carolina was surronded by oversized hermit crabs and drove him off the pier
-The first ever stingray deaths occured last year, one of them a famous incident involving Steve Irwin

Well these facts might just be a hoax but if it were true it would be definitely very interesting... but its just a fact to ponder apon. As our earth ehats up, evolution speeds up to. In a time where animals might start to wage a war against humans, we have to ask ourselves. Is humanity staring at the begining of its doom?

2008-02-24T12:49:00.001+08:00

and yea... it was a disappointing weekend.

2008-02-24T12:47:00.001+08:00

Im tired of empty promises. This is one of the reasons why I believe humans are selfish, conceded people who only look out for themselves in all situations. Its tiring that people just keep making these promises that they never ever keep and what makes it worst is that they fail to realize that and act as if nothing was done.
But yet despite all this, they still expect so much out of you. Im just like a little bitch right.. running errands… just a tool. It sucks.. its tiring.. its just not very fun to be in the middle of a whole word of self-centeredness.
Plainly put, its tiring to be the only person putting it all out there for someone else and not getting anything in return. Honestly, is it fair that I put myself emotionally out there for other ppl yet these people are never ever there for me? Its not fair that people only need you for favors… and yet noone will put themselves out there. I guess this is one of the reasons why life feels kinda lonely.

This blog has started to become a real downer…. Sorry but life is kinda like that sometimes..

2008-02-23T09:08:00.000+08:00

I know that this weekend is going to be a bitterly disappointing weekend

2008-02-19T10:12:00.001+08:00

You know who the lonely ones are. They're the ones who have their headphones in when they eat.

2008-02-16T23:09:00.002+08:00

Wow... that was a slight drunk post. (yes i did make it to a party... first in weeks..screw midterms)
But seriously.. The Bravery was one of the best concerts i've ever been to. They were lively, they were crazy, Sam Endicott danced like a maniac and sand like a beast. Oh and i got a pick from them! (Thanks to geoff's long reaching hands).

So life is going well i suppose? I mean it was pretty much a terrible week... there was my god-awful Immunology midterm which i completely tanked. A professor who teaches that class like we're graduate students, throws endless mind nmbing details and sets these ridiculously hard midterms... how can that ever be good? It completely sucks.
Then there was Valentines Day... and once again... it turned out more like (qouting Tim) "Single Awareness Day). The girls down the hall had their secrey valentines and boys werent allowed but it was all good i suppose? Some time away from us and soon they were crawling back. =D
Then it snowed bad and its miserably cold and not to mention im quickly fitting into the college student stereotype... drunk and broke and studios all at the same time.
But then yesterday happened so that made up for the whole week i suppose and i'm going out to some dance party tonight (maybe?).
So i guess life is pretty decent.

Then on sunday... i find out my Immunology test score... and its all downhill from there.

2008-02-16T15:33:00.001+08:00

THe Bravery concert at Newpor Music Hall !!! IT was so fucking amazing... it was one of the best live performances ive ever seen.... i mean Sam Edicott is just amazing and ending with unconditional is jsut pur genuis....
that was Such a good concert... i hope they come bak!

2008-02-08T11:28:00.001+08:00

Life is kinda lonely and complicated rite now....when are you guys coming on MSN?

2008-02-02T12:38:00.001+08:00

you'd remind yourself your not that lonely. you read the letters that people wrote on your farewell.. you feel better... than we return to the real world and you relize everyone has moved on and all the promises they made will never be held true and they've now got best friends of their own. They'll be finding their lovers soon and then you'll relize that your basically left behind at this point. Your never going to find the love that they find, your never going to be best friends 'forever' and your going to be like this for the rest of your life. Its sad that you realize these things when your not yourself..

2008-02-02T12:08:00.000+08:00

here i go again.
this time im putting on my mask

2008-01-31T15:13:00.001+08:00

Things get a bit lonely when people start to diverge.. and all you ahve left is yourself and your thoughts. Then you start to regret things that you could have done in the time that mattered. And in the end, all we have are our regrets and loneliness.

2008-01-30T10:09:00.000+08:00

The way you smiled at me..... ML 830 Tuesday

2008-01-22T00:49:00.000+08:00

This is so goofy, but heres my predicted winners for '08 sports season

AO: Federer and Sharapova
FO: Nadal and Henin
W: Federer and Henin
UO: Djokovic and Serena

BCS Champions: OSU or some other SEC team
Big Ten Champs: Ohio State Buckeyes
OSUvsUMich: OSU 31 UMich 24

NCAA Basketball Champs: UNC Tarhees
NCAA Tennis Champs: Georgia Bulldogs or Ohio State Buckeyes

EPL: Arsenal
Champions League: AC Milan

Olympics: China followed by USA

2008-01-19T13:05:00.000+08:00

I think i'm back to normal. I'm back to the quiet and lonely where noone would know what goes on in my head. I feel trapped in this hedonistic and individualistic world, and all we try to talk about is each others problems while everyday is just a constant stuggle to get our own issues solved.
I'm going bak to the solitude that i so enjoyed, i don't think ppl want to hear about it anyway. So its fine. It feels a little more lonely but hey, thats how life has been since forever... so i think i'll be okie with a little more of it. I just need to not have any expectations from people...i did when i came and that turned out to be a bust.. i just hope life works out in the end..

2008-01-16T13:11:00.000+08:00

Playlists for the future...

in 2 maybe 3 years... and you're feeling nostalgic... listen to these

1. Clarity by John Mayer
2. Unguided by the New Pornographers
3. Half Light by Athlete
4. Don't Panic by Coldplay
5. Revered Now by South
6. Don't Wait by Dashboard Confessional
7. You Got Me All Wrong by Dios Malos
8. The World Has Turned and Left Me Here by Weezer

I hate winter. Its miserably cold, everyone looks unhappy and i'm sick and it sucks to breathe outside. But it guess i hate it rite now cuz well i guess things havent been working out as i thought they wud have. I mean, the FIJI thing i guess didnt work cuz i didnt get a bid ...
but instead of spending my time wondering wats wrong with me... i'll let things as it is and there is some reason for things happening. The housing thing didnt work out but i still have G so we should still have fun. I guess i dunno... things haven't been that great so far but my 4 mile run really helped me feel better... and i guess theres things to look forward to... so for once... i will be brutally optimistic and if things dun excatly fall into the 'half-full' category.. i'll say screw all this and become a urban hermit.

Good things to look forward to?
-Countless good times
-Skiing....
-Summer in Australia?
-Living off campus next year
-Spring Break...

Rite now.. the glass is half full.. but really i wonder why is there water in there in the first place.

2008-01-10T14:08:00.000+08:00

So i might join phi gamma delta fraternity... they're really cool and so far i've having lots of fun....

as for other ppl... i'm a little sick and tired... its like you really care for them and you want to be friends with them forever, but it just gets old and now it just doesnt seem as hard anymore...
i'm enjoying myself... and i'm loving other ppl more and some ppl less...
i guess thats how things go.

2008-01-03T12:23:00.000+08:00

Sometimes i feel like nobody gets me...
when i have problems ppl just blow if off like its just one of the dumb things i do...

its kinda the loneliest feeling in the world..

A New Era

2008-01-01T11:52:00.000+08:00

Well my last convo with G left me satisfied with how 2007 turned out and capping it off with that trip to D.c with joe and karen was awesome.... and eventhough it is the new year all over the world.. theres still an hour left, so its basically time to reflect on one of the best years of my life thus far.. it will always be one to remember cuz its the year i met so many wonderful people and the year i continued to bond with the many awesome people in my life (including those who read this blog).... i love you all and thats not gonna change when 2008 comes around.

Well basically i'm gonna start 2008 as a best friend (to a few ppl i hope),
a college student, a buckeye, a son, a working man (yes i have to work on
new years day..). Its
hopefully going to be another awesome year and 1 to remember. I only hope to live life to the max and figure life out as i go trhough its trials.... and
at the
same time maintain the friendships that are truly truly important to me... and maybe even
land that special someone..

Im not the kind to usually care about some events such as my bday and new years cuz i just
think
its the same day as any other day... but i don't know, somehow this year, i feel a strange feeling
of empowering change... like a new era has dawned apon me... and i''m embracing it.
Its also sad in a way (perhaps cuz i cudn't spend it with my best friends)... but i'm glad i
ended the new year happy.. and thats how i'm gonna start 2008...

good luck readers... i will see you next year! (i love doing that btw...)

-TO

2007-12-31T12:28:00.000+08:00

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."

The (Annual) New Years Wishlist

2007-12-31T04:32:00.000+08:00

Eventhough i'm supposed to be saving money... i realized that i manage to buy nearly everything on my 2006 xmas wishlist.. (wat an achievement...) so i might as well make a list and see wat i can do about it.

1. Adidas Jersey Jacket
Price: Around $30-60....
Why: It just looks so damn hot... and its winter...i need a jacket.. plus it can always serve as a chilling jacket for autmn and spring...(heck it'd look good any season...i love adidas

2. Electric/ Acoustic Guitar
Price: Probably around $200
Why: So i can be jamming with you

3. iPod Speakers
Price: I got mine for $20
Why: Louder tunes, a way to wake up without having to hear that annoying alarm sound of your phone..

4. iPod + Nike Kit
Price: Probably really expensive
Why: I love running, i need new running shoes, it looks sweet..... really really sweet

5. iPod Touch
Price: Currently around $499, hopefully will reduce
Why: A fine way to updrade my Ipod Nano (which is starting to get alittle weathered...) And plus, touchscreen is always sweet plus 16GB of songs.....awesome

6. iPhone and a proper phone plan
Price: I dunno... alot?
Why
: Cuz i need to not spend 15c per textmessage and an iPhone looks really cool....or maybe i'm just into the whole hype... but i DOES look sweet...(and i'm a dope for the touchscreen.. don't get me strted on how much fun it is the press the touchscreen creditcard swiping machine at the store)

Yea, bascailly Apple keeps doing it, more and more ingenious and innovating designs and ideas. They keep taking our money too but thats fine...
So if anyoone wants to be an awesome friend..... buy me one of these please???? =D

2007-12-30T13:26:00.000+08:00

So what can i say about 2007? Pretty much one of my best years i guess... its been a roller coaster ride if i may borrow a phrase from the cliche dictionary. I mean it started off with meeting the kentucky guys, went on to spending quality time with the INTI gang, continued in a whole different continent and with completely different ppl, and now it ends. What can i say, its really been a year of personal growth...

Somehow, i feel like the same person i was at the start of the year though now i seems i understand myself alot more. I'm not going to lie, autumn quarter was spent thinking for myself. I really concentrated on my life issues alot, perhaps nearing a narcissistic level, but nevertheless, i learned a great deal about myself and now i hope i'm back on track (to that selfless, loyal, i-will-give-my-life-for-you kinda guy ...haha... yes i said it)
Sometimes its better to ignore your problems and indulge yourself in those of others and help them out along the way. After all, the problems of others are probably more important than your own.

Life hopefully returns to normal..and when i say that, i mean it'll be different from autumn. It's be a new year, a new leaf, hopefully new friendships and possibly more ;)
(Ah... i have found someone i truly adore...but wat will arise from that.. i don't know)
My new year's resolution??
Lose more weight...become happier....get straight As in everything...become closer friends with the ppl who mean something to you and stay close with those who already ahve a place in my heart.....
well basically the same things as last year rite???
maybe a few addtions like A) Get into the exercise science program B) Get a scholarship C) Get more research positions C) Save money D) Study or Work abroad this summer...... which also happens to be my to do list

Well hopefully i achieve these goals... i kinda did for my 2007 ones... but at least i know that it was a year thats lost for cause...
Happy New year everyone!

2007-12-29T08:29:00.000+08:00

Winter is coming....

i've been thinking that i've been really self-centered in my thoughts lately.. well over the whole of last quarter... and i was never like that (well at least i thought so). I used to be happy with everyone else being happy, but now i'm asking alot for myself.
I dunno, i need to go bak to the way i was... and i thought u about... if i had to be unhappy so that everyone else will be happy.. i'd do it... really it isn't so bad anymore...

2007-12-04T14:04:00.001+08:00

I've never hated finals more...

Washington D.c. here i come!

Thanksgiving

2007-11-22T03:22:00.003+08:00

Away at Geoff's for Thanksgiving! Time to feast!

awesome day...

2007-11-16T14:54:00.001+08:00

Mirror lake is a small lake located in the south oval of the Ohio State campus and every year on the thursday before the huge OSU-Michigan Game... everyone jumps into the lake for good luck.
Screw the freezing cold temperatures (it was around 30F or -1C) and screw getting hypothermia..
thats what we did
It was absolutely crazy and nuts... people walknig all voer screaming OH-IO...shouting "Fuck Michigan" and just plain screaming sometimes. Jumping into the lake was probably the most exhilirating experience of my life... in sub zero temperatures... i went in with Sarah Friend (twice might i add). Ran all the way back to the dorms while i couldn't feel my feet at all.
Showered off with some girls....
then went to canes and saw snow for the first time.....

Awesome day? Of course...

Hi again

2007-11-13T11:19:00.000+08:00

Yeah i know i should have updated long ago but things jsut happen and i didn't manage to do that... sorry but you guys should know things are going well.... its been fun with ups and downs but nevertheless fun.. (some of you know what i mean)

i'll make sure to update every once in a while.

" Stuck in the bordelines,
Keeping my mouth shut cuz they're no one to talk to.
Feels like its only in my head,
till your doubts and fears become dead.

But i feel locked up in a cage,
dodging bullets from every single aim.
Familiar and conforting faces,
disappear quickly behind the mosiac laces.

But i need to know..
And i need to know..
What is going on?
Are we friends or done?"

2007-09-22T15:16:00.001+08:00

i just realized i'm going to be alone forever....

I'm 18!!! I'm 18!!!!!

2007-09-13T12:05:00.000+08:00

I am now legal to have sex, own a credit card and drink alcohol in most countries including canada and mexico. =D

Sweeeeeeeeet....

(oh and i promise bog about coumbus and OSU.... you guys jusy need to pester me more about it but it will come.... though next few days i will be busy... but i shall come!)

IN Los Angeles

2007-09-03T10:40:00.000+08:00

So i survived the gruelling 16 hour flight to Los Angeles. Well actually it wasn't that bad honestly, it actually went by really really fast since i did spend around 6 of those hours sleeping. The rest were filled with many many inflight shows as well as eating and eating and eating. Unfortunately, the hottest flight attendant was the one on my fight from brunei to singapore which only lasted 2 hours.
I would take a pciture of LA airport but i don't think i'm supposed to do that. Well now i have to wait another 5 hours to take yet another 4 hour flight. funn fun...
I'll see you in Cincinnati.

2007-09-02T09:48:00.000+08:00

Ohio State beats Youngstown 38-7 while Michigan suffers a humiliating defeat to Appaachian Stae (who?) 34-32. hahah this is great already.

2007-08-31T21:12:00.000+08:00

I'm getting cold feet. Tomorrow is the day where i fly to Singapore and later to America, the land of promise, the new world, the unkown frontier.

Of all the emotions and feelings i would have expected to experience before flying (excitment, relief, happiness) doesn't seem to be there. Instead, i just feel extremely nervous, extremely nostalgic. I guess its the thought of travelling to such a distance place for such a long period of time that scares me. It scares me to think that i won't know when i will meet the people i love again. It scares me to think that if i was to have an accident then i will never see them again. It scares me that i might not fit in and that it might not be the place i want to be.

Perhaps just early fligght jitters, but hopefully things will look up when i get there.
Till then, i'll see you on the other side of the world. The next time i'm blogging, its from columbus, ohio.

2007-08-25T20:51:00.000+08:00

So the changes that i wrote about here include the following:

- Dinner at a place other than Gadong (shock!)
- Inhalling 4 times as much smoke from previous hangs... furthermore, inhalling 4 different types of smoke including the aromatic fumes of grape hookah, the pungent smells of strawberry ciggarettes and that irritating smoke from plain old ciggarettes...
- Conversations involving more sex

hmm.... i guess we have grown up....

2007-08-22T19:14:00.001+08:00

Just finished writing a post so not bothered to elaborate on this...

In this world, there are people who see the world in absolutes and those that see things as more relative. But do people have these contrasting views because of their religion or is it due to other factors.
I personally would think that it would be because of their religious affiliations. Religions such as christianity and islam often have many concepts of absolutism (is that a word?); God, the ONE creator, Good vs Evil, Man and Women, heaven and hell, all of which are very absolute terms. Even Eastern beliefs include hints of absolutism, i.e. the absolute four noble truths and the
eightfold path.
Althought life may not just be a string of absolutes (questions such as is truth absolute, is morality absolute, is human nature absolute arise), i just seems to be a very interesting thought. I also wonder if relavatism and religion would every work together.
...i need a philosopher...

Again and Again and Again

2007-08-22T18:50:00.000+08:00

Alas I have returned to the humble retreat of Brunei, a land of sparkling architectural feats (though only a few) but yet having nothing much to boast about in the entertainment department. Once
again, boredom happens to be my no.1 problem throughout the progress of every day
but i guess its sort of typical when your living in a place where most of your friends have dispersed across the face of the globe and the most hip and happening night scene happens to be a mocktail 'bar' that also happened to borrow the name of a more famous restaurant (coughchilliscough). I guess its just sort of quality or aura that the country possesses, sort of like a hermit crab that excavates its way into innocent sea shells. Similairly, i can feel time slowly ebb away, tick by tick, bam, its another day.

Interestingly, when time comes in excess, we rediscover activities that we once found entertaining to be an effective antidote for such a problem. Once again, i am reaquinted with many online games as well as tv (oh sweet tv, how i have missed you).
Changing clothes everyday, once merely a daily routine, has now become peculiar; its just very tempting to slip the same pair of shorts back on.
Oh, and need i mention the internet speed... 50kb/s download speed?!?! thats unheard of at INTI (well cept of DC)'.

It would also be interesting to note changes in my friends whom i will be meeting tomorrow. Though now they are sparse in numbers, I'm expecting wiser, more matured people who I can engage with in political and global debates... well maybe thats wishful thinking on my part. ;)

But the main importance here is to note that if two countries within the same region I'm of relatively similair backgrounds and history is so different in so many different aspects (the people, the culture, the food, the government.... yadidayadida), what am I to expect in the states? Ooo humbug....

Ah the capital of Brunei... don't let aerial shot fool you, there
really isn't anything more than wat you see.

2007-08-19T22:59:00.000+08:00

Everyone looks back on their life, their decisions that they made, the actions they did, the relationships they formed. But what everyone really wants to do is to look back on all this and not have any regrets

Looking back at mine, i always thought i made mistakes with my decisions. Sadly to say, i sometimes
thought that life would be better if i stayed in JIS, completed my A levels and probably got into an ivy league. Well, I am terribly mistaken for if i did, i would have continued to stayed miserable and got into a university that i don't really love.

Now i truly see that my deicisons, moving to KL, getting away from everything that i was so familiar with... was inevitable. It did produce some of my finest memories in life and it
did feel like a monumental gain in freedom.

I'm glad to say that as off now, i don't have any regrets.

Oh and cheers to the INTI peeps. Love you guys

Ode to the SSLs

2007-08-14T23:24:00.000+08:00

So my man Eka left for the states today. So our core gorup of INTI-ians have finally started to split and spread across the globe (with me, Gin Jhen and Ric following)
It does start to feel like a new era is arriving. One that will no doubt involve many parties and snowy weather.

This era, short but sweet, will definitely not be forgotten. It does however seem like i was a completely different person compared to before and whats hard is packing and leaving this place which I have grown so acustomed to. The faces you see everyday, the pathways you walk everyday, it just seems weird without them.

Its funny how your entire life can fit inside one big suitcase (My brunei life had fit inside a monitor box) with everything that resembles my life here... the clothes, the gadgets, the souvineirs, the photos and of course, the memories.

I will sorely miss everyone here... and its crazy to think that in 2 weeks, i'll be in a totally different continent where everyone's fairer than me.....

You discover things even when your updating Itunes Albumart

2007-08-09T22:35:00.000+08:00

It's interesting to note that some of my favorite pieces of artwork are not bounded by canvases and displayed on the walls of famous Museums but are artwork that are around 4by4 inch, protected by a plastic case and is inscribed with many words and characters behind it.

Yes, Music album art are always intersting pieces for they not only have to capture the attention of your music shopper, but they have to inspire while tying in the theme of album and its music together into one image. As a result, they tend to be relatively bizzare and obscure... something i really enjoy.

Anyway, here are some of my favorite AlbumArt.

The Shins- Chutes Too Narrow

Snow Patrol - Eyes Open

Muse- Absolutions

Athlete- Tourist

2007-08-04T01:59:00.000+08:00

I miss my parents
I miss tennis and the club!
I miss malaysian food
I miss niali and the inti peeps
I miss late night yam chas!
I miss tbun and izone and trickshot
I miss da ringgit

is what i'm going to say in excatly one month!
DAMN!

Damn the iTunes randomizer!

2007-08-01T23:21:00.001+08:00

Its playing sad song after sad song and i'm getting nostalgic!

2007-08-01T11:53:00.000+08:00

33 days left (but more importantly.. 18 days left to spend with INTI peeps)

These lanes adorned with tulips and orchids left and right,
conjure emotions of joy, doubt and fright
Steel pillars, gradually fading into the horizon,
each etched with past and present memories frozen.
The grinning and attentive faces brush past lightly,
their familiar faces, I only remember slightly.
I cannot tell at which point the path shall end
but with these people, we will go hand in hand
Though at crossroads, we go our seperate ways
They all will meet, together again some day.

Updates

2007-07-30T21:59:00.000+08:00

1) Finished off my intercampus debate with Bernard and Karuna.... through the heated battles and the snark remarks (boy some of them are OBNOXIOUS! addendum: I'm told that the sarawakians were brought up debating in that style... and when i mean that style... i mean the in your face, your-stupid-and-whatever-you-say-is-rubbish style.)
We eneded up being 7th, not a bad achievement as we were the best INTI-UC team. personally, i won the 2nd best overall speaker which was pretty cool and completely unexpected (complemented with the shorts and flip flops)
Trophy picture below!

2) Me and Teoh (the other one) won our doubles match 6-1 (which is probably my last match at INTI). Anyway, this was significant cuz it was the first game i played where i didn't double fault.. (and my serve is usually completely inconsistent but today my first serves kept going in =) )
But kudos to Teoh (the other one) and we did make a great team (we do have chemistry...and we won most of our doubles anyway)

3) Now enough of bragging.... I have no class tomorrow... oh wait... that more bragging.

4)'Xams are next week... so yay!

5) 35 days left till i fy off to OSU!!!

One reign rises while one reign , oh! I shall miss those times dear and dear.

2007-07-26T22:03:00.000+08:00

So thus, my reign as Tennis Club president comes to a close... what excatly have i accomplished with my short term. There was the attempt to contruct a tennis facility in the campus, though it was utterly rejected by wayward arguments made by our dear dear president. (UPDATED: What was revealed tonight was that ONE court is going to be built on
campus and this approval has passed! No guarantees in my opinion but hey its definitely a
start after all those years of pestering)
Next , there was the whole Nilai Springs debacle, a taste of the management style of a malaysian service sector department. Once again, resulting in tension and fustration. However, in the end all was cleared (at the expense of the respect of the counter boy; something i treasure with the same degree as i would treasure a dead dung beatle).
I am happy to say that we managed to finish a semester with cash remaining. Big deal? Well it is for a tennis club in INTI! The first time we've done so in almost two years.
Then there was the first for us the kids camp which, though with an attendance of 2, was still an experience. And it was fun to see those kids to keen on wacking some balls.
So it wasn't a bad semester. Its not like we achieved monumental status and we're definitely not going to be winning awards any soon (which we didnt at installation night). However, its a sports club and we achieved what we wanted to achieve: Meeting people and just having a great time (and kicking some ass of course)

As for me, experiencing the highest position was a thrill and will be sorely missed. Though my term wasn't without power struggle and skepticism, i truly believe i served the club well and i did really haul some ass. People might not see it that way, but frankly, i don't care.

As for the future tennis club of INTI, i wish them good luck and more success.

Wish us luck at MAPCU!

Ugly Betty

2007-07-20T21:41:00.000+08:00

Been enjoying me new favorite show, Ugly Betty, which is very entertaining with its own funny moments. It combines elements of soap opera, drama, comedy, documentry. Its got the wits of Arrested Development (a personal favorite), the character eccentricities of The O.C (another favorite), the plotline of heroes and lost (yet more favorites), and a something of Survivor and Buffy (well i might as well add all my favorite shows).
Would definitely recommend it (though it might be alittle bit of girly.. well just a little)

What a Mouthful!

2007-07-17T15:56:00.000+08:00

We all know that some of the longest words include Supercalifragalisticexpadalacious and antidisestablishmentarianism. But check our this baby which i scooped out of my organic chemistry text book.

Perhydrocyclopentanophenanthrenes
For those who wish to know, this is the name of a steriod ring system.
Now YOU know!

Lyrical Memories

2007-07-16T23:59:00.001+08:00

Have you ever had moments where a certain song starts playing, and instantly, your brought back to certain memories that your mind have long associated with. I know i definitely have.
Here's my list: (oh, and its important to know that the song title and lyrics have nothing to do
with the people and things associated, its just happens that they bring about a certain mood that
reminds me of them)

Gone by Switchfoot - My parents and life in Brunei
Flowers in the Window by Travis- Sleepover at Al's
Driftwood by Travis - First Semester at INTI
Wires by Athlete - Listening with Tiny to her MP3
Funeral by Band of Horses - Brunei National Airport
Of Only She Knew by Michelle Branch - Applying to University of Wisconsin-Madison
Lover I Don't Have to Love by Brand New - Fitness Zone Gyming with April and Dan
Trouble by Coldplay - My Ex-best friend and my emo moments at JIS
Why Georgia by John Mayer - My old house in Brunei (mata-mata) and those lonely nights when my parents went off to sleep and i was just staring at the computer.
Bigger Than My Body by John Mayer - After School at JIS
Clarity by John Mayer - Late night dediction by Sara
City Love by John Mayer - Live Young Camp and my 1st Semester at INTI
Smile Like You Mean It by The Killers - Gallavanting KL with the American guys
Island in the Sun by Weezer - JIS moments
Till I Get Over You by Michelle Branch - That time where i worked for the JIS science department
Running Up That Hill by Placebo - April!
The View By Modest Mouse - Playing neverwinter nights at INTI
Concrete Girl By Switchfoot - Rachel and Ida(who introduced to me this song)

What's Your List?

2007-07-06T00:32:00.000+08:00

Horra! I have my entire music collection back (though i seems like some albums are missing... or maybe its that blasted itunes)

I didn't make it for the Friendly match against Nilai College today, which sort of bummed me out. There, i realised how deep in love i have fallen with sports in general and that it would be ridonkulously fantastic if i ever became a professional athlete. That is sort of a dream i would definitely love to realize should i have the opportunity. Unfortunately, the minute hand ticks and my youth is quickly becoming a memory and i know i don't have much time left. Kinda sucks that we only have one life, but you know, if dreams have to be kept under that dusty mattress so other people are happier; than so be it.

Supposed to be studying for History Midterm, but got completely sidetracked by this...

2007-07-03T23:05:00.000+08:00

CHAI Hua Hap

Posting : 7
To Dr.Sia

Dear Dr.Sia,

I would like to ask that is it possible to arrange some of the officers or guards to guard the basketball court whenever there is this INTI Basketball League involving the african players playing? This is because they always shouted n there was once they throw the water bottle on to the ground whenever the referee was against them. They look so furious with the decision of the referee. It is best if you can request some guards to stand there. And because of this incident i believe that the player and the referee would feel unsafe to play inside because of those incident. The organizing committee can't do anything about it and even if they told the african supporter to calm down but they ignore them. So hereby i would like to ask for your help in order to avoid any unnecassary incident happening. Thank you.

Best regards,
Chai Hua Hap.

Replies
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EZAN MOHAMED NOORMOHAMED

Posting : 17
RE: To Dr.Sia

Oh man !!!... This guy seems to be really anti-AFRICAN.
Mr.Chai, you seem to be quite a scared 'kid', getting scared of a water bottle thrown on the ground... I guess you did rather apologize for your stupid and kinda racist remarks before things get worst !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OOPS I HOPE THAT DIDN'T SCARE YOU.

SHAMSUDEEN HASSAN MUHAMMED

Posting : 5
RE: To Dr.Sia

Chai is not your fault, stop been jealous just bacause a single african team has defeated most of your friends teams..... sorry for that ......... is because Africans are winners i guess so is the rest of other international community at INTI. When they play they r enthusiastic that is why they progress in what ever they do.
By the way have you worn your dippers today?
ARE U SCARED!!
ARE U?

Wow.. i ain't no race hater but this is just yet another example of people using racism as an excuse for everything. They seem to think just because they're of a certain race that whatever negative things people say about them , its going to be because of race.
And talk about egocentrism...(i have an equally nasty thing to say but i'm not going to stoop to that level.... even if i do feel like it... but that would be generalizing, and i don't like doing that)

2007-06-27T00:05:00.000+08:00

Its amazing how life likes to bite you in your pelvic area then sends you to the proverbial 6-star hospital.

In the age of gobalization, communication is merely a touch of a button away. Cellphones, satellites, 3G technology, voicemail, videocalls, webcams. We manage to interconnect the whole world through digital breakthroughs, no matter the distance, no matter the location.

Sadly, this doesn't substitute the euphoria one experiences with actual physical contact. We spill our hearts over artifical machines while in the back of our mind, we wonder what the opposite party truly feels about things. Without the actual witnessing of a person's expression, genuine or misguided, everything just feels artificial.
Relationships become artifical. Then friendship sort of just doesn't feel the same

In addition, digital technology leaves the mind with much to obsess about. If messages can be sent so easily, why doesn't he/she talk to me more often. Why do all online conversations bites the dust, leading aimlessly in no direction. Why can't we truly express ourselves online?

In the age of communication, its ironic that we can still feel so disconnected with one another.

Socialmoth

2007-06-27T00:03:00.000+08:00

This made me feel better... though it was a little hard to make sense of it

I suffer from neverending taunts and critical comments from my friends and family

They think they are helping you and they think are more worthless than they make you feel. When my family do that I've started swallowing my pride and just crying but not saying anything. Then when I've calmed down I explain that it is the way they hurt me when they say 'x' that hurts me and I don't understand what they are trying to do. Its not an easy process and its not quick, but things start to get better. Sometimes on days when you don't just want to cry you could try pointing out that they are more polite to total strangers and that if they were so rude to stramgers then someone probably would have punched them in the face by now. That goes down like a lead balloon. But it helps.
-Anonymous

2007-06-19T21:12:00.000+08:00

We live in an intellectual wasteland. Thats right, Malaysia might be a brewing pot of ethnicities and cultures (though not always in harmony) but theres little doubt that our society has hit the intellectual slump.

Its been years (2 years in fact since i left JIS) since i've had a midly intellectually related topic.

Thank god for philosophy 101 where there were actual exchanges of wit and actual discussions. But besides that, my mind has been in a camatose state, suffering from cranial bleeding fron all the nonsense i hear everyday (sorry guys, buy you know we only talk crap all the time). This has been exemplified by my onsensical posts of recent years comapred to my older posts (which can be read here).

Hopefully more articulate debates when i reach the states.

Malaysia's 'do what i'm told' mentality doesn't carry them very far. We know little of politics, of philosophy, of theology, of concepts.. the list goes on. Instead, we indulge our brains in matters of food, money, games and well, more food. However, that is hardly our fault, for our national education style has brought about such impact. We fail to inspire the mind of articulate thinking, only mindless memorization and repitition of scientific knowledge (something that has little worth since anyone can do the same thing by referencing a book). Ask anyone of them on their perspective on contreversial issues such as gay marriages and civil rights, abortion, stem cell research, government involvement and privacy issues and you'll get a narrow minded reply (something along the lines of " Eww.... fetuses... or Yuck Gays..."). In other cases, you get an endless recital of religious passges in support of their argument (when in fact, using any religious text for many of these cases is a weak argument in iteself since people can always argue about the credibility of the religious text itself, which is a whole different issue; and the fact that people will always intepret religious texts in many different ways).

Though everyone already has their opinions and mindset fixed and are unlikely to change them from such discussion (unless we repeatedly slam a sledgehammer into their vacant skulls......erm..... metaphorically of course....), theres still nothing wrong with a healthy (heated/nonheated) debate.

I do, however, apologize for the generalization as i know there are people who are very intelectually adept in issues of importance.

So someone, challenge me so i can cream your conservative asses!

Addendum: Oh, and discussion of topics such as robot rights, botanical genocide, civil union for crocodiles are also welcome.

2007-06-18T11:43:00.000+08:00

Good News, Bad News

2007-06-18T11:37:00.000+08:00

Bad News: I'm getting OLD!! I'm starting to really enjoy reading news....

Good News: Thankfully, its only sports and university news...

Asian Pride

2007-06-13T00:47:00.000+08:00

Sometimes, It just feels great being Asian.... (though not necessarily related to the reason below)

and also... the hottest people in the world... are the product of this ( <---- )

that's right...I'm talking about EURASIANS/AMERASIANS

2007-06-12T09:40:00.001+08:00

The Whole families in today...
i'm geared up for humiliation, critical comments, inquiring questions and maybe a laptop or two

...its going to be great.

2007-06-11T13:00:00.001+08:00

With 2 years of college going by and two more ahead (at Ohio)
i've grown to hate a substantial amount of things

1. Overdemanding bosses
2. Underqualified, useless (totally useless) lecturers
3. Laundry (where the fuck did all my socks go??)
4. Stuck-up, socially awkward AUP students who think that they're so 'cool' with their 'superior' english when i really know they're all going to crash and burn at the states cuz they have the social capacity of a mental 8year old midget.
5. Sleepig at 5am, waking up at 7am
6. The week before finals where everyone crams
7. Rain
8. All the blocked material and software that the EBB bastards have imposed on us
9. 3.50rm per hour wage
10. Cybercafes
11. Ugly couples
12. The bastard who uses cold water at the hot shower stall.
13. Dinner coupons
14. Charging us money to use the swimming pool!
15. THE LACK OF TENNIS COURTS at INTI

but on a more positive note, visa, application and tickets are all settled. Now all i need to do is get my ass over there.

Updates

2007-05-24T23:39:00.000+08:00

Yes yes i haven't blogged in a while (well at least not consistently enough since lazy posts mentioning peculiar events don't really count).
But heres what's been happening recently:

1) Visa issues is settled!!! The gruelling and anxious process of the infamous US visa application is over. What seemed like an extremely nerve wrecking procedure turned out to be an easy pleasent 2 minute interview. The next step to my journey to the states is complete.

2) Street party 6 was over yesterday! We (Tennis clb that is, me the big kahuna) did the same game stall which turned out to be relatively successful; bringing in profits of multiple figures. Biggest hits was, once again, Ms jeanette and Dr. Sia as well as Ms Dot.

3)Laptop and such and such. Ol' Laptops fried. Gone. Kapuutz. That is if i don't pay 1700rm to fix the motherboard and battery. So there we go, i am getting a new laptop. Exciting times my dear!

4)Exercise is important! 300 just basically puts us all to shame with our rolls of drooping skin and oversized bellies. I need to lean up. =(

5)Exercise brings pain and injuries! I am currently suffering from Shin Splints! According to MayoClinic.com

Whether you're running after a soccer ball, jogging around the neighborhood park or training for a marathon, you're at risk of running-related injuries. One of the most common injuries is shin splints (medial tibial stress syndrome). The term "shin splints" refers to pain along the shinbone (tibia) and is common among runners and other athletes.

Symptoms of Shin Splints are soreness and pain at the lower leg (shin) that often appears during the beginning of exercise. Mild sweallnig also occurs.

Causes can be due to poor running form, unsuitable shoes, constant pounding of the foot during sports such as running, walking, tennis and basketball as well as running uphill or downhill and increasing exercise sessions.

Treatments include icing the injured area, during calf and toe exercises, resting and wearing proper shoes. Warming up and regular exercise will prevent any future occurance of this injury.

6) Giant just opened in Nilai. We now have 2 kfcs and a bata shop.

and yes... this post is very colorful indeed.

2007-05-20T23:16:00.000+08:00

Ohio single mum finds $10 and buys winning lottery ticket

This just goes to show that luck is on everyones side.

Elderly peverts and preachers (non-elderly)

2007-05-06T21:34:00.000+08:00

Incidents, incidents...oh so many incidents..
It seems i attract many elderly peverts with my new haircut (short on the sides, short at the back.....well short everywhere). Everytime i take a piss in public (at urinals of course), there just seems to be an old man, shortish, bald, that will make use of the urinal right beside me. An invasion of privacy will then ensue and he will repeatly glance over my corner. Great.
Old pervy man trying to take a glimse of my crown jewels.... not exactly something everyone wishes for. However, i do have an advice for them (other than to stop being creepy)... try to be a little more subtle. Sticking your balding wrinkled head into my urinal ain't gonna cut it. It's only going to draw angry, vexed stares (which i did.... directed at the face). Don't people know about restroom etiquette????
Also, EEW GO AWAY.

Secondly, preachers. yes i just my share of encounters with preachers (or what i call assasin converters for their lightning speed traps that bring you to your knees within minutes...literally) who lured us in with pleading smiles and enticed us by appealing to our vunerable sense of pity. Yup, we didn't get the '10min helpful pray' we were told about. Instead, it was an HOUR of praying to taoist idols (which was fine), half an hour of talk about soul and reincarnation as well as a donation (which was not mentioned at all and alittle fustrating and contradictory) and further pleads (though mostly futile) to join further seminars.
Well as much as i don't mind entertaining religious hopefuls, i don't appreciate being misinformed about the duration of the procedure and the details of it. I also don't appreciate being told not to lie and decieve when i was clearly being lied into doing more things than i was initially informed. I also don't really appreciate the discrimination against blind, mute and disabled people that was discussed (sorry but thats just not something i believe in.... ) since it is believed that the disabled as that way because of wrongful deeds that were performed in a past life. Also, i don't appreciate being told that things will only last 5 minutes when in reality, it took 20. Cuz if these things happened, then don't talk to me about being honest. I already deal with enough hypocrites.

This post might be harsh, but it gets the message true, don't it? That is of course, if they were reading.....sigh*

Marvel Universe

2007-05-03T23:00:00.000+08:00

Expensive publications have not deterred me from my love of the marvel universe (which has had its fair share of interesting storylines such as Civil War and House of M).
That is why i was delighted to make it to the premiere of Spiderman 3 in Brunei Theatres!!!
(not bad i have to say, but you'll just have to watch it to see.... i'm impartial you see)

Below is a list of Marvel comics which is wish to purchase in the near future. Albeit the high prices, its worth the enjoyment and the fuelling for my fasicanation in non-reality universes (which has also led to an alluring attraction to those Buffy shows and comics). I believe it has something to do with surreal escapism.

Civil War- the political battle between the superheroes/mutants due to the Mutant registration Act that has split the community in two. Features Ironman and Reed Richards on the Pro-registration side vs Captain America and Spiderman on the Anti-registration side.

House of M- the depowerement of 90% of the mutant population, thanks to the scarlet witch

New Avengers-The anti-registration side consisting of Luke Cage, Spiderman, Spiderwoman and others battle the Hand, S.H.I.E.L.D and Iron Man among others.

Times a wasting.....

2007-05-02T21:48:00.000+08:00

As my thoughts start to dwelve on issues ranging from green card applications, work visas,
checking accounts, secularism, APR rates and Imannuel Kant's theory of transcadental idealism...
I can't help but feel that i am getting older (and wiser).