prognatus pro maiestas

Aftermath

2012-01-28T23:32:00.000+11:00

Upon my return from Shanghai, I've actually spent a lot of time catching up on sleep and other things that I've missed when I was there, like international news sites (not that they don't work, they just load uber slowly in China).

This Chinese New Year, was then spent either sleeping, or feasting on food. Other times was spent watching old episodes of my favourite TV shows (thanks, FBI) or reading magazines.

So as you can see, I've been living a very luxurious life. Add me stuffing as much food as I can to take on the freezing cold weather in Shanghai, and suddenly it makes sense when I'm told that I've gained weight (a quick check on the weighing scale confirms this). Now while any other time I would be overjoyed by this news, now it seems I'm not so thrilled because:

1) I would rather the weight be seen on somewhere other than my face (which apparently is rounder now), like my arms, torso or legs.

2) It's a sign that my metabolism (could be) slowing, which means: I'm getting older

3) I hate getting old

But enough about saddening tales of growing old.

This Chinese New Year was a slightly different one from normal. Because. I. DROVE! Not all the way back to my parents' hometowns, but I did drive half of the time, and while I was there I drove quite a bit too. What I take from it: Rural places with two lanes, two-directions roads aren't that easy to navigate. I prefer wide three lanes one direction places. How intimidating it must have been for new drivers.

It's also the first time where I advocated coming home early. Normally, I enjoy staying at my mum's hometown for a longer time, because there would be books to read (as I only had about 15 minutes to pack I neglected the remember to bring books this time, a first for me!), food to eat (surprisingly, so many restaurants in Kedah / Penang were closed!), and extended family members to talk to (who had to work this time). So there really wasn't much to do, other than reading magazines as slow as possible, spending as much time as I can on 9gag, sleeping for as long as I can that wouldn't interrupt my night time sleep, AND sleeping as early as possible.

Now, I am back home, watching Astro, surfing the Net, and watching DVDs! Much better than slacking at home (okay I know there's not much of a difference between the two), which is why I'll end this entry here.

Bidding 2011 Farewell

2012-01-23T01:32:00.000+11:00

Okay, while it may be a little late for a post looking back on 2011, I assure you I wrote this on New Year's Eve! Except that I didn't have access to Blogger in Shanghai.

So here goes:

2011 has been a really good year. But then again, any otheryear would be a good year when compared to 2010. I think when compared to lastyear, I learned less about myself, but more about other different things. Istretched my limits in different areas, so in that sense, I did learn a lotabout myself too. The difference, of course, is that I had a lot more fun.

Huge Apple store in Shanghai

I’ve always maintained that good company is all thatmatters. You can be in the most desolate and depressing location on Earth, butstill have a good time if you’re with people you enjoy being with. I thinkthat’s what happened this year in Melbourne- I had more people around me whom Iwas comfortable with, compared with the opposite the previous year. So yes,while Melbourne itself is definitely more to my liking than Adelaide, thepeople I met made the big difference. I’ve no doubt that I wouldn’t have hadsuch a good time had I not been with these people.

And there were several highlights of the year that I think Ishould mention here.

The home

I’m the type of person who needs to return to a nice andcomfortable home, where I can rest, relax, and recharge. And this year, Idefinitely had that. Lived with a friend instead of an unknown, which is alwaysgreat, and suddenly living independently had become a lot more fun.

The room in 2011

2 The work

Uni this year had kinda taken a back seat since I foundother activities to keep myself occupied with. But to my surprise, that did notmean a big drop in my academic performance; I still performed well, which is areally satisfying feeling when you think about it (which I somehow don’t sinceresults ain’t everything). Instead, I found a student organisation in which todevelop myself in (which I don’t think I’ve mentioned in here before, so heregoes).

The life abroad

After being in Shanghai, I definitely see now that life inMelbourne, and Australia in general, suits me a lot- I don’t go too well with avery fact-paced life, and I don’t go well with a very slow-paced one either.And I definitely identify with the Australian culture more than the Chineseone, even though the latter is where my own culture originally came from (ormaybe it’s because I’m a traitor to my own people, depending on how you see it,but I’ve to say I do not think the Chinese are my ‘people'.

Being in China has made me appreciate Australia and Malaysiaa lot more. But since this is about my life abroad, I’ll just talk aboutAustralia. I enjoy the Western lifestyle. I enjoy the culture, to a certaindegree, although I do know that I will never be a fully integrated into it.

4 The travel

This year has been great for me in terms of travel. Istarted the year by going for a Easter holiday which I thoroughly enjoyed,being able to see the different sides of Australia, and I loved the naturalpart of it.

Then, I also managed to see a little of the Great OceanRoad, which is everything I thought it would be. I’m definitely looking forwardto visiting it again, hopefully in autumn or spring next time, when it’s nottoo cold or hot, and I can sit in an open-top car and enjoy the wind blowingand the sunshine.

I’ve also been to several other locations outside of urbanMelbourne, which was just fantastic.

And the last trip of the year for me- Shanghai! While I waskept busy with work during the weekdays, I did thoroughly enjoy the days when Icould go out exploring- I felt like a tourist, and it felt like I was alreadytravelling on my own on my round-the-world trip that I’ve always dreamt of.

Freezing in a Buddhist temple in Shanghai

Thoughts on 2012

I’ve rather mixed feelings about 2012, mainly because I’llbe stepping into unfamiliar territory once again, and also because many thingsare quite uncertain at this point. I don’t know if my job search in Australiawill turn out to be successful, I don’t know if I want to continue withstudying, and most of all, I don’t know what the future holds.

And perhaps it also has something to do with me graduating.I dread becoming an adult. I dread having to grow up and make my own decisions,even though it can be fun at times.

If I had to make an aspiration or resolution for 2012, itwould be that I would continue with my self-development. I’ve been through somepretty quick growth, and I’m hoping that it will continue in the direction I want.

But above all, I hope that 2012 will be a fun year. I’mhoping that I will be able to keep the relationships I have now. I’m hopingthat my friends and family will be in good health. And of course, I hope that Iwill have lots of good memories to cherish in the future.

So there you go. My thoughts on 2011. Have a great new year,and all the best for 2012!

It's Here

2011-12-08T23:10:00.001+11:00

Tomorrow, I will be heading on a highly exciting trip- I'll be interning at a company in Shanghai!

I'm honestly excited about this trip. While it is something useful that I can put in my resume, part of the reason is of course to get a taste of what travelling alone is like- I think it would be so much fun! I definitely would enjoy myself, even though I've not exactly listed down the places I would want to visit yet- but I suppose that can wait.

So what are my concerns? Language, and weather. Language because my Chinese proficiency isn't where it could've been (and the previous post just made more sense now, didn't it?), and also my worry that it will be too cold for me to handle.

But on the other hand, I get to travel a huge, huge city, and live there for a whole 6 weeks. SIX weeks! That's a really long time, considering how I would not have access to Facebook or Twitter, and, maybe even Blogger, so this could very well be my last post till I return, after the New Year. But fear not, I will be recording my thoughts in some way, and will share them when I can. Of course, that may only happen when I return.

In the meantime, this week I've had a simply wonderful time catching up with friends and spending time with family. I've been keeping myself so busy that I am normally out early in the morning and would still be out at night. I don't think I've actually had so many social functions to attend in Melbourne, which is amazing, I really miss this lifestyle!

I suppose in that sense, it is also great to take a breather from Melbourne. Now don't get me wrong, I do enjoy Melbourne, but sometimes it feels like I'm living two completely different lives- my life in Melbourne and my life back home. The two never coexist, and they never intersect. I always live in either one of the two, and my personality and lifestyle changes accordingly.

But I'm a person who enjoys doing different things. I don't like monotony (though sometimes I like sticking to a routine); I get tired of the same thing very quickly, which is why until today there's only been one video game that has sustained my attention for long.

So this is why I do feel great to be away from Melbourne- it's a refreshing change in my environment and social circles. I need time away from all that, to charge my batteries. It's kinda like how even workaholics need to take a vacation sometime to just regain their focus after breaking their routine.

And so that's why I have not updated this blog- I simply kept myself so busy, enjoying being out, and enjoying being indoors (hey, I haven't watched Astro in ages!) and just enjoy myself watching CNN, Nat Geo, History, E!, and all the other programs that I've missed watching while I'm gone. It's funny how I'm now fine with living in two different places, when once I could never imagine how a person could commute between two different cities for work or some other reason.

But that's all behind me now. I really need to start packing, after all it's a six-week stint! Hopefully I'll get to update soon!

Ethnicity and Nationality

2011-12-03T15:46:00.001+11:00

Through my time here in Australia, as well as when thinking about embarking on my very own solo adventure soon, I am reminded about an issue that is sometimes controversial- ethnicity.

Me, somewhere in Sarawak in 2009

Here's what Niki Cheong wrote in his blog:

EVER since my first visit as a 16-year-old teenager, London has remained at the top of my list of favourite cities I’ve visited (Kuala Lumpur, being home, is of course excluded from the list).

By most significantly, I like London for the fact that I speak a common language as everyone else. Living in such a transient city as this also means that the people who come through here come from various cultures but speak English as a unifying language.

Language is a big factor for me because I feel uncomfortable when I can’t read signs or approach people without sounding silly. I grew up feeling out of place even in a city as Singapore because the locals would come up to me speaking in Mandarin.When I explain – or at least attempt to – that I am unable to communicate in that language, it is usually followed with awkward silence, probing questions or worse, accusations of how I have forgotten my roots.

This has never happened to me in London. In fact, instead of judging me or awkwardly changing the subject, my five classmates from China find this to be fascinating.Looking at me, I am obviously ethnically Chinese. Yet I have so little in common with them – I don’t identify with much of their culture, I don’t speak the same language and I have no connection to the “motherland”.

Motherland to me is Malaysia and being an eighth generation Malaysian, I define myself (if the need arises) by my nationality as opposed to my ethnicity.Recently, during a Facebook conversation with one of my former students in KL, I was asked if I felt ashamed that I couldn’t speak Chinese. I was not offended by the question, but I found it hard to understand why anyone would suggest that in the first place.

That got me thinking about my own language proficiency, specifically my Chinese language proficiency, and the Chinese culture. While I did go to a Chinese primary school, I never completely identified with most of my classmates who were brought up very traditionally, as in they were the very stereotypical Chinese kids who barely spoke English, were good at Maths, wrote their religion as Buddhism when it's Taoism, read Chinese novels and comics, and watch Cantonese dramas.

While I could talk to them about certain Canto dramas that I watched as well, most of my entertainment came from Hollywood.

I was comfortable speaking in English, and if I dare say so myself, I was the juggernaut when it came to English- in the competitive world of Chinese schools and young kids, I was considered a favourite to ace the English exams- every single time. In fact, it was Chinese that I struggled with.

Now, fast forward to 8 years since I've left my Chinese primary school, I barely have anything in common with my former peers. I speak English with my friends, and I speak Chinese as little as possible (in Melbourne that's close to none).

What Niki wrote about how some people accused him of forgetting his roots sounded interesting to me, as it's something that I realised while being here.

Why is it that we are considered to have forgotten our roots because we do not speak a language our ethnic group speaks? I find it really frustrating at times when I read about politics back home and there is this constant talk about the different races- why the Malays will not vote for a certain party, who will Chinese vote for, why the Indian voters voted against the government the last time.

I enjoy how in countries like Australia, the people come from many different ethnic backgrounds but yet consider themselves Australian- they speak the same language, and is entrenched in the same culture. It's just that some kids with immigrant parents would be familiar with one or two other different cultures. I sometimes think wouldn't it be so much easier if we all just started calling ourselves Malaysians and not talk about our ethnicity?

There would be no need for different political parties catered to different ethnic groups. There would be no need for different types of mediums of instruction in schools. We would all just simply be Malaysians.

I myself feel no shame at being not proficient in Chinese. Sure, it's a hindrance sometimes, but I know that I would much rather be a 'banana'- yellow on the outside, white inside. It's just makes me a more interesting person to meet.

In a few days, I will be heading off to China, where I will have to rely on my basic Chinese oratory skills to survive. The fact that I can barely speak Chinese only makes it a much more interesting experience. Think about it- would you remember a story about a friend who got lost in a place where nobody spoke a language they know and they had to search high and low for an interpreter or to use sign language, or a story about a friend who had no troubles whatsoever because they could speak the local language?

I think that ethnicity is not everything- after all, we're all supposedly descended from Africans. Sometimes, we let it get to our head that a person from a certain ethnic group must act in a certain way. hopefully, that'll change soon.

Summer

2011-11-29T13:30:00.001+11:00

So I guess I can say now that the summer holiday's finally here. Today I will be moving my things out of my apartment, leaving only those that I will either throw away or bring home, which isn't a lot. Already my room looks empty and messy, with things everywhere.

In a few days, I will be leaving Melbourne to go back home. Around this time last year, I was doing the same thing- packing up to leave for home, though last time I was in a very different state of mind.

I definitely enjoy Melbourne more. Everything about Melbourne seems more to my liking than Adelaide- the people, the lifestyle, the culture, the infrastructure (oh yes, even if I don't go in skyscrapers seeing them is good enough).

I'll save those reflection-styled entries for the end of the year, since that's what I normally do (but if you don't see them, fret not, for I'll be in a place where Blogger might be blocked!), but just comparing my two years, living in two different cities, I can see how far I've come, and how much more I enjoyed myself this year.

In case you're wondering, I will actually be heading to China for 6 weeks, so it is another winter season for me. I do wish that I would be able to enjoy summer more, but the fact is that I have to sacrifice certain preferences to do what I want.

Melbourne's weather is quickly becoming what I like- sunny and warm. I believe I do not need to tell you how much I hate cold weather and winter, so being in China during its winter season will definitely be an interesting experience, one that I'm very thankful for. But more on that later.

I've received my uni results, and it was pretty much the same as last year, still pretty good, but when you factor in all my other commitments this semester, I'd say they were excellent. Not that I was really hoping for anything, I think with everything I've been doing, I didn't have such a big focus on uni, but rather wanted to have a more well-rounded experience here, and so I stopped directing my attention solely on getting that HD. So long as it gives me the window to pursue an honours degree (I've not made up my mind on that yet, hence I want to keep my options open), I'm happy.

Anyway, now it's time to get back to the packing. Adios!

Why I Admire Writers

2011-11-23T22:57:00.001+11:00

I'm ashamed to admit that even though I have been on holidays I have not gotten around to writing any of the things that I had wanted to write. They're rather intriguing stories, too, would've been nice to see them being put down in proper form rather than just scribbles. But discipline has always been my biggest enemy when it comes to writing.

So perhaps I cannot accurately myself a writer, because I do not write as diligently like some authors out there. They sit down, and write every day. But then again, these are well-known authors who were fortunate enough to be able to make a living by writing. Writing to me will probably always be a part-time (if you can even it that) thing.

I like reading about writers. I find them very interesting. But I would never accept any writing tips, because from what I read, every famous writer has a different set of routine and preferences- some like to write in public places, some do it in the comforts of their home, some like writing as they go along, with just a main idea in mind, some like having every single detail planned out before writing anything. They all have their own way of doing things, and that's the approach I've taken as well- I do what I think suits me. Speaking in the context of the given examples, I'm a write-at-home person, and like having the entire plot committed to a piece of paper somewhere before I start writing anything.

I remember once, when I wrote a fan fiction of a movie, I had written down the entire plot, but of course, lost discipline halfway through. I think it was about two years later that I resumed the story, and it was really great that I still had the plot with me.

Recently, I have been reading some books by Kelley Armstrong- she writes fantasy novels, and what I really like about her series is that the novels can be read in any order, and you won't feel like you're missing out on anything if you skip any of them. I've read some of the later books first before going backwards, and still there were only minor stuff that I already knew. Most, remained unknown to me. Which is really cool, I hope to be able to write like that someday.

Perhaps one day I will find myself in an exotic island with nothing to do but write. Perhaps then I'll produce some actual writing and (I really wish this would happen) get published.

Or maybe I will stumble on a treasure chest (or maybe win a reality show) and use that money to travel and write about it (and get published, of course).

Or, better yet, maybe I will find the discipline that I have with showering at least once a day, with waking up at 730 so that I can go about my morning to prepare for a 930 class (though obviously that's stopped now), with planning my day as detailed as I can... and I will somehow produce lots and lots of stories! (Though it doesn't mean that I'll show you any of them)

Unwritten

2011-11-19T23:11:00.001+11:00

Here are a few trailers I amassed in the last few weeks. They're rather interesting movies, I assure you.

In the past week, I've visited this far out place in Victoria (about 5 hours by train then another 15 minutes by bus), where I did nothing but relax and watch movies. It's a nice place, small town by the lake, reminds me of the setting of many movies and TV shows (somehow, small towns have this appeal for keeping secrets, which is perhaps what most movies and TV shows are about).

The trip actually made me a little nostalgic, as it reminded me a lot about the friends back home. But perhaps in a complete about-turn, the nostalgia was more of a fond memory rather than a bittersweet one, as in the past I thought about these things with a tinge of sadness that I've had to leave those people behind. But now, while I miss their companionship, it appears that I have started seeing me being here very differently.

I wonder why- either I've grown up enough emotionally that I can feel more detached from things I hold dear, or I've just discovered my hidden psychopathy.

Which Way?

2011-11-14T22:40:00.000+11:00

I'm in a dilemma.

I've been blogging for a while now, and I've seen my writing style change and improve throughout the years. It's been a very sweet journey, but as I've mentioned, I have a decision to make.

I do remember when I first decided to start this blog- I had started reading some books written by local authors on the idiosyncrasies and quirks that exists in our country, and I had thought that I have quite a few opinions of my own, so that was my original reason for opening a blog- that I had a lot of things to talk about.

But it's not easy to keep it up for such a long time, and so somewhere down the line I had begun to make it more of a journal as well. Then I slowly added more things, like trailers and reviews.

Then there's the audience. I do recall at a certain point in time when I did have a more diverse readership made of people other than my friends and family, but now, all I entertain are the very few friends who still blog.

And of course, there's the change in myself that's been happening over the years- my attitude towards this blog and what I want to write about.

And therein lies my dilemma- it appears that this blog is at crossroads.

For the past year or so I've tried not to write about my personal life, and that's why in recent times there's not been a lot of updates on what I've been up to lately, and certainly less about the people I interact with in my life.

I've tried to focus on writing about other things, focusing on the issues that are often highlighted in the media and give my own take on it, which is essentially going back to what my original purpose for starting this blog was.

I do not wish to continue writing this as a journal, but on the other hand people who visit this blog read it to know what's going on with my life, so yes, I am in a dilemma, a dilemma of what direction this blog should take in terms of its content.

Fear not, I'll still be updating as usual, so whatever change that happens will happen slowly that you probably wouldn't notice.

What do you think?

Movie Review: Anonymous

2011-11-08T16:11:00.001+11:00

Taking advantage of the holidays and cheap tickets (on Mondays), I went to catch movie, Anonymous.

It's about the theory that Shakespeare did not, in fact, write anything that he is famous for- that it was actually written by Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford.

Being that the movie was set in Shakespearean times, it was also the Elizabethan era, so it was rather interesting to have a portrayal of the society then outside of the royal circle, even though most of the movie did keep it within the aristocrats.

At the beginning, I definitely felt a little out of the loop even though I had read rather extensively about the Tudor era England, as the countless nobility fed to me was a little of an overload. Plus, the movie used flashbacks to put some of the dialogues and actions into context, which meant that for some characters, there would be 2, and perhaps even 3, actors playing them at different ages. And given that the peerage system is confusing for many people, I was left stumped as the many Earls referred to each other by their titles. It was really a case of 'who's playing which character'?

Young-ish Queen Elizabeth and her court.

But soon after I familiarised myself and suddenly everything made much more sense. I understood the characters better, I understood their motives and why they do what they did. And the movie became much, much more enjoyable after.

Another aspect that made the movie harder to understand was that it did not have a specific time for the events. It started at a certain period, then there was a flashback to 20 years ago, before coming back to the present, then another flashback to 40 years ago. The problem here is that no year was ever stated, and for me that made the story a little less convincing. Timeline is something I myself value very much in a good story.

When writing a story of my own, I would always plot out the timeline of important events so that everything would fit in place and I wouldn't contradict myself, e.g. saying something happened in January and then saying it happened in February later. Attention to detail is something that I enjoy in a good story, and I think that for historical fiction this aspect is even more important, so the fact that the movie did not state any year made it less believable; the few anchors I have is that I know who Queen Elizabeth and William Shakespeare are, and that they lived (if I'm not mistaken) in the 15th century, during the Renaissance period.

Not that it made it a lot easier- the actress who played the younger Queen had to play it in two different periods, which I would assume is sometime in her early 20s, and again sometime in her early to mid 30s. Another anchor was William Cecil, her advisor, who was played by the same man at all ages. So by judging how old he is, I knew whether or not it was a flashback. And good thing I recognised him too, he plays Professor Lupin in the Harry Potter movies.

Again, Queen Elizabeth- at different stages of her life. I've no idea how old they were, though.

One thing I did like about the movie is that it had much more scenes where it concerned just the 'normal' people- those who have to work and earn their wages, who are not fortunate enough to have titles to their names upon their birth. I'm not too sure about how accurate a portrayal of society at the time was, but it was nonetheless enlightening. For example, bets on animal fighting was widespread (grizzly bear versus several fierce dogs), and drinking was as common as it is now, though only those of the lower classes appear to get drunk. And not to mention, hygiene at the time was appalling- the ground was constantly muddy from the rain and footsteps of people, and the people appeared to have no regard for cleaning up after themselves- they always appeared rugged and just gives you this sense that they have never taken a bath (okay it was a luxury then).

Timeline aside, the story itself was convincing enough; when I came home after watching the movie I had immediately Googled the characters and events, and most of it was fiction. For example, Edward de Vere was not adopted (there was a twist, though expected one, at the end about his adoption) as a baby. And the Queen did not have any illegitimate children (related to the adoption, if you can put two and two together), at least I couldn't find any rumour or conspiracy theory about it.

So I guess in that sense, the writer of the script did a rather good job of adding aspects of fiction into a historical period in time, and of course, the main topic of did Shakespeare write his plays, sonnets and poems? This movie explores how it is possible that Shakespeare did not- apparently, none of it was written in his handwriting. From my online research, I can confirm that Edward de Vere is indeed, a possible author of Shakespear's works, if he did not indeed write them himself.

Edward de Vere in the movie

There were of course elements of surprise in the movie, most of it revealed in the last few minutes by Robert Cecil, son of William Cecil, and who inherited his father's position and aptitude (cunning and ambitious, but yet loyal to their queen- very interesting characters).

All in all, Anonymous is a movie that was at least worth the money I paid for, and is perhaps worth spending more time to watch a second time (without taking into account the money cost involved), although it definitely is not movie of the year material.

Here's a trailer if you're interested:

A Quick One

2011-11-05T22:04:00.001+11:00

So the holidays have been treating me well. I've been getting a lot of rest, a lot of time at home. Not saying that I have entirely nothing to do, as I do try to keep myself occupied, though I try to be as un-occupied as possible. I think sometimes it even makes me anti-social.

But I suppose that's how most writers are, isn't it (wow, I'm actually considering myself a writer)? They are cooped up at home, or in some coffeeshop, while they write, and write, and write. Now I've not actually been paid for any writing that I've done, but I still like to think myself as a writer. Hey, I do have a byline to my name and a story or two! I did come up with a story idea, but have yet to begin writing it. Perhaps now would be the best time to begin.

I've also been reading. Not a lot, since I rarely have time to read these days, but I've picked up a book from the Melbourne City Library, titled 'Do Travel Writers Go To Hell?', about this guy who quit his Wall Street job and took on a casual job as a Lonely Planet guidebook author.

His book is a memoir of his experiences there, when he had shared an apartment with a prostitute, when he justified attending parties as research on nightlife even though he was completely worn out, and most shockingly, how he sold drugs in order to sustain himself when he ran out of money.

These experiences made me think of my own travelling dream. I thought about whether or not I would be able to live as precariously as he did, or whether I would be able to tolerate living in a hostel whose walls are paper thin (literally) and apartments whose landlords secretly inspect your belongings. I wonder if I would be able to put up with these hardships, if I were to ever be able to travel the world.

I guess that's the perfect reason why I should go travelling while I'm young, because that's when you can put up with a whole lot of crap and still have a good time.

Grand Canyon, USA. Taken from Nomadic Matt.

Places like these, are the reason why I would want to travel. That, and because I want to 'see the world'.

Let's hope that one day, it will become a reality, eh?

Close Encounters of the... Other Kind

2011-11-01T12:25:00.000+11:00

Just last week after I completed my university assignment, I had attempted to relax by heading to the library's DVD collections area, and lo and behold, I found one of my favourite series, Survivor. And it was the first season no less, which aired in 2000 or 2001, so it was a good ten years ago, a lot earlier before I enjoyed the show.

So I quickly began devouring each episode one after another. Fun fact: the first ever Survivor was held at Pulau Tiga, somewhere in Sabah. One of the challenges was particularly interesting- the host had started by telling the contestants facts about the local culture, and then proceeded to hand them video cameras which they have to film themselves heading into the jungle and search for masks. Behind these masks are questions, and they have to film their answer. Once they've collected all the masks and return, the host will check if their answers are right.

Now I wasn't so much interested in who won the challenge, but I was more interested in what the host had told them. It was, eerily creepy. So as you know, we Malaysians have a lot of superstitions regarding supernatural beings in the jungle. But before I tell you what the host told them, I should provide a little context. So in Survivor, you start off with two teams, or tribes. After a certain point in the game the tribes merge and it becomes an individual game. Hence, only one person wins the entire game. Every time they will go to Tribal Council where they vote off a person. The person voted off will have their torch extinguished by the host, to symbolise the end of their life in the game.

According to this, I'm a nerd who prefers to be a hipster, but can't due to some technicalities.

So what happened was, after the merge, during Tribal Council everytime before the votes were announced, the person who was going home had their torch's flame go out without notice, while the others remained fine. Producers then had to relight it without the contestants (and the cameras) noticing so that the torch could be extinguished ceremoniously.

Another thing is that snakes supposedly bring good luck, and disrespecting it will bring bad luck. Apparently, once a contestant had chased a pit viper out of their camp, and he was voted off at the next Tribal Council.

Finally, the host said that head hunters used to blow this shell that will induce the gods to bring about rain. He said that he has blown it every single time before Tribal Council, and lo and behold, it's rained at every Tribal Council.

Here's the video of the challenge where he said that:

In that Tribal Council, the person voted off had his torch already extinguished, perhaps to prove the point. Now of course there will be sceptics who think that it's all just for TV, but it's creepy nonetheless!

I'm sure we've all heard similar stories; I would say all Malaysians would have gone through their life with at least hearing ONE supernatural tale. I myself had heard countless ones, some even creep me out to this day and gave me sleepless nights when I first heard them. Heck, I've even had a (sort of) supernatural experience once.

So for this Halloween, I pose this question- do you believe in the supernatural? Do you believe in ghosts, spirits, and other supernatural beings? Have you had an experience of the supernatural sort?

Growing up, I had always been afraid of the supernatural. I remember how some family members would watch shows like The X-Files and it got to me so badly that I wouldn't be able to sleep. I mean, how else are you supposed to react? I don't understand how people can be so unaffected, especially when these beings supposedly can mess up your life.

Of course, later on I got less and less scared about it. I think that till now, I still get spooked about these things but I handle it much better now, and I think having to live alone for a year definitely helped out a lot.

I'm going to tell you an embarrassing confession now- when I first moved to Adelaide, into my apartment, living all alone, with the surrounding area so alien and pitch black, I was so scared that for the first week or so I had to sleep with the lights on. By the end of the year, I couldn't be bothered by most noises (and there were a lot of weird noises in the apartment, I assure you). This year, moving in with someone I know well, made it even easier. Or perhaps I'm just less affected by this now? I hope so.

Anyway, I'll end this with a couple of spooky things that I read yesterday in a book that I found in the public library:

1. Legend of the Bell Witch

This is about a ghost who haunted this house and family in the 1800s:

Some members of the family began seeing strange looking animals around the property. Then late at night they started hearing knocking sounds on the doors and outer walls of the house. Later sounds were being heard in the house. Sounds of a rat gnawing on the bed post, chains being drug through the house, stones being dropped on the wooden floors, then gulping and choking sounds.

It was not long before people were coming from miles around to hear and witness this unseen force that was terrorizing the Bell home. Before long this unseen force had gained enough strength that it now had a voice. When asked who and what it was, it gave different identities. It once stated that it was the witch of a neighbor woman named Kate Batts. This is what many people believed, and from then on, this unseen force was called "Kate" the "Bell's Witch".

It seemed that Kate had two main reasons for visiting the Bell home. The main one was to kill John Bell. For what reason no one knows because Kate never gave a reason why. The second reason was to stop John's youngest daughter Betsy from marrying a certain neighbor boy named Joshua Gardner.

Over the next three years "Kate" tormented members of the Bell family almost daily. John and his daughter Betsy was the ones who received the worst of the physical abuse. Betsy had her hair pulled, she was pinched, scratched stuck with pins and even beaten. While John Bell began suffering from spells of swelling of the throat and often had the feeling of a stick being stuck sideways in his throat. Then came the twitching and jerking of the facial muscles. Kate would blast him with curses and hideous threats during these spells. As time went on John Bell became weaker and weaker.

(the story ends with him dying)

2. Borley Rectory

One of the alleged sightings

Borley Rectory was reputed to be the most haunted house in the UK. The rectory was built by the Rev. Henry D. E. Bull in 1863 near the river Stour, Essex, to house himself, his wife and their 14 children. However the rectory burnt down in a fire started in mysterious circumstances in 1939.

It's thought that the rectory was destined to be a haunted house from the start due to the events that had occurred on the site many centuries before.The foundation was an age old Priory on land that contained a 12th century Church, Caretaker's House and other buildings. A.C. Henning, the rector in 1936, discovered that the Doomsday Book told of a Borley Manor prior to 1066, so he concluded a wooden church was probably also built around that time. The foundations contained underground tunnels and a complex of vault rooms. The Rectory had 20 rooms, was about 3 stories high.

The most popular story to the background of Borley was that in 1362 Benedictine Monks built a monastery on the site which would later hold the rectory. Legend told of a nun from the Bures convent, 7 miles southeast of Borley falling in love with a monk from the monastery. They had decided to elope to be together, but the elders discovered their plans. A friend of the monk was to drive a carriage to help them escape. On the fateful night they were captured by the elders. The coachman was beheaded, the monk hanged and the nun was bricked up alive in the walls of the vaults beneath the rectory. Their ghosts have haunted the site ever since.

3. Epworth Rectory haunting

(From Wikipedia)

The Epworth Rectory haunting is one of the best-known English poltergeist events, and has been described as "the second-best-authenticated ghost story in history". Epworth Rectory, in Epworth, Lincolnshire, was home to the Reverend Samuel Wesley and his wife and their 19 children, one of whom, John Wesley, grew up to become a founder of the Methodist Church.

From December 1761 until January 1762 it was plagued by a series of regularly occurring mysterious loud noises and knockings, apparently caused by a ghost the eldest Wesley daughter nicknamed Old Jeffrey, who made his presence known to all on Christmas Day 1761. In Mrs Wesley's words, "there was such a noise in the room over our heads, as if several people were walking, then running up and down stairs that we thought the children would be frightened".

As she and her husband searched the house in vain for the culprit, Old Jeffrey continued "rattling and thundering in every room, and even blowing an invisible horn at deafening decibels".Old Jeffrey disappeared in January 1762 just as suddenly as he had appeared.

4. Robert the Doll

Robert, otherwise known as Robert the Doll, Robert the Haunted Doll, or Robert the Devil Doll; is a doll that was once owned by Key West painter and author Robert Eugene Otto. The doll is alleged to be possesed by evil spirits and has a terrifying reputation.The doll, which is allegedly cursed, has become a fixture of ghost tours in the Key West area since it was inducted into the Fort East Martello Museum.

Aesthetically, Robert resembles an early 20th century American Naval officer. Contrary to popular belief, however, the doll's hair is not made of human hair, but rather, it consists of a synthetic material resembling wool yarn.Eugene was given the doll in 1904 by an African servant who, according to legend, was skilled in black magic and voodoo and was displeased with the family. Soon afterward it became clear that there was something eerie about the doll.

Eugene's parents said they often heard him talking to the doll and that the doll appeared to be talking back. Although at first they assumed that Eugene was simply answering himself in a changed voice, they later believed that the doll was actually speaking.Neighbors claimed to see the doll moving from window to window when the family was out. The Otto family swore that sometimes the doll would emit a terrifying giggle and that they caught glimpses of it running from room to room. In the night Eugene would scream, and when his parents ran to the room they would find furniture knocked over and Eugene in bed, looking incredibly scared, telling them that "Robert did it!".

In addition, guests swore the saw Robert's expression change before their eyes.When Eugene died in 1974, the doll was left in the attic until the house was bought again. The new family included a ten year old girl, who became Robert's new owner. It was not long before the girl began screaming out in the night, claiming that Robert moved about the room and even attempted to attack her on multiple occasions. More than thirty years later, she still tells interviewers that the doll was alive and wanted to kill her.

And just for laughs, here's a video of someone's visit to a haunted house attraction (which means it's not really haunted, by the way) that will make you laugh. I could not control myself laughing when I saw it on TV.

That's all for now, have a great week ahead!

Blast from the Past 2

2011-10-27T16:25:00.001+11:00

So as I once again have no idea what to post, I've decided to talk about one of my past entries.

I've chosen a rather meaningful one, which I posted in January of last year. Those of you who know me then, would know that it was a turning point in my life- I was getting ready to leave home and come over to Australia.

It feels weird, going to a different place all alone for such a long time, where I'll be forced to adapt and be on my own. No parental help. Everyone keep asking me whether I'm excited.

Honestly, if it were a holiday then obviously I would be excited, but this is different. How can I possibly be excited when I'm leaving my homeland for such a long time? I get it, some people are excited at leaving home and seeing new things and making new friends, but I've always been a home person. I know I can adapt, but that doesn't mean it'll make me feel better.

It really means that I'm leaving everything I have here. How can I be excited over that? But then again, I'm not dreading it either. I know the day will come, I know I have to go, and a part of me want to go. I know it's the only way I can see the world, experience a different culture, and grow up.

I do remember the mindset I was in then. I definitely dreaded it as the day came closer, and it felt horrible. I remember exactly what I felt as I walked towards the escalator that would bring me to passport control, where I had to say goodbye to family & friends. It wasn't a nice feeling.

Adapting wasn't easy, either. I have to say, now approximately 20 months after leaving home, I definitely adapting better; I actually feel that I can live here now, that I can actually enjoy myself, I feel that I actually have things to do that doesn't make me feel as if I'm missing out on a lot of things back home.

So to make things easy, definitely, I'm adjusting well. So well, in fact, that I think that if I were to return home I'd probably face reverse culture shock, or at least just a tiny part. As you may or may not know, I shut my feelings and thoughts of home out when I'm here very easily because I live such a drastically different life, and therefore it's easy to just not think of home, especially when I'm kept busy.

For those who've experienced this before, you'll know that this is a very real dilemma!

I've come a long way since, in many different ways. My task here being uni, I've already completed my second year, with just one more to go! But I'm pretty sure my parents also wanted me to go abroad to gain some life experience, and this is the area in which I think I've changed and grown the most. Having to live independently is something that's just so much different and tougher than I'd thought it would be, and I've learned so many lessons and in a way, grew up a lot- and that's also perhaps why I would not adjust immediately back home.

When I went back home during the holidays last year, I definitely felt a slight disconnection with my peers- many things appear menial and mundane, and I felt myself having gone through so much more that it feels weird settling into that mindset where all I needed to worry about was where am I going to meet friends, and what am I going to eat while I'm with them.

But of course, I do still feel like a child sometimes, as everytime I learn something new it only goes to show that I didn't know it before, which makes me feel... ignorant, but at the end of the day I learn a new lesson anyway.

It's definitely fun to look back at where I was mentally back before I came here. It feels good to see how much further I've walked.

That's all. Have a great weekend ahead!

What Happens Next

2011-10-21T14:11:00.002+11:00

Speaking of which, I'm really excited for Pottermore's launch since I failed to get the early registration back in July!

'When I Was That Age...'

2011-10-17T22:10:00.002+11:00

Just a few days ago, I was scrolling through Tweets when I stumbled upon this friend / acquaintance who Tweeted that it is unbelievable that their cousin, who is only about 10 or 11 years of age, already have a cell phone.

Have you ever observed (or perhaps you do this yourself) that, now that we are entering the adult world (in other words, we've had more life experience), and there are more and more people who are younger than us (gosh, I do miss the times when I could lay claim to being the youngest), and one of the things often talked about is how lucky those kids are to have the toys they have?

Now think again. How many times have you got annoyed when one of your parents, or both of them, said how lucky you were for having all the toys that you have, when they only played with pebbles, wood and whatever they could find in nature?

For a generation that complains constantly about how our parents never move with the times and are stuck in the past, we seem to be following in their footsteps.

So yes, kids nowadays are so much more fortunate because they are provided with gadget overload- they probably have an iPad in which to read and draw, a PS3, XBox or Wii to play games, a cell phone (if they're over 8 years old) to contact their parents, access to the computer and Facebook, yadah yadah yadah.

They're also subjected to overbearing parents who seem to think that milk powder, and not parental guidance, makes children smarter, and who can't imagine their kids doing any manual labour or playing outdoors.

Anyway, the point is that we need to move on- times have changed, back when my parents were kids, fun meant running around in the wilderness, using anything and everything they can find as entertainment. Back when I was a kid, the standard was toy cars, model trains, puzzles and colour pencils.

We have to face it, today kids use iPads and other electronic gadgets instead. It's not that they are fortunate, or that they are spoilt, it's just that that is the norm today! We cannot judge the children of today based on our standards, just like how we can't judge the people of the times when lynching and racism was tolerated and encouraged.

Sometimes, I do think that it's just a lot of jealousy coming in. I mean, after all, our technology-loving generation hasn't grown up bombarded with gadgets the way kids today have, and I sometimes think if it is just envy that these children will get to enjoy these technologies for a longer time, just like I'm sure there will be some 30-something person resenting us for being able to use the smartphone in our teens and early adulthood.

I mean, come on, when I think about what I could've done had I had an iPad when I was young (okay not that much), I immediately think of what sort of person I could've been- reading would've been more attractive earlier because I could also vandalise the pages easily and erase them, and watch as the pictures move. Writing and drawing probably would've become more of a priority, too.

And I'm sure many others live vicariously through these children. We think of the what-ifs, and that results in us complaining about how lucky these kids are. But we have gotten so egocentric that we do not realise how lucky we have been growing up as well.

It's October?!?!

2011-10-12T22:44:00.000+11:00

I'm not sure if this actually received coverage back home, but about a week ago I read an article in an Australian newspaper about Chin Peng's final application to return home.

A FORMER communist guerrilla fighter in Malaysia who has been living in exile in Thailand is critically ill and should be allowed to return home, his lawyer says.

Born Ong Boon Hua in Malaysia's north, Chin Peng was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire and won two medals for helping the British fight the Japanese in Malaya during World War II.

He later led the communist party, backed by China, in a campaign against the British colonial and Malaysian governments before and after Malaysian independence in 1957.

Mr Khaira has insisted Chin Peng has the right to return under a 1989 peace agreement between the CPM and Malaysian government, which allowed several high-ranking communist leaders to do so.But the government has rejected all appeals, fearing Chin Peng's return may open old wounds and anger those whose family members were killed during the Emergency.

Last month, a Malaysian court charged an opposition politician for criminal defamation over an alleged pro-communist remark, suggesting tensions still run high.Opposition leaders and activists slammed the charge as undermining a pledge by Mr Najib to grant greater freedom of expression.

I suppose it IS a rather sensitive topic for us Malaysians.

I know that on one hand, you have those who have lived through that period in time, or at least close enough, that they feel uncomfortable having Chin Peng back home. I doubt that it's about the worry that he will cause trouble, as even if he isn't terminal he's in no position to plot anything sinister.

Then there are those who think that he is not harming anyone, and since he is a Malaysian citizen, should be allowed to return home.

Personally, I do not see why he shouldn't be allowed to return. While it's true that he did cause many deaths, it's not like he actively carried out genocide like Hitler or Pol Pot (and even Hitler is admired for his public speaking and leadership skills). He had a clear difference in political belief with other Malaysians, and sought to get his ideology accepted. That's just like many multi-party democracies today, except of course they don't go into physical warfare.

Having said that, I do understand where others come from. They are the ones who have suffered, who bear the wounds, who live with or have seen the consequences of the power struggle with the communists, and therefore they find it hard to forgive him.

I guess these are the sort of issues that we grapple with from time to time. It's a test of your morals, ethics, values and beliefs. And more often than not, these issues make you question yourself, and what you believe in. I love these issues, because they really make you take a hard look at yourself, and think deeply, and ask- 'what is it that I believe in? What do I stand for?'

Sometimes, you come out of these situations even more confused about your identity than before. You suddenly find that you're a completely different person from who you thought you were, and it's absolutely possible. I can't remember an exact example where I've experienced this, but I'm pretty sure that I have.

So, dear readers, what are your thoughts- would you want Chin Peng back in our country?

P.S. Google has rolled out the new Blogger layouts. Should I change it?

The Middle

2011-10-09T10:48:00.003+11:00

Today since I can't think of anything to write about, I'll be doing a repeat of a post I've done before.

Remember one of those posts where you do something and tag someone? I did one of those on my blog sometime ago, and for the fun of it I'll do it again. In honour of Steve Jobs, it's iPod-related. For me, at least.

The Rules for the Tag are:

1. Put your Music Player on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.
4. Tag your friends

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?

There’s A Place For Us- Carrie Underwood

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GIRL/BOY?
Prime- Steve Jablonsky

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
I Want To Hold Your Hold- Chris Colfer

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE’S PURPOSE?
Waking Up- Olin & The Moon

WHAT’S YOUR MOTTO?
Reptilia- The Strokes

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Kiss From A Rose- Seal

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Fugitive- Mark Salling

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Turn Our Eyes Away- Trent Dabbs / Ruby Amanfu

WHAT IS 2 + 2?
Waiting For The End- Linkin Park

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Colour My World- Westlife

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
The Call- Regina Spektor

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Reverse of Shade- The Windupdeads

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Secrets- One Republic

WHAT WILL/DID YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Hold It Against Me - Sam Tsui

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Time Well Spent- Tom Felton

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Iridescent- Linkin Park

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
Get It Right- Lea Michele

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Strangers- The Dirty Secret

WHAT DO YOU WANT RIGHT NOW?
Heartbreak Warfare- John Mayer

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Personal- Stars

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
The Middle- Jimmy Eat World

Oh and I found out about Steve Jobs's passing via a group mate who blurted it out so randomly early in the morning that I had to clarify to make sure I heard correctly, then go online to check if it's true. What's your Steve Jobs story?

Optimism

2011-09-30T10:45:00.000+10:00

"You can't change your situation. The only thing that you can change is how you choose to deal with that"

How True!

2011-09-27T00:25:00.000+10:00

A few days back I was doing my usual browsing through travel blogs, and came across this very true epiphany that I wouldn't have come to on my own.

Among long-term travelers, there seems to be a certain degree of competition, a one-upsmanship if you will, over who can visit a place while spending the least amount of money. It’s a badge of honor to say, “Well, I did France for X dollars cheaper than you,” as though the cheaper you go, the more authentic your experience might be.

I have seen this attitude expressed on my own site when I share my cost of traveling posts. There are always a few people who say things like, “Well, I think you overspent, because I did it for half the price.”

I’ve never understood this cheapness competition. To me, being a backpacker or budget traveler has nothing to do with how much money you spend. Rather, it has everything to do with how you spend it.

One of my biggest pet peeves is this obsession with cheapness that I see among a lot of travelers. I’ve never understood why a person would live like a pauper while saving money for a trip, only to then go on that trip and still live like a pauper. If you only have a small amount of money to spend, better to take a shorter trip doing all the activities you want than constantly saying, “I would love to do that but I can’t afford it” on your longer trip.

When I read it, all that went through my mind was 'how true! Even I think like that sometimes!'

Which reminds me of one of MY pet peeves- the assumptions people make about your social economic background.

Ever since moving to Australia, I have been very aware of the many assumptions that people make of me. It seems that wherever I go, how I act is seen as signs of which economic class I supposedly belong to.

Do you get that? That a habit of yours is taken to be a sign that you're well off?

Just because I had never had a part-time job, does not mean that I'm so rich that I don't need to work. You wouldn't know how much money I use. Maybe I didn't get a part-time job because I don't spend as much as the normal person and hence could live with the average allowance given to me.

Just because my parents are paying for my overseas education does not mean that they're rich. You wouldn't know how much they save, looking from the outside.

Just because I have a Macbook, does not make me rich. Just because I pay a huge amount of rent, does not make me rich.

Many times, I've had people tell me that I'm rich. I mean seriously, they TELL me that I'm rich. When I deny it, they insist that I am, as if they know me better than I know myself. Maybe in some abstract manner, yes, but definitely not in something like wealth. My reaction would normally be to shrug it off and move on to another topic, because it is simply not worth wasting any more effort trying to convince them otherwise. But of course, I'm sure these people see nothing but the naive and innocent little boy (okay not little anymore) who is just reluctant to show off his wealth.

In all honesty, it annoys me to no end and so I'd rather forget about it by changing topics in order to not rile myself up. I tell myself to not waste any more time trying to bring these people to their senses.

I think that everyone saves money in different ways. Some people would splurge on keeping up an appearance of wealth but in actuality are barely scraping through. Some people aren't particular about their dishwasher brand and type, or would choose to buy home brand products before others, but would drive to the nearby grocery store because of the hot weather. So I do not think too much of what a person's choice of clothing, or choice of food, or choice of anything, says of them. And it absolutely annoys me when someone else assumes something about me.

Personality is another thing. Like I said before, it seems that my apparently naive-looking exterior hints at a young soul who hasn't faced the harsh realities of life.

I get told sometimes, about how I'm so young and inexperienced and don't know a lot of things. But I'm also told that I'm shy and generally don't like boasting or talking about my experiences. But it's funny how those two never collide and make people think that I'm young and shy but do know a lot of things but just don't talk about them.

So next time you meet someone, don't think you have them figured out. They may surprise you.

Spring?

2011-09-23T17:51:00.002+10:00

It appears that spring hasn't really fully set in yet as we do still experience chilly days once every few days, which is a little annoying since I'm looking forward to experiencing warm weather, like the 29 degree day a few days back where I could survive by just wearing a T-shirt. But that's also because I've never been a fan of cold weather, and the prospect of having to spend a winter in Shanghai when I could spend a summer back home or here (What?? I'm going Shanghai?!?!).

But on the bright side, I get to acclimatise to winter and hopefully get used to it (if I'm successful in getting a job here after graduation it will come in handy!).

So anyway, today I'll be writing about something I read in my university's magazine. It was what someone wrote about how Enid Blyton's books had gave her a childhood, and how it is so stupid of adults to think that some names and terms would teach children the wrong things, because as kids we don't care about those things, it's the story that matters!

One of her examples was The Magic Faraway Tree series, and she made a list of what were deemed inappropriate by today's standards, but then said:

Publishers and adults advocating for changes in Blyton's novels are forgetting what it was like to me as a child. She captured the imagination of young minds. Enid Blyton gave me a pretty great world to escape into and I think all kids at one time or another, no matter what decade they grow up in, needs that.

Having read The Magic Faraway Tree series myself, I have to say I completely agree with her. It didn't matter how inappropriate the details were, I simply loved the stories because they were a window to another world- I could escape into a world where families lived next to the woods, and could play in the forest and climb trees and enjoy the outdoors.

Another blogger wrote about how her daughter loved the series when she read her old books, but hated it when her mother bought the new edited ones.

But of course, if I were to ask for anyone's opinion it would probably be the same as mine as people who read this blog are mostly my peers anyway, but it would definitely be interesting to listen to one of those proponents of editing Enid Blyton's book speak.

And I'm done with my ranting. Here's a trailer of a TV show that I'm about to start watching. Hope it's good!

Have a great weekend!

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

2011-09-19T22:57:00.001+10:00

So as promised, here is a review of the book I was talking about, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother.

So in the first chapter (and this was taken as an excerpt and published by the Wall Street Journal), the author, Amy Chua, wrote about why Asian parents are superior:

A lot of people wonder how Chinese parents raise such stereotypically successful kids. They wonder what these parents do to produce so many math whizzes and music prodigies, what it's like inside the family, and whether they could do it too. Well, I can tell them, because I've done it. Here are some things my daughters, Sophia and Louisa, were never allowed to do:

• attend a sleepover
• have a playdate
• be in a school play
• complain about not being in a school play
• watch TV or play computer games
• choose their own extracurricular activities
• get any grade less than an A
• not be the No. 1 student in every subject except gym and drama
• play any instrument other than the piano or violin
• not play the piano or violin.

What Chinese parents understand is that nothing is fun until you're good at it. To get good at anything you have to work, and children on their own never want to work, which is why it is crucial to override their preferences. This often requires fortitude on the part of the parents because the child will resist; things are always hardest at the beginning, which is where Western parents tend to give up. But if done properly, the Chinese strategy produces a virtuous circle. Tenacious practice, practice, practice is crucial for excellence; rote repetition is underrated in America. Once a child starts to excel at something—whether it's math, piano, pitching or ballet—he or she gets praise, admiration and satisfaction. This builds confidence and makes the once not-fun activity fun. This in turn makes it easier for the parent to get the child to work even more.

That book became very controversial, and I'm sure you can see why.

That short excerpt was meant to portray her as a strict, no-nonsense parent who wants to raise her children into who she thinks they can be. In part, this is true- she is strict and is a no-nonsense mother, and forces her children to excel in things that she thinks they'll be good at and would be helpful for them in the future.

But the book was more than that. It was funny reading how she conducted research for finding a dog, and how best to train a dog to be 'successful'. It was simply hilarious, reading about how she felt her dog has potential and is more intelligent that other dog species, according to her research.

It was insightful reading about how she thinks of raising her younger daughter like a game of chess; it's always about what moves to make, what baits to give, what traps to lay, what weapons to use. No kidding! In recalling an incident with her stubborn daughter in which she punished her by asking her to stand outside in the cold snowy day, but then realised her mistake when the daughter refused to step back in (she only meant to let her daughter stand outside for a few minutes). Here's what she wrote:

I had to change tactics immediately; I couldn't win this one. My mind racing, I reversed course, now begging, coddling, and bribing Lulu (her daughter) to come back into the house. When Jed (husband) and Sophia (older daughter) arrived home, they found Lulu contentedly soaking in a hot bath, dipping a brownie in a steaming cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows.

But Lulu had underestimated me too. I was just rearming. The battle lines were drawn, and she didn't even know it.

But most of all, what struck me as most interesting was her devotion to her daughters. While the WSJ article seemed to portray her (and the stereotype probably exists) as an Asian parent who just keeps pushing their child into everything, she struck me as a parent who would also be willing to sacrifice everything for her daughters, which is probably unlike the stereotypical Western parent.

Think about it. She's a Yale law professor, so while preparing course materials, going to lectures, marking assignments and consultations, she also sends her TWO daughters to piano and violin lessons, reads up on techniques and pieces of BOTH instruments, and sits in both daughters' classes and drills them at home. She's not just the parent who yells 'GO PRACTISE!', she sits there and tell them what they're not doing right, based on her research and her observations (she takes notes during lessons). Not to mention, she takes her daughters to all sorts of competitions, musical and academic.

It's a very interesting book simply because it is ironic and paradoxical, yet stereotypical. I have no other way to describe it, because it really is something that's... an interesting read.

The Day That Was

2011-09-11T23:48:00.001+10:00

Have you ever had one of those days, when you just felt so tired of doing the same thing that you just wanted something different?

I've experienced that a few times in my life, and most of the time I decided to do something hair-related; that is, change my hairstyle. Once I even contemplated going bald.

So for the day I turned 20 I decided to do something I've never done before- dye my hair. I've had highlights done a few times before, but never my entire head, so this time around I thought I'd do that, just to see how it'll turn out.

I selected a dark red colour, and while having it done swore to myself that I would never do it again. But now I'm not so sure. Why?

Graduation! The end of possibly the best time of my life- high school!

The end result was... not exactly what I'd expected. I wanted something that was striking and obvious, but it also can't be too light a colour because I don't think it suits me. It's a fine line, but this time it didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped, so perhaps I'll give it a try again in the future.

But I think I've had enough with changing my hair colour for the moment. Can't say when I'll feel the urge to do so again, since the last time I did it was about 2 years ago now (in case you're wondering, I've dyed my hair several times since high school), although after the colour wore off I definitely did not feel like dyeing my hair for quite sometime.

Or perhaps sometimes it's just a yearning to do something unconventional by society's standards. Yes, dyeing one's hair is very common now but I think it's not really expected from someone like me with a 'goody goody' image (I quote a friend who did actually say that). But at the same time I've never really felt like I fit into any lens seen by society- I wasn't notorious or malicious, nor was I athletic. I wasn't particularly bright (it didn't show in my grades), nor was I hopeless in studies.

In this video for an assignment back in college I was playing a homeless but musically-talented person.

I'd felt that I was... different, that no one could really understand me, hence I'm the 'goody-goody' boy who dyed his hair. Funny eh?

Just take a look at my different movie tastes shown here in 3 trailers. One's an action/mystery film that's also a thriller and drama, another's a serious drama that's award-worthy and sees a cliched storyline from another perspective, and the last one's attraction's nothing but an all-star cast.

Anyhow, today's the anniversary of 9/11, and I thought it'd be great to look back. We humans seem to have a love for very even numbers, like 10, 25, 50, 100. So 10 years ago today, I was but a mere 10 year-old, still in primary school, enjoying being a child, and probably celebrating finally being old enough to have two digits.

Now, of course, I just turned 20 a few days back. Compare my 10 year-old self and now, and even I'm surprised at how far I've come and how I've turned out. I think that's the case for most people, we somehow never become the person we thought we would be. And sometimes we look back and marvel and how different we once were.

And lastly, because I'm in a mood to share, here's me, 9 years ago (at 11 years old), shortest in the family at the time (I'm now the tallest), and rather tanned.

*Image cropped to prevent embarrassment to others in the picture.

That Time of Year

2011-09-09T00:00:00.000+10:00

That was on the 8th of September last year. Amazing how fast things can change (when thinking about last year, not the weather). But you know what's faster? Time.

Me, circa 1993 / 94.

Now... well, you know how I look now, don't you, dear reader?

Little Bit of History

2011-09-02T23:05:00.002+10:00

In one of my classes this semester, we tackled the idea of 'history'. Funnily enough, even history is subjected to academic analysis. So this author wrote about how history is seen as a narration, a story of progress and development through time; but if you think about it, what about the Dark Ages? Was it progress? And what about the current state of books? Is the emergence of e-books considered a progression and improvement even though it is still, a book? Then there's the thought of history as universal; but come on, the Dark Ages in Europe wasn't the Dark Ages in other parts of the world.

So much fail!

It's a pretty interesting read, and that's I guess what makes courses like these interesting- they take the most mundane and simplistic everyday terms and put it under the microscope. And that's what I like about media studies- it is so different from the sciences that I'm used to back in high school; I feel that it's engaging in deeper thought because we don't discuss facts and memorise formulas, it's very subjective and provocative at times.

But that's not why I started this entry- the reason behind it is much, much simpler.

So Facebook has been showing these past status updates, and I have had the privilege of seeing a few (thought just two of my own). It's a pretty interesting thing I guess, to be reminded of something that happened in the past, good or bad. Here are two status updates of mine last year.

Ahhh... FML. A wonderful site to relish in someone else's pain. Probably the start of my 'sadistic' tendencies (really don't know why people think that). I posted this on the 26th August 2010, and I'm pretty sure I just had a bad day, and was looking forward to coming home and entertaining myself with reading what bad luck other people are having (some are really, really funny!).

To tell you the truth, these websites (Failblog, FML, Failbook) are probably a minor reason in me coping with the depressing time I had last year- it was like a candle in a dark room, for I would return home to seek refuge in my room and try not to be bothered by the horrible time I was having. It was one of the few things that never failed to cheer me up. Just the thought of being able to laugh at something instead of being frustrated and stressed out was... liberating.

This second update was definitely funny. It happened on the 2nd of September 2010. It was when I was watching The X Factor (another comical relief) and I was just watching the people who sang so horribly yet thought they were pretty good because their friends had not dared to tell them that they were horrible. I originally hesitated to post that on Facebook because it was a little provocative, but in the end I thought that I thought I might've well say what I want to say because most people are already surprised when they see the more outspoken side of me.

That also made me consider updating my Facebook status more often. I can't even remember the last time I did so, I just don't feel as comfortable sharing what I think with the world. But perhaps I might start again, because after all, it is for me to look back and laugh at.

That's all I have for now. Perhaps when I've amassed a few more past updates then I'll show them again.

Back For Now!

2011-08-27T21:43:00.002+10:00

I'm back! For now, that is- my mid-semester break has started so I have a little more extra time for myself. Even though I stayed at home entirely today I felt that it was a productive day- caught up on some TV shows, cleaned my room, got some rest, and of course, READ (well just a few pages, actually).

Remember my previous entry where I talked about contemplating life, and I mentioned that one of my life goals is to travel the world? Today's entry is entirely devoted to that.

I actually do read a couple of travel blogs, and some of them are really interesting to read. Just take a look at this photo I took from this blog A Little Adrift on a trip to rural China.

Really amazing, isn't it? My wish would be to be able to see it for myself one day. There are many different types of travellers, and I happen to be the type who likes to see nature. Granted, I do still enjoy being in cities, and would like to see major cities of the world as well, but it feels so much more relaxing when you're able to disconnect from the world. Just read this interesting piece about taking a digital sabbatical.

I've always wanted to take a road trip through America, like in the movies. I've always wanted to backpack across Europe, like so many other people do. I'd like to travel all the continents, and then I can say for sure that I've seen the world. But of course, I also want to discover hidden gems, like this clip from Around The World For Free:

That show definitely reminds me of a friend of mine who hitchhiked around Malaysia. That's just such an inspirational story that makes you wonder why you complain about trivial matters.

I am almost done. I just have one last clip to show. This was taken recently at Adelaide, and the clip has since been (according to news) used in safety videos.

I realised that I'm less than 2 weeks away from being an adult. Now that's scary.

Have a great weekend!

Happenings

2011-08-23T21:03:00.000+10:00

You must be wondering, what possessed me to abandon this blog for more than 10 days. In my own defence, I was really preoccupied and only got very little free time now.

But because I've been so busy, sometimes I do wonder why on Earth am I doing this. You know the age old question- life is short, you don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, so why not relax and enjoy life while you are able to?

I think it's during times like these that you really do a lot of self-reflection. It is when you ask yourself what your motivations for working yourself mad is, and how long you think you can keep it up. You think about the many people you know who have been hit by sudden illnesses or misfortune and who are unable to continue living the way they did, and you wonder if that will happen to you.

They also say that youth is when you work hard. That's when you still have the creativity and energy to continuously burn the midnight oil and survive. When I hear this the first thing that goes through my head is that 'my biological age must be pretty close to a 30 or 40 year old then'.

We live in a very materialistic world. You are not deemed successful if you haven't earned any significant prize or achievement.

But I do believe that we are slowly turning away from it as well- there is more emphasis on work-life balance now, and just look at all the books on self-help, soul-searching and spirituality.

Cast of the latest season of Survivor- no clue on who are the returning players, though!

Do you ask yourself that? Do you wonder why you slave over that assignment in uni? Why not just pack your bags and go to a remote village in the middle of a jungle and live there, or even go travelling?

I admit, I do think about those once in a while- and one of my goals in life remains, to this day, being able to travel the world. Not on separate trips, but on one single, long, journey. Originally, my plan was to get a part-time job here and save up to take a gap year after I graduate, but it doesn't look so promising right now, so I'll definitely have to make some changes to those plans.

But I do try to be optimistic. Like they say, all roads lead to Rome. I just need to find it.

8 Days

2011-08-10T16:47:00.000+10:00

I've no idea how 8 days passed by so quickly, even though it seems like a month ago since I watched Harry Potter and wrote the last entry. Everything seemed to just have zoomed past; I'd imagine it feels just like when you look out the window of a fast-moving train- things come at you at a blur and you don't really see things, but somehow time passes by and you don't realise what has happened until you reach your destination.

Anyway, considering how I need to get a lot of things done (I'm not sure if I should explain it- majority of my readers already know why I'm so busy lately and it also would seem very narcissistic) I don't have the time to type out a long blog post, so for now, you'll have to bear with me.

Brief updates:

1. Went on a day trip to the Great Ocean Road. This place is called London Bridge, because part of it fell off (that's why I think the name came about, anyway).

2. Been following (or trying to follow, anyway) this show called Around The World For Free. I would not mind doing it, except that I probably would not survive that long!

3. Uni work's been weird this semester. Already I've handed up one assignment and have one due this week.

4. I finished reading Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother! I highly recommend this book to everyone, it's a pretty good read. But I'll write up a review later, anyway.

And that's all for now! Till next time!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

2011-08-02T22:26:00.000+10:00

As promised, this is my reflection on the last Harry Potter movie.

I think it was definitely one of the best in the series- the actors have gotten comfortable in their roles and got used to working with the same director (who I believe has directed the last 4 movies?), and not to forget the older cast members who are exceptional actors! Having said that, I must say that I expected a little more out of it.

To start with, I thought that it was really smart of them to have a 'previously on Harry Potter' thing going on at the beginning where they refreshed everyone's memories, as even I had not remembered everything, even though it was only half a year ago that the previous movie came out.

I also thought the movie was pretty spectacularly done, overall pretty loyal to the book, and managing to add a couple of humorous scenes as well! I nearly laughed my head off when McGonagall excitedly declare that she had always wanted to use a spell that was a last resort to protect Hogwarts (it wasn't in the book). Snape and McGonagall's duel was definitely one to watch, short as it was but it was nice to see some action coming from the older castmembers.

Having said that, I definitely had expected a little more in some areas- I felt the beginning was too rushed and we just seem to be jumping from scene to scene without any buildup, and a lot of the deeper concepts were made to be shallower. Take for example Harry's 'dream' with Dumbledore. I recall that in the book there was a whole lot of information about the past- how Harry succeeded, how Voldemort is scared of death, how love is still the most powerful magic in the world. I also would've liked the ending to have been more loyal to the book, that is to say I wished that it was more detailed. There was no mention of Malfoy's son, or Neville's teaching job, or Ted Lupin/Tonks' existence.

Another disappointment was the soundtrack. I believe the famous Harry Potter soundtrack only came up once during the entire movie- during the credits, and that was what made me nostalgic. It made me think about the end of this journey and the fun ride that I've been on.

But this is not about how I miss Harry Potter, it's about the movie. Romance was kept to a minimum, which was good considering how every Hollywood movie needs romance. I liked the buildup to the Ron / Hermione kiss (although I'm told that it was censored in Malaysia- you guys missed out, big time!). I liked the short Harry / Ginny kiss. I liked the Neville / Luna thing (can't remember if it was in the book, though). Oh and speaking of romance, the ending was really funny! I laughed pretty loudly when I saw the adult Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Malfoy.

So- overall, I think the movie was rather good, although I must say I don't think it lived up to the high expectations.

Would You Do It?

2011-07-30T15:20:00.000+10:00

I stumbled on this video when I was looking up on a campaign that I read about in my uni's magazine. It's a pretty empowering and enlightening video.

Would you try it out? Basically, the project is that you're supposed to live on less than $2 AUD (over here, anyway) a day, for 5 days. And you get people you know / support you to donate to the cause, and all the proceeds go towards helping end poverty.

Now, the campaign is over, but I thought that it's a rather powerful cause. Maybe I'll join next year (I stress on the maybe). Anyone up for donating in my name?

Tomorrow Will Be a Good Day

2011-07-25T22:19:00.003+10:00

I'm a little shocked that it's a week tomorrow since I last updated, because I honestly have not really thought about this blog that much in the past week- just been pretty busy!

But today's post will be about tomorrow- I will be watching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2! I wasn't excited yet when we bought the tickets on Sunday, but I definitely am excited now!

For those of you who don't know, I'll just have to refresh your memories. Harry Potter means a lot to me. My journey with Harry did not start in the 90s when J.K. Rowling first emerged; rather it was only in 2001 (I think) when I watched Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone at the movies that I began to read Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (yes I skipped Chamber of Secrets; but I read it after Azkaban).

And I was hooked- I began devouring word after word, page after page of J.K. Rowling's brilliance. After that there was no turning back- I moved on to other books, and thus began my love for reading, and later, writing as well. But the reason Harry Potter is so special to me is because I cannot imagine myself not being a bookworm and someone who aspires to get published. I don't know what I would've been like had I not stumbled on Harry, but I sure as hell would not have been the person I am today, which is why I'm thankful that the books actually shaped who I am today.

The books- they mean so much to me! And I definitely need to take a picture of my own Harry Potter books.

So, if you did the maths, it's been an 11-year journey, a long time if you will, but I definitely am ready to move on. Of course, the world of Harry Potter will always be special to me, because it has been such an important part of my childhood and who I am today; but now that I'm all grown up and have different priorities, it is time to keep those memories and carve new ones (but then again, I could just continue living in that world if J.K. Rowling's new project is interesting).

Look at how much they've grown! Hmmm... I wonder what I looked like when I first started reading the books?

I will definitely be posting a review of the movie in the next few days, but it will definitely be biased and filled with personal meanings, so maybe I should call it a reflection instead.

I'm thinking that you can tell that this movie is no ordinary movie- it has a lot of very personal memories and emotions, it brings back memories of a time when I didn't have to worry about whether I've made preparations for my next meal, or whether I've done all my chores and responsibilities. The end of the movie will definitely be symbolic- I started my journey back home, as a 10 year-old, who discovered that some books are actually worth reading, and will end it here, in Melbourne, a little over a month shy of turning 20, who worry about so many other things in life.

Now I've to begin preparing for class tomorrow! See you!

Stressful

2011-07-19T21:48:00.000+10:00

The new semester has started, and I'm busier than expected. Not because of coursework, at least not yet. But I'm definitely pretty busy these days (with AIESEC).

And stress has definitely gotten to me a little, but since semester only just started I'm still pretty energetic and full of energy as a result of the overwhelming amount of sleep I've been getting when I was sick.

Today was a long day, my class started at 930 in the morning and lasted all the way till 530 with 2 hours in between.

Anyway, just thought I'd update to let you know I'm still alive.

Internet Dependency Syndrome

2011-07-14T16:01:00.002+10:00

Upon my return, I slumped on the bed and fell asleep for about 10 hours. It wasn't too long, probably because I wasn't very sleep deprived to begin with, and also because I had a pile of things to do before classes begin next week.

The first thing I did after refreshing myself is to power up my laptop and connect to the Internet. As I had no access to Internet, not even via my phone. Being the news junkie that I am, one of the first things I did was to read the news.

I definitely felt out of the loop- most stories did not make much sense because I had not read the earlier articles concerning those issues. Like the Bersih rally. Or the carbon tax announcement (in Australia). Or the Tiger Airways suspension (the airline I was with). It took me awhile to get all the information I was seeking.

Then it hit me. We seem to be so dependent on the Internet nowadays for so many things- communication, information, that living without it is next to impossible. When I came back, it was only a week that I've been gone but it felt much longer. Even during the last day, everyone was happy to leave because we all wanted to get back to 'civilisation'.

And civilisation it is, indeed- without Internet we didn't know what was going on outside out little bubble- a war could be going on and we'd still be clueless. We are now so dependent on our technologies that we cannot imagine how we got by just a few years back without mobile Internet and free WiFi.

I've not been on a long holiday for quite sometime, but I am curious- will holidays continue to be a time of relaxation and to unwind from the hectic lives we lead, or will it be filled with anxiety over all the work we have left behind?

What do you think? Do you agree?

Hang In There

2011-07-12T22:34:00.000+10:00

I'm back!

Surprisingly, I did not have reception for my phone, nor did I have 3G connectivity, which meant I could not get Internet on my phone, either, which is why I did not even update my Twitter.

But while I would love to write a lengthy post about the trip (and how I got back) / some thoughts I came to while I was there, upon my return I have promptly fallen ill, and have so much work to catch up on that I really don't have the luxury to type out anything detailed.

So in the meantime, here's a funny video for you to enjoy while awaiting my return.

Have a good week!

Leaving In a Day!

2011-07-04T16:42:00.000+10:00

In about 12 hours (yes it's that close) I'll be leaving for Brisbane. It won't be my first time in Queensland, but it will be my first in Brisbane, so I am a little excited about it, and of course trying not to think about all the extra money being spent.

In terms of being stranded in Brisbane, I think that I'm pretty much prepared for it- I packed enough to last me a few more days, just in case. I also made enough preparations back here (this is one of them) for returning later than expected. I'm warming up to taking a BUS back to Melbourne, a journey that takes 30 hours. But it passes through Sydney so I won't be sitting in a bus for more than a day straight- I'll definitely be making a detour first.

Having said that, I definitely won't be able to update this week, so check back again next week. In the meantime, pray for me that my return trip will be unaffected, won't you?

I actually had a more insightful entry that I planned to write before I leave, but I'm feeling a little too anxious so it'll have to wait.

In the meantime, check out this movie trailer! It is so funny!

Finding Humour

2011-07-02T22:03:00.000+10:00

Originally, I had planned to update tomorrow, also adding that I will be away for a week.

Then today, I found out that my flight to Brisbane has been cancelled. Apparently, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority suspended the airline's operations in Australia because of safety concerns (if you're really that interested, here's a news report on the issue).

Can you imagine me doing that?

While I was by no means as inconvenienced as so many other passengers, there are doubts in my head whether or not my return trip will be affected (according to the announcement, I'm returning a day AFTER the grounding is scheduled to end). Now that will be an experience- it would be my first time being grounded in an airport, possibly having to hole up in the airport's hotel, or worse, right in the airport itself.

But there are bright sides to this tale. When purchasing the ticket, even though many people told me that it is highly unlikely that anything would happen (I was afraid of losing my luggage), I calculated that it was an investment- it costs 12 AUD, whereas I will definitely be packing more than 12 dollars' worth of items. And coincidentally, it covers cancellation of flights as well, so I'm definitely hoping that this will work to my advantage as well.

Anyway, today has been a relatively hectic day spent trying to sort out this whole mess. However, I did learn a few things about myself- I don't get as easily rattled anymore. I didn't freak out, didn't get frustrated and started to regret anything. I was actually.. indifferent. Even went out for a leisurely lunch.

Maybe Failblog helped

I guess after all, in life, we should always strive to seek out the humour in a frustrating situation? I mean, I'm pretty sure I'm the only person you know so far who have encountered being in this situation before. After all, the incident has happened, there's nothing you can do, so there's no point regretting.

I'd like to be one of those people who is always thinking positively, pushing the negative aside and not letting challenges frustrate me. I actually think these sort of people are very inspiring, the way that they can maintain calm even when they are being put in horrible circumstances. They're like the beacon of light that pushes other people along, and I think being one of those people isn't too bad (like this person)!

So yes, my flight's been cancelled, but I'm booked on another airline, departing a day later instead. Hopefully, I'll think of something to write about before I leave.

If not, see you when I get back! (I'll let you know if I get stranded- through checking my Twitter would probably be a better idea since I can update it from my phone)

Road Trips?

2011-06-29T16:51:00.000+10:00

I'm one of those people who like going on road trips. I like travelling. I like going to the countryside, where it is quieter and far away from the city (notice how I like travelling to quiet places, but don't like staying in one?). This year, during Easter I managed to do just that, and it was refreshing.

And another thing people might not know about me is that I have a lifelong dream to travel to America and go on a road trip, like the ones you see in the movies where they take roads not normally used and head to some remote area where they will get to ~~be hunted down by a psycho killer~~ enjoy some peace, or even to simply take in the sights of nature. Places like Mount Barker that I went to last year.

Got this photo from lipjin

I saw this picture on Flickr, and it reminded me a lot of trips like that- enjoying something completely different from the life you normally lead at home.

Here's what the description of the photo says (which was taken from Wikipedia):

Tanjong Pagar railway station, also called Keppel Road railway station or Singapore railway station, is a railway terminus owned by Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM), the main railway operator in Malaysia. The land on which the station and the KTM railway tracks in Singapore are situated is held by KTM on a 999-year lease.

Following an agreement between Malaysia and Singapore which was reached on 24 May 2010, railway operations into the station will cease by 1 July 2011, after which the building will be conserved and may be integrated with future developments on the site. KTM's southern terminus would be relocated to the Woodlands Train Checkpoint.

I've been on one road trip with the family back home to the East Coast in 2009. Comparatively, the satisfaction level is about the same, although the rating of the entire experience would probably be slightly lower for locations back home (because of dirtier public toilets and accommodation, and lack of maintenance of attractions). But of course, back home you get satisfaction from knowing something you didn't previously know about your country.

Recently, there's been talk among my friends as well about potentially going on a trip together again. I definitely want to, because it's been quite awhile since we did anything together and I miss the good old times. But having said that, I am not nearly as nostalgic as I normally am last year, which is a good thing.

Also, if I don't get to stay on here after I graduate, a road trip around Australia is definitely on the to-do list as well.

What about you? What places do you want to go on a road trip?

June's Ending!

2011-06-25T23:18:00.001+10:00

I was supposed to update yesterday, but then in the midst of reading news and blogs and watching shows I completely lost track of the time.

Even now, I would like to either watch a late night movie, or watch Wimbledon. Or I might just lie back in bed and read a particularly attention grabbing book.

I sure wouldn't want to eat there!

At times like these I sometimes do think that there aren't enough hours in a day. But of course, other times I'm so bored that I entertain myself with random programs on TV, or read past newspapers, or even play Bejeweled on my phone. This week I even tried meditating. Unfortunately I only lasted 20 minutes or so (I was hoping that it would take much, much longer).

Anyway, my attention right now isn't on blogging at all, hence the lack of anything noteworthy. Here's yet another trailer (trust me, it's funny!) to humour yourselves with while I'm gone.

Have a good weekend!

I Love Witchy Shows

2011-06-21T16:45:00.000+10:00

Today I'm Halfway There

2011-06-17T22:40:00.002+10:00

Today was a day for revelations.

I sat for my first exam ever in Australia, and in university, today. It was actually an exciting experience, as I wanted to see how differently an exam would be like over here versus back home. I happily report that there is nothing different, really- we needed to have our student IDs, no handphones, only transparent pencil cases allowed.

But while preparing for the exam, I stumbled upon- my pencil case! Technically, it has been next to my laptop all this while but I just never really opened it to look at its contents. So imagine my surprise today when I found- stationeries from high school! There were my trusted Pilot G-1 gel pens, which in itself brought back some good memories because they have been with me for approximately about... 4-5 years now.

I wanted to look for an image of G-1 pens, but felt it wouldn't do my pens justice. Weird, I know.

I know, it's funny that I seem so sentimental, even when it's about pens. Then there's the ballpoint pens that I bought specially for SPM, because that's what we were advised to do (ballpoint ink doesn't fade when it gets wet). I remember one particular faulty pen that leaked ink. Yes, it was still in there too.

Then there are the assortment of other stationeries I brought with me in case I needed them- glue, highlighters, spare ruler, lead for my pencil (which has also been with me a long time).

It's so funny, how one post of my exam turned into one of walking down memory lane via pens. Pens, of all things. But then again, they are an essential part of a high schooler's life, no? We take notes with them, complete homework with them, fiddle with them in classes when we're bored.

The next revelation: the end of my exam, which brings to an official close this semester, means something- I'm halfway through my university life.

Great advice, though not easy to follow through.

I've completed 3 semesters now, with another 3 to go. Oddly enough, I don't feel as if I've adjusted to life abroad to be able to say that I'm halfway through. It still feels, largely, like I have a long way to go, a lot more to grow.

A semester here lasts 12 weeks. So minus all the holidays, in 12 weeks I would be two-thirds done. Two thirds!

Looks like I've just found a winter adaptation method. 'Halfway done, halfway done' (in case you're wondering, I spur myself on like that a lot).

(this is a second, more awesome trailer if you're tired of me repeating about how much I want to watch the last movie)

Have a great weekend, and be kind to one another (took that from Ellen DeGeneres)!

Untitled

2011-06-13T17:47:00.001+10:00

Untitled is such an interesting title. I don't have to think of an interesting one, the paradox speaks for itself.

I have an exam at the end of this week, and after that will be kept busy as well, which suits me as I won't have to dread having nothing to do during the holidays.

In the past few days, I've been catching up on news and current affairs from home. I seem to have this fixation with news, maybe I should have gone into journalism instead (I have considering it recently- finding a job in journalism, that is). It does seem rather nice (now, anyway) to be a newscaster, but of course the competition is stiff so I'm not hoping for anything.

My life here has once again become very routinised and uninteresting. Weekend nights are not spent going out but just staying in (I actually look forward to Saturday night movies now if it's an interesting movie).

Look closely... Bev Doolittle's The Forest Has Eyes

I don't mean to be a put-downer, because I am enjoying myself much more than last year.

My hair has also grown steadily since I've came here. By the end of winter it will be the longest I've gone without a haircut, and I don't intend to get one till then because hair = natural shield against the cold, cold wind. Just a few days ago the highest temperature was only 11, and with the wind lashing against your face (and I mean pretty strong winds) it gets really, really cold.

But I've also been thinking about that haircut I will be getting in a few months. I definitely think that I look better with shorter hair, so I can't wait to get my hair chopped off! And I'm sorely tempted to just tell the hairdresser to 'surprise me'.

My postings seem to have a pattern, don't they? When winter approaches they all become dreaded complains about chilly weather. I'll definitely try to cut down on that!

A Westerner?

2011-06-09T22:53:00.000+10:00

I may or may not have mentioned this before, but this semester I'm taking an elective in Psychology, titled 'Psychology of Everyday Thinking'.

And I've come to a real amusing realisation- that more often than not, I identify as a Westerner.

It's not that I voluntarily do it, it's just that most of the theories used to differentiate cultures use Western culture as a benchmark, and I find that most of the time, I would be classified as someone belonging to a Western culture.

Take for example this short test that he gave us.

Nominate / strike out the one that least fits with the other two.

1. Man Woman Baby
2. Grass Chicken Cow
3. Car Steering wheel Bend
4. Wood Paper Axe
5. Panda Banana Monkey

Anyway, there were two general ways that people would go for.

People from Western cultures would most probably strike out:

1. Baby
2. Grass
3. Bend
4. Axe
5. Banana

That's because Western cultures are object-oriented, see people as individuals and thus are labelled individualist.

On the other hand, someone from Eastern cultures are more group-oriented, consider others and their impact on others, and are considered collectivist. So they see how things influence each other, and they would strike out (here's the difference between individualism and collectivism):

1. Man
2. Chicken
3. Car
4. Paper
5. Panda

There were other comparisons as well where he asked us in class, and most (if not all) I would be seen as someone from a Western culture.

While it doesn't surprise me that I gravitate towards Western ideology and thought, it was amusing to see that physically, I look different to the locals, but yet, I don't exactly feel very different to them because I've been exposed to Western culture so much. But then of course, there's a big, deep pool of difference because I have, after all, been much more exposed to an Eastern culture as well.

It's like that whole dilemma again- it seems like I never completely fit in to one group and am always stuck in between.

The Problem With the Internet

2011-06-05T22:41:00.000+10:00

There's this rather long but interesting article on why web personalisation may be damaging our world view.

Basically, this guy wrote this book saying that because of the Internet, we are not as connected or informed as experts have said we are.

It's approaching!

We like to be surrounded by the familiar, and by information that confirms what we already believe. It drives up pageviews and gets visitors coming back. But it’s a problem because it means you’re less likely than ever to be confronted with information that challenges your views, or gets you out of your comfort zone. Your own point of view follows you wherever you go.

Clay Shirky points out that while most newspaper readers read the internal sections (Sports, Home and Garden, whatever), at least they had to flip by the front page which let them know if something important was going on that they should know about. Now it’s possible to live in a bubble where that stuff doesn’t ever show up — you’d never know it’s happening.

Yes, we should all seek out diverse information flows. But great media makes that easy, even fun — combining information vegetables and information dessert and making sure you get enough of both. A lot of the personalization that exists today just serves up information junk food. It may be delicious, but it doesn’t feed the soul.

It's one of the things we learn in media studies- is the online audience so fragmented that we only seek out information and interests that align with our personality, that we remain very ignorant about the other issues around the world?

Entrepreneurship?

It's a rather uncomfortable thought for most scholars, because it is almost unimaginable that someone may know all about the Iraq War but nothing about the lack of drinking water in Africa. Or perhaps someone who derives a false sense of confidence and self assurance by seeking out an opinion on an issue that suits your own. I believe even right now, you can think of instances where you did this. I certainly have.

It's something worth thinking about- perhaps next time, when you find yourself doing that, you can also remind yourself to look at the other point of view as well, to get a clearer understanding of the opposition.

Right about now, I think I'm writing this post as if I'm writing an essay. Must be all the essay writing I've been doing, it's been ingrained in my writing style now!

So I shall move on to other things. I was very surprised to find that two local bookstore chains are closing down after their parent company went bankrupt. I thought that the Aussies read a lot, but either they don't or they simply get their books from other sources (I'm thinking ebooks are more popular here- I hope, anyway).

It's really sad, because there is a bookstore just behind my apartment, and the way they work here is that there will be a coffee shop within the store, so you can grab anything from the store, buy a coffee and sit down the whole day reading. It's really a leisurely thing to do, and now I've lost a pasttime (not that I've done it many times).

Bookstores are my sanctuary. I enjoy browsing through titles, reading summaries of the plot, skimming through magazines, and paying absolutely zero attention to my surroundings. I definitely stand out in a bookstore- I'm normally the only minority (read: Asian) but having been to bookstores all the time back home, it doesn't feel any different; and when I'm tuned out I don't really see how people look at me.

It's one of those things you do where you become totally absorbed that you really do not know what is happening around you.

Anyway, I've run out of things to write, so here are 3 trailers to end this post with:

1. Anonymous

2. Crazy Stupid Love

3. Super 8

Have a good week ahead!

'I Speak From Experience...'

2011-06-03T17:21:00.001+10:00

Have you ever heard someone older telling you a story or life lesson and saying it's because they speak from experience?

It is something that I've noticed to be happening to me- I seem to be at that period where I begin to smile at the innocence of youth, the feeling of not having anything to worry about, of not needing to think about the future and what lies ahead.

I laughed at that. I'm mean, I know.

I know, I know. It can only mean one thing- I'm getting older. Honestly it scares me. I wonder how I'll look like as a 40 year old. As a 60 year old. As an 80 year old if I live that long (yes, I'm vain).

Just yesterday when talking to a friend about back in the days when we were prefects in the afternoon session, I brushed off what happened as youthful innocence and immaturity. Then it hit me. I no longer associate myself as a teen. I see myself as older, more experienced, more mature (or I like to think so, anyway), and (hopefully!) more knowledgeable.

Sunny Melbourne... Won't be seeing that for a few months!

It is laughable, really. It reminds me of the stories I used to read of magical worlds with immortals (seeing how vain I am, the idea of immortality is very appealing). They mingle with mortals, and marvel at the ignorance of these people. If they're diabolical, they might even take advantage of it because they're also more powerful. But that's the case, isn't it? To me, some teens seem immature and downright ignorant. Sometimes it annoys me. Other times it makes me nostalgic.

Can you imagine the amount of experience our parents have? And our grandparents?

It is one of those things that we absorb throughout our daily life, without knowing it. But sometimes it's a nice feeling, knowing that you have this wealth of experience to draw on to help you.

I've always wondered what it would be like to go back to my high school as a student ever since I left high school and watched the movie where Drew Barrymore went undercover as a high school student to write a story (she's a journalist). How would that second time turn out? Would I be able to use experience to anticipate which topics will be asked in exams? If I attempted to apply for prefects again, would knowing what it's like sitting on the other side help me?

Youthful innocence?

To any social scientists who might be reading this, here's an idea! I wouldn't mind going back to my high school as an experiment (hopefully with one or two friends).

Wouldn't it be fascinating?

Anyway, it seems that I'm now old enough to be able to give advice based on 'experience'. Isn't that weird! I've never seen myself as an older figure; I was always the young kid, the protected and sheltered one who received advice. Guess it's like the passing of the torch (except I've no one to pass the torch to), from one generation to another.

Now to digress yet again. A lot of you know about the whole 'we belong to Gen Y' thing. I recently discovered these authors, who (according to Wikipedia) proposed:

Modern history repeats itself every four generations; approximately 80–100 years.

The first one, the High cycle, occurs when a new order or human expansion is developed, replacing the older one. The next cycle is called the Awakening. More spiritual than the previous, this is a time of rebellion against the already established order. The third cycle is known as the Unraveling, when elements of individualism and fragmentation take over society, developing a troubled era which leads directly to the Fourth Turning, an era of crisis dominating society during which a redefinition of its very structure, goals, and purposes is established.

Each cycle has its archetypes, the four having the following one defined as: Prophet, Nomad, Hero, and Artist. Millennials (that's another term for Gen Y) belong to the Hero category, featuring a deep trust in authority and institutions; being somewhat conventional, but still powerful. They grew up during an Unraveling cycle with more protections than the previous generation (Gen X). They are heavily dependent on team work, and thus, when they come of age, turn into the heroic team-working young people of a Crisis. In their middle years, they become the energetic, decisive, and strong leaders of a High cycle; and in old age, they become the criticized powerful elders of an Awakening cycle. Another previous generation that belongs to this category is The Greatest Generation (1916–1924).

So that's another 'passing of the torch' instance. Just like how now, I am growing out of my teenage years (I've but a few months left before I'm officially an adult), as I watch people younger than me grow up and go through things that I went through.

My young cousins and my teen self... they're still young, whereas I'm no longer a teen.. in a few months that is

It does make me nostalgic to think about the times when I was in their position, and that I can never reclaim it again unless someone creates a time-travelling machine right now. And I will begin to grow up, enter adulthood, and begin telling people 'I speak from experience when I say...'

I just hope that I'm the adult that people look up to and want to take advice from.

Who Do You Friend?

2011-05-29T22:51:00.000+10:00

I don't having a lot of 'friends' on Facebook. In the days of Friendster, sure, but now, I actually want to add people who I actually interact with.

Just as I'm typing this out, I'm considering going on another un-friend spree (there have been several) and deleting people I don't know or don't interact with. The thing is, while going through my list of 'friends', it has occurred to me that I have so many different relationships with people that it is hard to say who to delete who not to.

Take for example people from high school. There are friends who I'm very close to and interact with a lot, then there are friends whom I treasure yet do not interact with that much, there are people who I still consider friends, and then there are the acquaintances and (presumably) juniors from the prefectorial board. I did consider deleting the last one, but then it dawned on me that I wouldn't want a senior I've added to delete me, either.

So after that I realised that there really needs to be a clear line as to who I delete and who I don't, so for now I'm keeping it as it is until I've figured it out. As you probably know, it's a fine line that's not easily identifiable.

Facebook is definitely one of the ways in which I've noticed a change in myself; I've become much less active on it, preferring to keep some things private, and also because I like to think that I have a fulfilling life offline. I also don't see the need of wishing everyone 'happy birthday' unless I'm very close with them; nor do I see the need to ask people how they're doing because most of the time I don't really care if they're fine or not.

Photo from Easter trip. That's how strong the wind was (I never let my hair go messy outdoors)

Seems very cold-hearted, I know, but I do find it all very superficial. Did you know that if we count all our friends in real life, it only amounts to about 150 at the most? I really don't even see why we would want to add someone as a friend on Facebook even if you've spoken to the person once; it doesn't mean that you'll be striking up a friendship soon.

Heck, I've even met people who've added me (and I thought they did so because they knew me, coz I know them) but later found out that they don't remember me (and I have a good memory, I know who I add and who adds me).

I currently have 400 friends on Facebook. But the ones that I honestly interact with are very few. Less than 100 I would say. Perhaps even less than 50. I know one thing's for sure, though- when I do have an inkling of what determines who I keep as friends on Facebook I will begin deleting friends. It doesn't mean that I don't care about the relationship, it's just that I don't see a relationship to begin with that counts as friendship. Maybe someone would like to create a social network for acquaintances?

What about you? What do you think are criteria for friending people on Facebook?

There's an interesting article, 'The Art of the Unfriend' that's pretty interesting that talks about unfriending people on Facebook. Have a read, let me know what you think!

Swamped

2011-05-25T22:45:00.000+10:00

I know I should be updating by now, but I'm currently swamped with work. It's the last official week of uni (I still have an assignment and an exam in a few weeks) so I should have more time to blog soon.

In the meantime, more trailers!

1. Abduction

2. Trust

3. The Conspirator

P.S. To those of you who haven't figured it out yet and are bored by my trailers posts, this is just my way of jotting down movies that are interesting that I might want to watch in the future.

P.S.2. This has got to be the fastest post published in this blog's history. Gotta get back to work!

As Promised, Easter Trip Days 3 & 4

2011-05-21T13:45:00.003+10:00

Okay sorry for the long delay! Anyway on the third day we left really early, around 8 in the morning, as Wilson's Promontory is pretty far away.

On the way, we made an unplanned detour at a farm, and had a light breakfast there and saw some farm animals (some cows are huge, by the way- as tall as me, I think). There was also this machine for milking cows which we saw, but didn't have a chance to witness the milking because it only takes place in the evenings.

Dwarf horse

I tried to fend off sleepiness on the road, but failed and so by the time I woke up, we were at this place called Sandy Point and were trying to find out cottage. You see, we had rented an entire cottage (it's really small, just two rooms) at that place, which was about 20 minutes by car away from Wilson's Prom. And as its name suggests, Sandy Point is a beach town.

Finally, we found the extremely cosy and homey Seagull's Cottage, put our things down, and went to the main street where there were a couple of shops, including a 'general store' selling most of the things you might need, from video rentals to groceries. We bought some groceries as we planned to have our own BBQ that night. So after going back once again to put the things in the cottage we finally made the journey to Wilson's Prom. It's a national park that was closed because of the recent floods, and had only reopened for Easter.

The inside of the cottage- look at all the books! I could sit there all day enjoying myself.

But we made another detour to this town called Yanakie, where we bought some supplies that we'd forgotten we'd need for the BBQ. There were only two shops there, a petrol station and another general store. It was actually really fun and exciting being in rural Australia. It was on the way to Wilson's Prom.

During the bus ride

The beach

Here I'd suggest that everyone go to a national park, because it was awesome! We wanted to go to this place called Tidal River, and had to park our car at a makeshift carpark (with mobile toilets, too) and take a shuttle bus uphill (the road was damaged see, so for safety reasons they just asked everyone to take the bus). The 20 minute trip was just filled with breathtaking views of nature.

What greeted us at the top was a camping site, and a beach! Very odd combination, I know. But basically that place is where you would go to if you planned to camp out at Wilson's Prom.

The beach, again

Caused by the floods?

The view of the beach was stunning, too! It was in the middle of nowhere, uphill even, and suddenly there's a beach! It was extremely unexpected. There were quite a number of people there enjoying the sunshine. We stayed for quite some time, took some photos, and finally waited for the bus to go back down as it was evening already.

On the way back, the bus driver actually stopped at one point to let us down to take photos. He was a very funny man and could definitely be a tour guide as well. When we finally reached the car it was getting dark already, and when we got back it was completely dark and getting cold. So what do you expect a couple of cold (or maybe just me), tired and hungry people do? We had an indoor BBQ (thank goodness the BBQ set was electrical). Food was quite good considering the limited resources we had.

On the bus ride back

That night was spend just chilling around, enjoying the fireplace, some TV, some board games, before calling it a night. I for one camped out at the living hall because that was the only place with heating. For me, sleeping on the floor for a night in a heated room was preferable to a bed in a cold room.

The next morning, after having some light breakfast and packing up, we stopped at Yanakie's general store again to get some food for lunch, then headed to Wilson's Prom again.

We started by going for a nature walk. The first stop was this beautiful swampy area (not as swampy as rainforests back home, however) that was on low tide. The view was simply amazing- the rocks, the sea, the trees, and... jellyfish. Yes, jellyfish. A lot of them. They were beached, and hence couldn't go anywhere. You can even see their brains and all!

And seeing that it was the sea, it was extremely windy. You can actually hear the sound of the wind!

Then, we wanted to go uphill again. This time we wanted to walk up to this observatory peak, where we could enjoy the view and have our lunch. When we reached there, we found that that place was closed, although we could go further up to another peak. Since we were already there, we went for it.

Not at the top yet!

Now, that's the view from the peak!

I was hungry, and thirsty, and had to spur myself to get to the top, but it was completely worth it. We had to trek such a long way uphill that it seemed to take forever; many times I thought we had reached but as it turned out, it was just a bend and we had to continue. But when we finally reached the top, I couldn't believe my eyes. It was breathtaking, jaw-dropping, stunning, amazing, and many other things.

We had our sandwiches, some chips and just sat there enjoying the breeze and the view. Then, another group came up with a guide, and that guide said that this is the only place in the world where you can see two seas / oceans at once- Pacific and Southern.

One of the seas, taken before I reached the top

The other sea

After staying for perhaps 45 minutes at the top we headed down. Not surprisingly, after having some food the journey down seemed much shorter.

Anyway, by the time we sat back down in the car we were simply exhausted, and didn't want to go to any place requiring us to trek anymore, so we went to this lake.

Here, upon arriving, an old couple greeted us and the husband said that he had spotted a brown snake sunning itself. Apparently, brown snakes are the most venomous type of snake in the world, and had he not have experience he probably would not have spotted it. His wife took a photo, and was very close to aggravating the snake. He told us that since it was hot, the snake would be slower so we would still have a chance to outrun it., What I thought at that time was 'yeah, that's reassuring, thanks' (sarcasm if you didn't recognise it).

So we made slow and quiet progress to the end of the path, keeping an eye out. But the man came back after us, saying he'll show us where it is. When we reached there, which was much closer to the entrance than I'd thought, guess what?

The snake wasn't there.

Now while some people might be relieved, my panic level went up a few notches. What if it's keeping an eye on us, waiting to inject its deadly venom (a human will die in half an hour)? In the end, we reached the end of the road, saw the lake, took some pictures, and left.

The lake

See the dark area at the top of the photo where trees from both sides meet? That was the path in which the snake was spotted, and which we had to go through to get back to the car

By that time, we had had enough of trails. So we decided to make one last stop at a town called Foster. Now this is a proper town- it had at least an entire row (and on both sides of the road, too!) of shops. Feeling hungry, we bought some fried chicken (which tasted heavenly) and consumed it in a park. After that, the driver went back to the car for a nap while the rest of us explored the town a bit.

That was painted on a wall

After another half hour or so, we reckoned we'd covered the entire town, and so went back to the car, and began the journey back to Melbourne. I must say, I actually enjoyed Wilson's Prom a lot. Just getting away from tall buildings and the city for a bit seemed refreshing, and it didn't hurt that the scenery was worth every dollar spent.

So that's that. My Easter trip.

More Trailers

2011-05-18T18:15:00.000+10:00

I am kinda sad that most TV shows have ended their seasons. Now I don't get to enjoy them any more until the new season (if there is one) begins.

Anyway, here are another 3 movie trailers!

1. Cowboys and Aliens

2. The Help

3. Dolphin Tale

Nostalgia

2011-05-15T22:39:00.000+10:00

Yes, I know, I've made a few minor changes to my blog's appearance. The most glaring will be the CBox. I did this for two reasons. The first, being that rarely anyone comments anymore.

The second relates to what this post is about: my past entries. I was going through my previous posts, and realised that I remember some people commenting on it, except that it was on the CBox and not the post itself so the comment's pretty much gone. If you know me, you'll know that I can be very sentimental, and I definitely would like to have those comments stored.

I also took the liberty of organising most of my posts according to labels. 'My life' would be mostly about updates on my life, or on insights that I've come to realise, or things like that that's personal. 'Thoughts' would be my opinion on a topic. 'Reviews' would be movie reviews, 'abroad' would be my thoughts and experiences on living overseas, and the rest are self explanatory.

While sorting out those entries, I definitely got a little nostalgic.

I was reminded of old high school trips, full of laughter and being crazy and letting loose, a time when my friends brought out my true self, when I could be wild (in my way) and be happy.

I was reminded of fearless times when the supernatural was not really feared, but not respected, either. But that of course, changed when I found out that it was a true story.

Just to brag to those of you who don't know, I was elected Treasurer twice, in the morning and afternoon sessions. I'm pretty sure not many have done it, and it is an achievement I'm extremely proud of. You may think it's trivial because it happened back in high school, but let me assure you it's not.

I was reminded of the time when I 'retired' from the prefectorial board and found that I missed the times when I could skip classes and lead a hectic life in school, instead of the aimless ones normal students have.

I was reminded of my best birthday ever, when a couple of close friends took time away from their exam preparations to celebrate my 17th.

I was reminded of a tiring but extremely fun trip to Genting with friends, in which we crammed into two small hotel rooms in First World Hotel, and made the place look like a drug addict's hideout (no seriously, it looked like one- we had pills everywhere. Pills for minor ailments, mind you).

Err... dodgy much?

Those were fond high school memories, and I would love to relive them.

Then, college came.

I was reminded of a tiring weeklong orientation.

I was reminded of the time when I watched an impressive 7 movies in 4 weeks. That was when I realised that I became a movie buff.

I was reminded of a trip to a friend's hometown in Kuching.

Then there's the day I got my SPM results.

But all too soon, it all came to an end when I completed my Foundation year. I made some amazing friends, and learned a lot not just about our country and its people, but in so many others things as well. The social sciences had opened my eyes to the big world out there.

I was reminded, also, of the most amazing holiday I've had with friends. After a year of growing slightly distant due to college, we got back together, and spent the limited time we have left together. It was, truly, our last moment of innocence, our last moment of being children and carefree, our last moment together, before we spread our wings and flew in our own separate directions.

Then, I arrived in Australia. Had one of the worst years of my life, but also one in which I grew the most. I would say even that last year was a year of self discovery. From it all, I emerged a stronger and better person. Upon coming home, I found myself changed , and summed it up in a poem I learned in high school.

And finally, that brings me here. Through all the ups and downs, all the happiness, all the obstacles, all the bittersweet memories, all the nostalgia, I am here.

And here lies the beauty of blogging- you look through them, and you find all the wonderful memories. You have a diary that you can reminisce, a journal of your childhood (depending on when you blogged, of course), a statement of your identity. There are many more past entries that I'd like to remind you of, but they won't fit into one entry.

While it is always good to think about the good old days, it should not hold you back from what lies ahead. Neither I nor you know what lies in the future, waiting for us, but I hope for the best.

And of course, I'll try to blog about it to read when I'm old.

In The Meantime...

2011-05-14T14:21:00.001+10:00

I actually wanted to blog yesterday, but for some reason Blogger was down so there was nothing I could do about it.

Speaking of yesterday, I only realised that not only was it Friday the 13th, it's also the 13th of May. Such an... eventful day?

Anyway, the final part of my Easter trip is being put on hold, because I'm not in the mood to write it up yet, and I never like writing anything if I don't think it's gonna turn out the way I want it to be.

In the meantime, feast yourself on these 3 movie trailers (there are more trailers to come, I just don't want to post them all at once).

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

2. The Change Up (note, the rating says for mature audiences)

3. Jane Eyre

Finally, have a look at this article. I'm not sure if I shared this, but it's about the discovery of a human-ish fossil, but is neither human nor Neanderthal.

Have a good weekend!

Good Deal?

2011-05-10T16:03:00.003+10:00

The last few days, one of the issues making some big news over here is the striking of a deal between Australia and Malaysia concerning asylum seekers.

With Australia being a developed country in a region full of developing countries, they do have a huge problem with asylum seekers. So a few days back the Aussie PM announced a solution.

I kinda miss the familiarity of Adelaide... Of course, I get more familiar with Melbourne as each day passes

Under the arrangement, announced by Prime Minister Julia Gillard in Canberra yesterday, up to 800 people who try to make their way to Australia by boat seeking asylum will instead be sent to Malaysia, and to the back of the processing queue.

In return, Australia will resettle 4000 people from Malaysia who have already received refugee status.

While I'm sure that the deal is not making news back home, it definitely is here. From reading news reports I am of the opinion that there are two main reactions to this. The first, is of criticism of the government for landing such an unfair deal, because this would mean that for every 1 refugee rejected, they have to take in 5 (the Aussie people were hoping for something better, like a 1 to 2 deal). And since our Malaysian high commissioner in Australia said that we want to have to power to select and reject refugees, there are concerns that we'll reject so many that Australia will end up taking all of these refugees anyway.

The second reason, is that apparently asylum seekers in Malaysia are mistreated.

A CROWD of men, women and children waited on the street in front of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees' office in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

The barred gate of the cage-like enclosure was kept locked by a burly guard. The crowd surged forward when it seemed more would be permitted inside the barriers.

Emotions can run high here. In 2004, an asylum-seeker set himself alight at the gates and died of his burns. Stateless, sometimes unemployed and often ill, the dispirited group at the gate was one small illustration of the appalling plight of refugees across Asia.

Rohingya man Abdul Gappoor from Burma belongs to one of the worst-treated minorities in the world, his people harried and oppressed and refused citizenship by even their own nation.
Mr Gappoor has been on the run for years. He and his wife, Zainab, lost two young children to illness in the process. He was arrested in Kuantan in Malaysia in 1992 and since then his life has been an unfolding tragedy.

"If I were deported, I would be imprisoned and killed by Burmese authorities," it said.

For Mr Gappoor, Australia would be a welcome change. "Life would be easier in Australia."

I find it amusing and annoying at the same time that the Australian media is painting our country as a cruel nation who does not care about human rights. I'm not sure about this, but I think these people are not seeking refuge in Malaysia, they're hoping to come to Australia, so for us to even give them a place to stay is already kind, I would argue. After all, this is not Malaysia's problem.

And while I agree that these people should not be beaten or starved, if it is true, that is- Australia isn't exactly guiltless, either.

This is an article about a protest that occurred in a Sydney refugee detention centre:

Negotiations to bring three detainees down from the roof of Sydney's Villawood Detention Centre have failed, as their protest goes into its ninth day.

Human rights' activist Dr Mohamed Al Jabiri said he had gone into the centre on Thursday afternoon to negotiate with authorities on behalf of the detainees, but a compromise could not be reached.

"They were insisting that first of all, these people have to come down from the roof, so I asked them if they can get immunity (from being charged)," Dr Al Jabiri told AAP.

"They said no, we cannot give a promise."

He said it appeared the protesters might be arrested if they came down and there would be no reconsideration of their visas.

And this is another article about another protest at a different detention centre.

Yesterday a small group of detainees were protesting in the grounds of the Christmas Island detention centre as the Immigration Department dealt with the aftermath of a rooftop protest at the centre last week.

Those protesters were on the roof for three days and nights and workers at the medical centre below have since complained of a strong smell of human faeces.

Plans were under way for a worker to be lifted by crane in a cage to clean the excrement off.
"Appropriate occupational health and safety matters must be considered these are being addressed," a department spokesman said.

The spokesman described yesterday's protest as passive and the centre as "calm, currently".
The men wrote on sheets. One read: "We have been here for 530 days and we have been accepted as refugees for 160 days but until now it's not yet justice. How long do we need to wait for the conclusion of our cases???".

And this was something that happened in March.

Parts of the main Christmas Island detention centre burnt as protests by 250 asylum seekers turned violent last night.

Meanwhile, a 20 year old Afghan man has died overnight in the Scherger centre in Queensland. An immigration spokeswoman said the man was discovered in his bed by Serco staff and could not be revived. Police will investigate the death.

Australian Federal Police have taken over control of the Christmas Island detention centre, an immigration spokesman said.

The protesters had marched within the main detention centre grounds carrying two banners, one reading "Freedom", and then marched back inside the centre and sat down before dispersing about an hour later at 9.35pm, the department spokesman said.

About 280 detainees - not associated with the violence - had to be moved from the North West detention centre to a recreation hall and to Phosphate Hill for their safety during the violence, which lasted until just after midnight.

"Many detainees have moved away from the troublemakers," a department spokesman said.

I guess this is what media distortion that we learn in class is all about. When refugees are mistreated in Australia it is because they were troublemakers, but when it happens in a country like Malaysia (mind you, we don't have the best of reputations here) it is a violation of human rights.

Well, that kinda is like what Australia is doing too... further proof that Australia and America aren't that different?

I bet nobody told the asylum seeker in Malaysia of his Christmas Island counterparts' ordeal.

Easter Trip Day 2: Phillip Island

2011-05-06T22:20:00.002+10:00

So the second day, we started earlier because we wanted to take a detour and Phillip Island is further away.

The detour is Frankston, this seaside town that has a sand sculpture exhibition. And of course, I'm not talking about sand castles, I'm talking about actual sculptures that require not only talent and creativity but also a lot of patience.

Those are some of the sculptures. The theme was Creepy Crawlies, if you're wondering why the artists sculpted bugs of all things. On the brochure I read that after the exhibition it is bulldozed. Yes, bulldozed. That's because the sand is some type of stronger sand that sticks together better.

After getting awed by the creativity of these sculptures we headed to Phillip Island. It's about 2 hours away from Melbourne, and I would say would be something like the equivalent of Langkawi? A getaway from the city (though that's not the case for Langkawi), an island on its own that's mostly for tourists. The first attraction we went was this smaller island called Churchill Island. The view was pretty awesome (at that time, the weather in Victoria was still sunny and not too cold), although the activities there (sheep shearing, horse riding, etc) was more suited for kids.

Next, we went to a koala conservation park. We saw a few koalas, watched one eat close up (they're really slow eaters, by the way) and then realised that there's nothing much other than that to see, so we moved on to our final destination of the day: the Penguin Parade!

It was at this beach where we would be able to see tiny penguins come to shore from who knows where they went, and move to their burrows. I only managed to see a few coming to shore (people were blocking me and they were so tiny and dark coloured and it was getting dark) but there were so many of them walking towards their burrows, it was so cute! They're probably only the length of the tip of your finger to your elbow. And if say 10 of them walk together, but if they're from different burrows some will stop and just stand there and wait for their burrow mates to walk together.

And you know how penguins walk like. They were wet, they looked disoriented, and were so tiny, but were nonetheless cute. Unfortunately, I didn't snap any photos or videos because use of cameras is prohibited.

At Churchill Island

And that's it! It was completely dark by the time we left, once again we began the journey home to rest and to prepare for our first and only overnight trip. Overall, Phillip Island was pretty good. We didn't have enough time, though, so a possible trip next time could be an overnight one.

Just as a teaser, of all the three destinations I enjoyed the last one the most! There's jaw-dropping scenery (though it might look pretty normal to you, I don't have a DSLR), a cosy cottage and... a 'town' that consists of two shops.

Easter Trip Day 1: Castlemaine

2011-05-03T17:33:00.002+10:00

I've decided to split my Easter trip into several different entries because right now I'm in a little bit of a rush.

Anyway, the first day we took a day trip to this town called Castlemaine that's about 2 hours away from Melbourne.

We rented a car from the city and self-drove all the way there.

Castlemaine I would say is a town that's very like the typical countryside town. It's unlike the city- there aren't many shops around, most people drive because public transport is non-existent, etc. You know what I mean, you just know when you're in the countryside. Just like back home you can tell when you're in Ipoh and when you're in KL.

Anyway, the first thing we did there was to go to the tourist information centre. Then, it was off in search of food! In the end there weren't many choices so we settled for fish & chips. I order just the fish and a dim sim (localised dim sum) which wasn't too bad, although some of the others who ordered things like spring rolls found it horrendous.

And as the fish & chips shop was a take-away one, we went to this park to have our lunch, just sitting on the ground. Here, you see seniors (one was even swearing at top speed), young families, couples, bikers all around enjoying the sunshine.

Then the touring started. First, we went to this historic home. Was pretty hard to find because I think all of us expected it to be a huge mansion located in the middle of nowhere (or at least something like that) but it turned out to be just a terraced-sized house (though it had its own piece of land) that's in a neighbourhood. And since we had to pay an entrance fee we decided to skip it and move on to the next one, a cemetery for children!

The cemetery itself wasn't too creepy actually; in fact, it looked extremely normal. As in, you wouldn't think it's a cemetery because it looks just like any other unattended grassland. Then you move closer and you see the rocks placed in different-sized ovals. Apparently, during the gold rush period many kids fell ill easily because of poor hygiene, and if and when they died they were buried there. I think I saw a tombstone with Chinese characters but it was so faded I couldn't be sure. But I didn't any pictures anyway.

Next up was a mining museum, sort of. It's like an open air museum as it was an actual mining site. There was a maze that was made of rocks, which we tried out.

There are two entrances and you have to try to get to the middle. Pretty interesting.

The rest... not so interesting. Except this.

(It means 'gold is here', by the way)

I guess the Chinese people went there in search of better opportunities (apparently there were a lot of Chinese people back then in Castlemaine). I'm guessing that the tombstone I saw earlier could after all have contained Chinese characters.

Next we went to this Water Wheel thing. I don't know what it is, or what it's used for, it was just a structure up in the hills (had to drive pretty deep inside). So we made a hasty exit and went to the alpaca farm.

Alpacas are something like llamas, I'm told. The owner showed us a baby alpaca (don't remember what they're called) that was just born a few hours ago, and it could walk!

We stayed there for awhile listening to her talk about the alpacas. Apparently they are very curious creatures and dislike dogs. Also they are very protective of their young. You can see from this picture that there's an adult alpaca. Well that's the mother, who follows her baby everywhere.

Overall I think Castlemaine just marketed itself well. They said sights to see include this children's cemetery and water wheel and being typical city folks we expected a lot, and it turned out to be... very normal. Luckily we only went for a day trip! But it is a good getaway for people who are tired of the city. On a side note: At least my network provider (a company with about less coverage than DiGi outside of cities) had reception there!

And then we were done for the day! We arrived back at Melbourne at around 730 I believe, and had dinner then headed home to rest and get ready for the next day.

Sites I Frequent

2011-04-27T22:04:00.000+10:00

I don't know why it's taken so long for me to realise this (probably because it's really narcissistic to do so, but I don't care), but I've only just thought about putting up a list of websites I frequent when I'm online. There are 10 of them in total, in no particular order.

1. Mashable

My favourite site for tech news! Last year or so I suddenly became one-hundredth techie. This site features a lot of different news, like product releases from Apple to tips on using social media for your company. It's founded by this guy called Pete Cashmore, who is actually very young as well, comparable to Mark Zuckerberg, even.

2. The New York Times

Although they recently created a paywall, it's really easy to bypass it. NY Times is exactly how I want to write like if I were a journalist or writer. The articles are mostly extremely well written, with language that's vivid and sophisticated at the same time. Here's an article about a geisha who survived the recent Japan tsunami.

3. E! Online

Although E! isn't the most popular entertainment website, I really like the way they construct, write and market their news stories. Also, they don't give too broad a definition as to what's a celebrity. Half the people featured in TMZ I've not even heard of. And yes, I do enjoy getting my regular dose of entertainment news.

4. Beers and Beans

This is a travel blog, written by an American couple. I do wish to travel after I graduate, perhaps go on a trip around the world. There are some very interesting updates and insights about the countries they visited (backpacking, of course!).

5. Follow Our Footsteps

One half of the duo

Another travel blog by a couple. Also very enjoyable, although I think they've completed their round the world trip judging by the lack of updates recently, but all the entries are there, so it's still worth a visit. Reading it will make you want to travel too!

6. Nicole Chocoa Heaven

A local travel blog! Her entries can be very unrelated to travel, sometimes downright annoying (the type you'll find on random blogs- emo stuff), but I'm assuming that's when she's taking a break from travelling. Link's at the right sidebar.

7. KampungboyCitygal

A travel/food blog. Nothing special, just makes you hungry sometimes, that's all.

8. VKeong

Another travel/food blog. Really good photos, which can make you even hungrier than the previous one.

9. WorkAwesome

I'm not sure which category does this blog go into, but it provides very nice tips on making your working life much more enjoyable, like redesigning your office space. Here's an entry on how to have an effective team meeting.

10. FailBlog + FailBook

Ahhh. Fails. How could this list ever be complete without it? If you don't already know what it is, go through my previous entries. You'll find many pictures from both sites that I used. Of course, there are videos too, which can be hilarious.

And that's all! Will update about my Easter trip soon!

Easter, Easter

2011-04-23T21:31:00.000+10:00

It's slightly annoying that RMIT's Easter break only lasts for a week. UniSA has its mid sem break coinciding with Easter for TWO whole weeks! Even Melbourne Uni has a 9 day break. But I intend to fully enjoy it anyway.

One thing I've noticed about us Malaysians is that we never seem to give our own country credit for things that we are better than other countries in. When I complain about Adelaide and Melbourne (and possibly the rest of Australia except Sydney, but I'm not gonna stereotype) not having much nightlife besides clubs and pubs (I was thinking about something along the lines of mamaks), the standard reply would be 'Australia memang like that what...'

In Sydney

But then think about it another way. If I were to complain about Malaysia's public transportation (which can be really horrible) it would be something like 'look at Australia's public transport. So efficient'.

We never learn to appreciate Malaysia for what we have, and always see other countries as being better off than us. Sometimes I do think that way, but I have to admit, coming here has made me much more appreciative of the quirks and idiosyncrasies of our home country.

I lament the fact that there are no mamaks here, that the people are not as friendly as people back home (even though many would disagree with me), that so many things have to be so procedural.

This time last year, I would've simply complained and withdraw from everything. This time around, I came to terms with how things are, and just accepted it. I guess that's another thing one year of living abroad has done to me, I'm now much more willing to forget about the negative side and simply focus on the lighter side and not take things too seriously. Of course, at times I still blow my top, but most of the time I do not. A testament to having to live independently, I suppose.

Ahhh... College. Good times.

But here's something very interesting I read on someone's blog recently about being in America. Note: there are quite a lot of profanities!

I swear, it's like a recurring sickness. I am still not okay with this place. There are times when I feel okay, and then there are times when I feel so fucking blah, like now. But I've never felt great. I fucking hate this place, it's so God-awful, I want to leave and never come back.

I'm sick of having conversations for one. I'm sick of wanting to be wanted. This place is fucking cold and distant and unwelcoming, just like its people. I'm sick of reaching out into thin air, nothingness, because this is exactly what this place is. Nothing. A big pile of nothing.

I have no connection or relation with anyone here. It's been a year. I've tried. In the past two, three weeks, I've been trying so hard. The door was slammed in my face a couple times, but I kept going, and I tried. For God's sake, it's my fucking last two weeks here. Possibly forever. Don't I deserve a chance?

Sometimes, that is exactly how I feel. But most of the time I tell myself to forget about it and move on. And it's worked really well.

Anyway, my point here is that we never seem to credit Malaysia when we do something well. Like the high speed broadband (which by the way is wayyyyyyy faster than the Internet I have now). Like politics. Trust me when I say the Aussies aren't very satisfied with their government, either. But hey, everything that the government does that seems good, it will be reasoned that an election is drawing near. There is always an ulterior motive, and pure politics of appealing to people or gaining more popularity apparently does not count.

Granted, we do have problems, and someone does need to speak up, but we also need to give credit where it's due.

Okay, I've ranted enough for now. Here are another two trailers (I've amassed quite a collection of trailers on one day when I was taking a break from assignments, hence the continuous flow of trailers). The first one is actually a documentary, and a really interesting one too!

Multittasking

2011-04-20T22:26:00.002+10:00

Right now as I'm typing this, I'm also watching a TV show on my laptop. Although I know from research that your performance actually deteriorates as you focus your attention on more than one thing, but hey, this is the only way to be able to get everything done on time AND have enough rest (which is extremely important for me, I get cranky with sleep deprivation).

Anyway, today something really embarrassing happened to me. So first, let me introduce you to this thing called self-serve checkouts. Basically, at supermarkets here you can do your own shopping and make the payment yourself as well, just bring it to the counter, scan the items yourself and make the payment via a debit card (they call it EFTPOS here).

Sunny Melbourne, something I miss.

So I was doing the usual grocery shopping and thinking about what I need, which today was mostly vegetables. And today was a rather different day because I was flitting between many different types of vegetables.

But when I was finally done, I headed to the self-serve checkouts. Then I started scanning. The thing is, how it works here is that for fresh food like fruits and vegetables, or things like ham and chicken meat, you look the item up and then put it on the weighing scale and viola!

So when I started, I scanned the items with barcodes since it takes less time. Anyway, it was done really quickly, coz like I said, I had more stuff without barcodes. So the first thing I picked up was a brinjal / aubergine. Then it hit me. Here they don't call it aubergines. And they don't call it brinjals either. And I couldn't remember what it was called! Starting to panic, I tried to think, and came up with nothing. So I thought, that's all right, I'll do the rest and then come back to it.

With the last two items left, I was doomed. I still could not recall what that thing's called. So many options were going through my head, but I had to call for assistance. And she said "it's under E. Eggplant".

Right! Eggplant. It was so embarrassing! But in hindsight, extremely hilarious as well. Thankfully the lady was not an Australian (she looked Indian), otherwise I would've thought that I had given a wrong perception that Asians aren't good at English.

So that's that. An update. Also, a movie trailer below.

P.S. Easter break's begun. Hopefully you'll see more of me. Or not, considering all that I have to do!

Feeling Good About Yourself

2011-04-13T22:09:00.002+10:00

I'm here, again.

I figured that I should probably update today considering I'll be busy tomorrow and during the weekend, and after that it's another week of classes followed by a short Easter break which I'll be using to get away.

I know that I made a promise to myself to get a job when I'm here, but so far I have not been putting as much effort. I keep putting it off and focusing on other things, and the places I've applied to so far have not gotten back to me, so I'm guessing they don't want me. Which is not good since my plan is to get a job to save up to go travelling after I graduate.

Algebra of the Seven Sins

Okay, since I'm guessing you read this blog purely for my opinion on an issue, or updates on my life.

So here's an update: After all the sacrifices and effort I made last year, I was the top 5% in my Division! That's the division of Education, Arts and Social Sciences which has the School of Communication, School of Psychology, etc under it. And I finished top FIVE percent! How unbelievable is that!

Growing up, I never really had that experience of being top of my class or being the best at something. I still rarely feel that way, which is why just today I felt slightly happier when a friend told me that my clothing choice always look very well put together and is normally the best among our group of friends. Yay! (I guess this is where I also brag that I actually have a trophy in my room back home that says 'Most Fashionable Prefect'...)

Darn... should've done that in high school

And that's not all. I also got an invitation to join this club called Golden Key Honour Society. It's an invitation ONLY club for students who have performed well in their studies at uni. So of course, I jumped at the chance of being in an exclusive society. I almost feel as if I am a part of the Greek system at American universities already.

If you hadn't guessed, yes I only said those to brag, and to feel good about myself. I trust that you, dear reader, would tolerate this since I rarely boast (or do I?). I read in that introvert book I blogged about before that introverts tend to perform better at tertiary education. When I return I'll blog about another personality test I did.

And as for other updates, I'm coming to see that despite so many people viewing high school as insignificant, I actually think it's important because so many of my behaviour today can be attributed to what I experienced in high school. Also, things that I learned as a prefect actually came in handy.

Is that enough updates?

Have a good time while I'm gone!

This Will be a Quick One

2011-04-07T10:56:00.000+10:00

It is now week 6 of uni. Week 6 out of 12. So yes, I'm halfway through finishing my first semester this year. Seems like my coming here wasn't too long ago was it? But I don't mind, I'd rather have a speedy semester and get this all over with.

But because everything flies by so fast and with me procrastinating I really haven't thought about blogging much. Even my tweeting has decreased. I think living independently makes me so much busier, there are so many other things to think about!

Anyway, have a read at this. So this is how Blogger is going to look like sometime this year. What do you think about the design? I personally think it looks great, it allows me to not think about changing my blog theme too.

And I'm sorry but I haven't got my blogging mojo back. So I'll end this post with another video.

Don't you just hate people like that? It really won't kill anyone (especially yourself) to turn your phone to silent, after all.

Do you know anyone like that?

What's On TV...

2011-04-02T21:29:00.002+11:00

Pretty good parody of Bollywood don't you think?

Am I An Immigrant?

2011-03-29T21:38:00.001+11:00

I think that being abroad has changed me, in many ways. For one thing, I see our home country in a different light. There is a certain feeling of patriotism when I listen to my lecturer talking about Dr. Mahathir's famous antics when he criticised and stood up to Western leaders.

Just take a look at this article. Here, instead of being insulted and merely saying that it's disrespectful, Mahathir gave it right back. Which felt very satisfying. Even more so that it was done by a Malaysian.

Being here, also made me think more deeply about many things, like what it means to be a Malaysian. And I'm pretty sure that if this blog were a popular one this post will leave me branded as a traitor to my 'race'.

Now I guess one common claim in Malaysia is that while the Chinese and Indians' ancestors are immigrants, many say that the Malays are no different and that they themselves were immigrants way back when. Recently, Mahathir said this (grabbed from The Malaysian Insider):

“I would not say I am a Malay or Malaysian of ethnic Indian origin. My mother tongue and home language is Malay, my culture and tradition is Malay and I am a Muslim. The constitution defines a Malay as a person who habitually speaks Malay, practices Malay custom and tradition and is a Muslim,” he said in a posting on his blog.

He said it was obvious some Malays were descended from people of the Indonesian islands, India and the Arabian peninsular.

“Having come here they were assimilated after they identified themselves completely with the Malays by adopting the Malay language, their customs and traditions and by being Muslims.

“This is a common phenomenon. In America, Australia, Latin America, the later immigrants accepted the languages of their adopted country as their mother tongue as well as the culture.

“After doing this they no longer think of themselves as being of their original country. They are Americans, Australians and Argentinians period.

Now while I agree that sometimes he can be very disrespectful and blunt, I must say that I actually agree with what he said.

Why don't we all identify ourselves as Malaysian? Why is there a need to know someone's race? Why do we still consider some Malaysians as Chinese or Indians? Ethnically, yes, they came from Chinese and Indian roots, but they are citizens, aren't they? To me, a Chinese is someone from mainland China. They're of no relation to us, and I doubt even if we Malaysian Chinese were to go there we wouldn't be welcomed like long lost relatives, either.

Like he said, I find it true that if we were to stop labelling ourselves and start thinking of everyone as the same, no matter what colour our skin is, or the importance of continuing the learning of our 'culture', don't you think Malaysians will be more united?

Take national type secondary schools, for example. That's where you see people from Chinese primary schools, Tamil primary schools and the national type primary schools mixing in different groups. Now imagine what would happen if only ONE type of school system was present.

Of course, I do acknowledge that it cannot happen without the government doing away with discriminatory policies.

Okay, time to get back to assignments. See you soon!

A Short One

2011-03-23T21:09:00.001+11:00

Very quickly, a couple of days have passed since my last update.

Here are some trailers to pass the time till my next one.

Maybe I'll feel inspired soon. Maybe.

Benefits of Failure?

2011-03-20T21:16:00.002+11:00

I apologise for the infrequent updates. Sometimes I feel extremely motivated to blog, other times I only feel like not doing anything productive. Sometimes I feel as if I can write multiple entries, other times even once in a few days seem like an enormous task.

I actually started writing a little about my experience living abroad. I do hope that one day, I'll become a published author, but I'm not sure if this is it. I'm also in the process (read: procrastination!) of writing a fictitious story, but I highly doubt that I'll share it here.

Anyway, I'm still finding it hard to adjust to uni life, I'm surprised at it myself. Perhaps it's because of the three month holiday I've had. Perhaps it's because of the two previous trips to Melbourne I made being holidays. Perhaps I'm still adjusting to culture shock and being independent, again. Who knows? My mind works in very peculiar ways.

I'm not sure if I've shared this with you all, but I'm wondering if anyone has heard J.K. Rowling's Harvard commencement speech? I've always found it to be highly inspiring. Today I read through the script again, and it resonated with me so very deeply, on many levels.

Maybe it's because it's dawned on me that I don't perform very well in interviews or in situations where I have to impress people. Maybe because I've come to realise that like what J.K. Rowling said, facing obstacles in life has taught me a lot about myself.

Anyway, here's her speech:

And here are some snippets of the speech, which you can read from here:

Failure taught me things about myself that I could have learned no other way. I discovered that I had a strong will, and more discipline than I had suspected; I also found out that I had friends whose value was truly above the price of rubies.

The knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means that you are, ever after, secure in your ability to survive. You will never truly know yourself, or the strength of your relationships, until both have been tested by adversity. Such knowledge is a true gift, for all that it is painfully won, and it has been worth more than any qualification I ever earned.

If you choose to use your status and influence to raise your voice on behalf of those who have no voice; if you choose to identify not only with the powerful, but with the powerless; if you retain the ability to imagine yourself into the lives of those who do not have your advantages, then it will not only be your proud families who celebrate your existence, but thousands and millions of people whose reality you have helped change. We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.

Have a wonderful week ahead!

P.S. Should I take the spam on the chatbox as a compliment?

Changes

2011-03-15T16:45:00.000+11:00

I'm not sure if it's noticeable to you, but I've actually changed my Blogger account. That's because previously I used my Hotmail account that I had since I was about 10 (a decade ago, gasp!), and previously I had relied on Firefox for any sign ins related to my Hotmail account, and Chrome for Gmail related ones. But then I've come to realise that I don't use my Hotmail account anymore anyway, except for MSN. So thus begins the slow (due to procrastination) process of transferring accounts.

Today I just figured out how to transfer my Blogger profile. Hence, this is actually published using a new Blogger profile, with the same name. I have previously tried, to no avail. Today I made the move to Google it, and found the solution. If you're thinking of doing the same, this article will be very useful.

Anyway, this blog will be undergoing some changes sometime. I have originally planned to change my background during my birthday last year, and then again to coincide with New Year's, but sadly I was too distracted to think of implementing it.

But my blog's layout's not the only thing that will be updated. Google also announced that this year, Blogger will be having a revamp, though they did not state exactly when. Here's the video Google posted to introduce the changes:

Pretty cool, eh? I for one like the new look already!

Interesting facts about Blogger include:

More active readers (400 million) than the population of South America
250,000 new words are written every minute, which is equivalent to 5000 new novels a day!
75% of Blogger's traffic comes from outside USA

And lastly, here's a picture of my room now:

Life As We Know It

2011-03-13T22:24:00.002+11:00

So yet another natural disaster has hit us. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. What I find hard to comprehend is the constant 'pray for Japan' pleas on Facebook and Twitter and who knows how many other social networking sites. I for one, refrained from it.

Think about it- of all the people who posted stuff like that, how many do you think actually prayed? Or were they just thinking along the lines of 'Gosh that's so horrible! Oh look, pray for Japan! That's a good update!'

Yes, it's unfortunate that this has happened. But there's a difference between actually helping and using it as a social performance to show people that you care about events in the world. If you actually did you probably would be doing something to help eradicate child labour and child soldiers, poverty, food shortage and the many other social issues around the world. Or to be specific, donating to help the Japanese. In the words of the author of a journal I just read about comments / wall posts on Facebook:

Comments are not simply a dialogue between two interlocutors, but a performance of social connection before a broader audience.

It doesn't exactly fit the situation, but like I posted before, social network updates are like a performance, it's your public image. But you really cannot blame these people.

Another thing I'm finding funny is the constant 'it's a sign of 2012!' thing going on. Apparently, if you add the date of 911 and the date the Japanese earthquake together, it adds up to December 21, 2012. Hmmm.... why not the 2004 tsunami?

No, I don't own that

Granted, I'm not completely against the idea of a catastrophic event like 2012 happening, but I definitely have a lot of doubts. Like this, which apparently can cause 'wide-spread blackouts and affecting communication cables that support the Internet and damage satellites used for commercial communications, global positioning and weather forecasting'.

In the meantime, I'll keep myself amused with Survivor. You may never know, it might come in handy when something end of the world-ish will happen.

As for my life, uni has been treating me all right, although I'm still adjusting to life in Melbourne. I believe I'm still very much in the 'tourist phase'. But it doesn't bother me that much, I'm much more worry-free these days. And that's a good thing.

All About Facebook

2011-03-06T18:44:00.000+11:00

Have a great week ahead!

I'm Here

2011-03-05T21:10:00.000+11:00

My apologies for not updating sooner, I only just got my internet connection today.

Anyway, I've arrived at Melbourne. The flight was delayed for a really long time. Apparently, the system crashed sometime after I checked in (but before departure), and so it took a much longer time for them to check everyone in. As there were no problems with my check in, I boarded the plane as usual anyway.

When everyone were finally in the plane, we were told that they had to refuel first! And so we took off much, much later than expected. Then, the next morning, as we were about to land, the pilot announced that the landing has been pushed back. Basically the flight was delayed for a good two hours, or more. By the time we were allowed to exit everyone was beyond weary. We just wanted to get out of the plane.

Enrolment wasn't all smooth sailing either. RMIT has this very weird way of running things that is very similar to back home. I was referred to a different person, each telling me that they cannot advise me on my credit transfer. Believe it or not, I only got it sorted out this week.

And as my Internet is really slow and refuses to let me upload photos, I'll just end this post with a video. I first knew about it through this article. It's about a Chinese New Year ad that was aired in China, and the article summed it up really well:

It reflects the other, more poignant side to China’s great leap into modernity and globalisation – that of the emotional cost of chasing a dream.

Very touching, right? Maybe it doesn't resonate with a person who hasn't been abroad, but I definitely know what people like him went through.

As Promised: My Apartment

2011-02-18T19:48:00.000+11:00

So I believe I've mentioned that I would write about my apartment last year after my contract's ended? Well, it's ended and I've had my bond returned, so I'm free now!

So here goes. I foolishly signed the lease without first inspecting the place, and I was actually shocked when I entered the place, because it was so different than what I saw in the website. Here's the pictures from the website at the time before I moved in (therefore, the pictures that gave me an impression of the place I was moving into):

And here is what I saw when I moved in. I painstakingly tried taking the pictures from the same angle.

Big difference, no?

Anyway, the place was much dirtier and messier than I expected. And there wasn't any heating, which was actually supposed to be provided (I even printed out the page where they said it is provided, but the property manager then denied that they provide heaters).

Basically, the property manager at that time was someone whose label would rhyme with hitch. She was very unhelpful, and from conversations with other tenants, I came to realise that she was someone who did not take her work seriously.

Then, in a mere weeks, the property manager was presumably fired (supposedly because of a tribunal case brought on by a friend of mine). So the next property manager was chosen from the ranks of the lower ranked employees.

At the beginning, this property manager was not much different from her predecessor. When I needed keys to the MDF box for my Internet connection, she refused to hand it to me, insisting that I had to get the Internet company to give me an exact time, and she will meet me there. But the Internet company said they can't give an exact time, and that I'll have to change the mind of my property manager. After pleading with her, begging her to help me, she caved in.

But when I returned the keys, the other lady told me that the PM (property manager) said I was late in returning, although the email from the PM was a different story. As my appointment was on Wednesday (for the Internet connection), anytime between 8am to 6pm, she said I was to collect the keys Tuesday after 5pm and return it Thursday before 9am. But that lady said that I was supposed to return it on Wednesday. So you see, not only were they incompetent, they were also extremely forgetful and apparently don't know the days of the week, too.

You can imagine how I must have felt, being treated like a dumb illegal immigrant who doesn't speak English and doesn't keep my word, when the so called 'educated' Australian was the one who can't tell the difference between Wednesday and Thursday.

Then once, she even made the mistake of assigning someone my apartment. That Chinese couple had rented an entire 2 bedroom apartment, but yet, was given my unit. And the PM did not explain it to me, and I only got the explanation from the Chinese couple.

That first few months there was really a roller coaster ride. Sometimes when there is no interaction I would be fine, but then there are instances like these in which their incompetence can be seen like peering through glass that would make my blood boil. I was beyond pissed at times.

At one point, I calmed down, and decided to take action. I was very prepared to go campaign to have them removed from the university's rental database, but as I was under contract I was afraid of repercussions. I also really wanted to post it here, but once again I feared that I might suffer consequences. So I took my high school English teacher's advice: don't get mad, get even. I decided to keep a journal of everything that they did that was not up to par, and I would lie low, bidding my time. Once my contract's over, it's no holds barred.

But this is a very watered down version of my experiences. I decided not to pursue my plan of revenge for one reason (besides the fact that a long time has passed since)- the new PM.

Slowly as she got to know her job, she became better at it. No doubt, at the beginning she was horrible- but then she started picking it up. She gave notices which told us tenants when to put out the trash, the fines for not keeping our trash bins, not triggering the alarm, etc. I actually felt that she did a good job. And not to mention, she was nothing but nice ever since. All her calls are polite, and was never rude since.

When I was leaving, she did everything nicely, wasn't rude, conducted the inspection quickly and returned my full bond money. I felt that it was unfair to label them as incompetent considering how good a job she's done.

I wouldn't say that I recommend students to choose that apartment to live in as it is quite pricey, and that it has a bad reputation- when I tell people I lived in this place, their reaction would be 'Oh gosh. I pity you' or something along that line. But I do think it's improving.

And there you have it. It may not be as crazy as it sounds or as bad as it sounds, but like I said, I've watered it down. It really was a horrifying experience. I mean, would you expect to receive this treatment in a 'developed' country? I think not.

Maybe I Should....

2011-02-15T00:10:00.001+11:00

About Time

2011-02-12T19:10:00.000+11:00

1. My sister, who is in her late 70s, was on a visit to my son's house.

My three-year-old grandson was playing in the living room while the adults were engrossed in conversation. Suddenly, he fell and knocked his head on the floor. We quickly went to his aid. My sister put her palm on her forehead and exclaimed, "Aiyoh!"

My grandson promptly stopped crying. Staring at her indignantly, he said, "My head, not yours!"

2. It was mealtime during our trip on a small airline in the far east. "Would you like dinner?" the flight attendant asked the man seated in front of me.

"What are my choices?" the man asked.

"Yes or no," replied the stewardess.

3. One day I had to be the bearer of bad news when I told a wife that her husband died of a massive myocardial infarct. Not more than five minutes later, I heard her reporting to the rest of the family that he had died of a 'massive internal fart'.

4. While sitting on the train one day, the man next to me started screaming, "Call me a doctor! Call me a doctor!"

I asked, "Are you sick?"

"No," he replied. "I just graduated from medical school".

5. An army sergeant got word that the father of one of his men had passed away. At roll call he snapped, "Hey, Jones, your father died!" The soldier fainted on the spot.

A week later the sister of another soldier died, and the sergeant once again called his men together. "William," he yelled out, "your sister died last night!" The soldier burst into tears.

Finally, word got back to the general about the sergeant's insensitivity, and he was called on the carpet and told to be less direct and gruff when one of his men suffered a tragedy.

A week later the sergeant was notified that Private Wilson had just lost his mother. Remembering what the general had said, he lined up his troop.

Then he ordered, "Everyone whose mother is alive, please take one step forward. Not so fast Wilson!"

Bye Bye, Tiger

2011-02-09T00:16:00.000+11:00

So just like that, Chinese New Year has come and gone. I, too, wished it were longer, but unfortunately there's nothing I can do about it, except enjoy it while it lasted.

This new year has been a very different experience in some ways compared to the previous new years. Of course, it's still essentially the same, but at the same time it feels... different.

First off, like many people, this new year felt really short. Normally during CNY I would be able to relax and read, or sleep, or even play some board or card games. This year, I found myself busy helping out with the preparations, as well as with other things like entertaining relatives. I barely read any of the 5 books I brought along with me, and only managed to play a round or two on Vocable, a word board game.

Then, I also had a bad stomach reaction which I have no idea what it was caused by. But it had given me several days of eating less before culminating in stomach cramps.

Not to mention, I realised that I had not become an uncle just last year as previously thought; I actually became one about 8 or 9 years ago. You see, my mother's family is extremely huge, like one of those families who can have reunions with more than 100 family members. Apparently, some of my cousins (my granduncle's grandchildren) are about 40 years old. I always knew that I have a huge family on my mum's side, but it was just hard to comprehend until now.

The state of my room, few days before I came home.

But one of the highlights has got to be listening to my grandfather's stories of his youth. Apparently he was a pretty rebellious kid. But his memory of his youth is extremely intact- he did talk about World War II and the Emergency period as well. The proof of his memory lies in a photograph that he received a few years back. He claimed that he was only 11 in the picture, but no one else believed him (even yours truly) because he looked about 16 at the very least (most thought he was about 20). But this trip back, I removed it from its frame and compared the date it was taken with the year he was born. And lo and behold, he really was 11!

But it has been a satisfying Chinese New Year nonetheless.

Chinese New Year, Then And Now

2011-02-02T14:29:00.001+11:00

When it was the Raya holidays, The Star carried an article where someone wrote about how differently is Raya celebrated now, compared to when he was younger.

Yesterday, I was eight. Back then, at this time, I wouldn’t be indoors writing this. I’d be out there on my grandparents’ lawn, running around with my cousins in the bright afternoon sunshine in Kampung Laut, Kelantan.

Today, I’m 27. It’s 9.40am on the second day of Syawal and I’m parked in front of the computer. Trying to pin down the magic of Raya; the youthful exuberance that has lost its energy; the excitement I may have left behind, together with the songkok I blew up in 1991.

Yesterday, Raya was the most eagerly awaited time of the year. Even before Ramadan, I’d ask my parents if we’re going back to Kelantan (my father’s side) or staying back in Kuala Lumpur for Raya (in Kampung Pandan, my mother’s side).

Travelling to the East Coast meant that I would have to brush up on my Kelantanese, or endure the taunting of my cousins, who would laugh mercilessly whenever I fumbled on the dialect. As a kid, the approval of cousins your age meant the world.

Today, the most eagerly awaited time of the year is the English Premier League. Raya is just a few days’ leave from work for me to regain the weight lost during the fasting month. So that I can fit back into pants that are getting loose, and not have to buy new ones.

When I read that article, I thought, 'how true!' The article definitely resonated with me, probably because I have realised that this had been happening for several years, and I'm sure everyone has, too.

Of course, in my case it would not be Raya; instead it would be Chinese New Year, or CNY for short.

Celebrations and festivities are definitely a way in which we can see the changes in our lives; it happens only once every year, so slowly, we see how we grow up, and how the significance of the celebration changes.

Back then, Chinese New Year was about going back to my parents' hometowns, it was about getting more ang pow money than my sister, and it was about the entire festivity. It was about being away from school and the routines that I'm used to, it was about escaping all that and going away and having a good time without having to worry about schoolwork.

Now, Chinese New Year is about so much more, and so much less. The joy of receiving ang pows have gotten stale over the years. Yes, the money's good, but sometimes it just doesn't seem to important anymore. For the past few years when all the noise from the chatter got too much for me to bear (trust me, my extended family's loud- on my father's side, that is) I would simply head into the room, close the door and read a book or even take a nap.

Chinese New Year lost its charm on me for several years, when I would be the only teen in the household. It was lonely, but of course, only in the sense that there were nobody my age- I could still play with my younger cousins, or watch TV, but it just wasn't the same anymore, especially after my grandmother passed away. Chinese New Year became so much more simpler, when I had always enjoyed the traditions that seemed insignificant at first.

Now that I'm based overseas (sort of), Chinese New Year has once again, changed for me. Now, it is where I can go back to where I came from, to where I can see my family members, and most of all, to forget about the Australian culture for awhile. For that brief moment, I am back to my roots, my beginnings, where I belong.

Chinese New Year is where I enjoy two very important aspects of Malaysian culture- good food, and family. This is the time when I get to lay down the technologies (not my choosing, but still liberating) and simply... be at the present.

I enjoy having reunion dinners, where I get to be in the company of family whom I don't get to see often, surrounded by good food. You can even say that although I've grown, and perceive Chinese New Year in different ways than what I used to see it as, it is still very simple- it's a time to relax, to enjoy my time, to be with family, to eat good food.

Many years ago I even took the effort to dress up during Chinese New Year, including donning the traditional Chinese costume once. But as we've rarely go out visiting (my grandfather's the oldest, so according to Chinese custom everyone else would have to visit him, not the other way round), so these days I just put on a decent looking pair of shorts and a T-shirt.

I guess it is an unfortunate rite of passage that I find different meanings for Chinese New Year as I grow, physically as well as mentally. But it doesn't mean that CNY is not as fun; it still is, I'm sure of it. All it takes is to accept and go along with it.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Note: I know it's a day early, but I have limited Internet so I had saved this post earlier (it was actually written last year, if you remember me writing about not wanting to post an entry on CNY yet), so this is what I've written earlier.

274 Million Views!

2011-01-28T00:14:00.000+11:00

So cuteeee!

Parenting?

2011-01-25T13:08:00.002+11:00

Did anyone read about the Asian-American Yale law professor who wrote a book about how Chinese mothers' parenting techniques bring up successful children?

Here are some of the things that Amy Chua wrote about:

Here are some things my daughters, Sophia and Louisa, were never allowed to do:

• attend a sleepover

• have a playdate

• be in a school play

• complain about not being in a school play

• watch TV or play computer games

• choose their own extracurricular activities

• get any grade less than an A

• not be the No. 1 student in every subject except gym and drama

• play any instrument other than the piano or violin

• not play the piano or violin.

No doubt her education background gave her enough sense to say that she's using the terms 'Chinese parents' and 'Western parents' loosely.

And that's not all.

First, I've noticed that Western parents are extremely anxious about their children's self-esteem. They worry about how their children will feel if they fail at something, and they constantly try to reassure their children about how good they are notwithstanding a mediocre performance on a test or at a recital. In other words, Western parents are concerned about their children's psyches. Chinese parents aren't. They assume strength, not fragility, and as a result they behave very differently.

For example, if a child comes home with an A-minus on a test, a Western parent will most likely praise the child. The Chinese mother will gasp in horror and ask what went wrong. If the child comes home with a B on the test, some Western parents will still praise the child. Other Western parents will sit their child down and express disapproval, but they will be careful not to make their child feel inadequate or insecure, and they will not call their child "stupid," "worthless" or "a disgrace." Privately, the Western parents may worry that their child does not test well or have aptitude in the subject or that there is something wrong with the curriculum and possibly the whole school. If the child's grades do not improve, they may eventually schedule a meeting with the school principal to challenge the way the subject is being taught or to call into question the teacher's credentials.

If a Chinese child gets a B—which would never happen—there would first be a screaming, hair-tearing explosion. The devastated Chinese mother would then get dozens, maybe hundreds of practice tests and work through them with her child for as long as it takes to get the grade up to an A.

Chinese parents demand perfect grades because they believe that their child can get them. If their child doesn't get them, the Chinese parent assumes it's because the child didn't work hard enough. That's why the solution to substandard performance is always to excoriate, punish and shame the child. The Chinese parent believes that their child will be strong enough to take the shaming and to improve from it. (And when Chinese kids do excel, there is plenty of ego-inflating parental praise lavished in the privacy of the home.)

While I agree that this method has created many successful people, I have to disagree with the approach, based on my own experience. Granted, I'm no specialist, but I do believe that her approach wouldn't have worked with me.

Growing up, my parents did send me for lessons in swimming, piano, and several others. But they have never demanded that I practise for 3 hours! But as I had not exhibited much interest in any of the lessons gradually I stopped altogether.

I do not regret those aspects, although sometimes I do wonder what would happen if I had become more of a master of one thing instead of a jack of all trades.

In school, I was never pressured into performing- I don't ever remember my parents being disappointed with my results. So long as it's my best, they accepted it; with the exception of one time when I needed a pep talk to pump me up.

And I do think that I've turned out fine- completed my first year in university, about to enter my second. Don't do drugs, haven't been in jail or been arrested. I'd say that's a pretty good thing, don't you think?

A child needs to be loved by their parents, to know that someone at least has their back.

What about you? What do you think about this parenting technique?

From Reader's Digest

2011-01-23T00:20:00.000+11:00

1. I should have known better than to take my four-year-old son shopping with me. I spent the entire time in the mall chasing after him.

Finally, I'd had it. 'Do you want a stranger to take you?!' I scolded.

Thrilled, he yelled back, 'Will he take me to the zoo?'

2. While my husband and I were busy choosing an air-conditioner to buy in the store, our six-year-old son was wandering around when he spotted a very inviting spa bed.

We overheard the saleslady say to him, 'Do you know what's written there? It says "thank you for not sitting"'.

He answered innocently, 'Yes, I know. That's why I am lying down'.

3. When my friend spotted a blind man and his guide dog at a crosswalk, she stopped her car and waved them on. 'Uh, Cynthia,' I said, 'he can't see you'.

'I know that,' she said indignantly. 'I'm waving the dog on'.

Being Home

2011-01-19T20:55:00.003+11:00

Few days back I woke up early in the morning just to watch the Golden Globes live, only to realise that if I had slept in I would still have been able to catch the repeat the same night. But by that time, I was already too far out of sleepiness to be able to go back to sleep, so I watched the entire thing.

That's something that I'm actually grateful for- TV. Granted, it was better before I left (then, the packages weren't so expensive so my parents still subscribed to the movies and sports package), but it is still way better than not having any TV to watch at all- the last few months of 2010. I kept myself in my room, and whatever entertainment I got, came from my laptop.

In many ways like this, coming home is like going on a vacation- you allow yourself some luxury, forget about your worries, re-energise and have a good time. Not that being abroad is tiring. It's just that being there I had to make many adjustments in my lifestyle, and it is only by coming back do I get to enjoy things from home, like food, books, TV, badminton, etc.

When I'm home, I'm suddenly interested in writing and reading again, things I've not enjoyed much overseas. I've also have a fiercer passion for reading fiction, probably because the last few books I've read are non-fiction- I need to healthy dose of creative writing now. Recent events also gave me an idea for a story, so I've been preparing it when I'm in the mood. Hopefully, I can start writing soon (and hopefully have the discipline to continue writing it even when I'm in Melbourne).

Anyway, here are some of the things I've noticed since coming home:

1. Drivers are pretty impatient. Luckily I'm rarely one of them. I've been injected with the patience of Aussie drivers.

2. I got so used to having a microwave I actually thought of microwaving some food before realising there isn't one.

I'd love to visit the place that has this sign!

3. I think this is something that we all get used to growing up, but honestly, home is pretty... dirty. One night when going out to a mamak with friends I walked past the tar roads and saw the holes, uneven road surfaces and rubbish. Suddenly all these become so much more obvious than before.

4. I find it irritable when people ask me what am I 'doing' now, because explaining that I'm in Australia studying public relations has suddenly gotten so much of a chore- you do it over and over again, and yet it doesn't lessen. But it's all right. The fault's entirely mine.

5. Home isn't as disabled friendly as Adelaide.

6. I complain about the public transportation in Adelaide (it's not frequent enough, blah blah blah). But I also complain about the public transportation here (never take the KTM during peak hours... you'll discover a whole new meaning to the words 'sandwich' and 'close contact').

7. I also find it irritable when people complain about how lousy home is and that they'd rather be elsewhere. Seriously, we've had it good. You don't want to be spending RM 9 / 3 AUD on a plain roti canai do you? Complaining is only good when you do something about it (okay that might be a little hypocritical).

8. It takes a lot to amuse me. The hidden ingredient is that I take pleasure from other people's foolishness (Hint: Wipeout!).

I managed to watch that scene on the Amazing Race on TV today. It's so much funnier when you watch it on a wider screen!

That's it for now. Enjoy this trailer of the movie Limitless, starring Bradley Cooper and Robert de Niro.

The Show That Beat Gossip Girl

2011-01-11T23:22:00.000+11:00

Pretty intriguing, but I have to say it reminds me of that movie Sorority Row.

First of the Year

2011-01-07T15:42:00.001+11:00

It's so weird that I'm now an adult. Or going to be an adult, in 9 months when I officially turn 20. In some ways, I think that I'm much more grown up, suitable for a 20 year-old even, but sometimes I think I'm just like a 14 year-old kid, or younger. It's kind of funny that I'm now expected to act like an adult even though I don't see myself as one. Ah, the quirkiness of being a teen!

Cupcakes my sister bought for Christmas

I recently bought a book, 'Madness Aboard!' by Yvonne Lee. It was tales of her experiences as a flight attendant, and I found the stories not only entertaining, but insightful as well, because it gives me an idea of how cabin crews function- what procedures they have to follow, tasks they have to perform, ethics they hold, etc. If you have a love for knowing how things work, I think this book would be a little enlightening.

Few days back I also managed to go back to my high school, where I managed to see a few of the teachers who had taught me. While it was nice seeing those teachers, it made me realise just how long I've been out of school. We were told that quite a number of teachers we know have retired, and I couldn't help but notice how unfamiliar the faces around the school were. These students were probably just in Form 1 or 2 when I graduated, but still, not recognising most of them was a sign of my impending transition into adulthood.

New Year's Eve was spent at Ampang Lookout Point, where we managed to see fireworks from basically the whole of KL. The dinner, however, was less than impressive- to cash in on the New Year the usual menu was removed in favour of more expensive, blander food.

In the lighthouse at Port Adelaide

As for resolutions, I will resolve to do more writing this year, not just on this blog. I do hope to submit some articles into newspapers and and magazines, and hopefully get published. But having a book published would make one of my dreams come true.

That's all for now. I will end this post with an entertaining video on 'How to Speak English'. Enjoy!

Remembering

2010-12-31T15:04:00.001+11:00

I suddenly remembered what I wanted to do with my blog for 2011. I wanted to give my blog a new look, as I've been using the current one for quite some time now. I did find a few potential candidates, but being home has put all thoughts of spending hours online out of my mind, which I love- it's a semblance of the social life that I actually own here.

The last movie that I watched in 2010 would be The Tourist. I found it to be entertaining in most parts, with an exciting twist I did not see coming in the end. But speaking of movies, I find it rather amusing that while most of my year was spent in Adelaide, I've watched more movies in the cinema in the short time I was back than the entire time I wasn't home.

Toy Story 3 remains my favourite movie of the year. It was very emotional, especially for me. But Salt, Inception, The Social Network and Harry Potter would be there too.

Tonight, I will be heading out to countdown to the New Year, so my next update will be next year. Till then, see ya!

New Year, New Start, New Hope?

2010-12-29T00:18:00.001+11:00

It's about time that I updated this blog again. It's been awhile, I know, but to be fair I really have been really occupied last week.

Christmas was refreshing. I do remember when I was young, back at my grandparents' home that the whole family celebrated Christmas; but after that most of the time Christmas was just an excuse to have a holiday. Which is why I felt this Christmas was different, because it was a family get-together that was really meaningful, to me at least. I got to see my nephew for the first time, and cousins whom I've not seen in years.

But it's undeniable now, that the new year is upon us. Since it is a tradition for people to talk about the passing year, here's my recap of this year.

Blue Mountains, Sydney. Taken while in a cable car.

2010 was not a year of joy for me. Sure, there were good times, some very good times, but they did not come close to the best experiences I've had in my life thus far. 2010 for me, was the year of learning and growing. I had endured a lot, went through some unbelievable experiences, some painful, some meaningful, some insightful, some comforting. Through all that, I came out a different person. I didn't like it, but it's a part of life, so I accepted it.

In terms of learning, not only have I learned a lot about the world outside, and the different types of people out there, some of whom may just annoy you to no end. Some people ruffled me so much that I started plotting means of getting revenge.

But through all that, I also learned a lot about myself. J.K. Rowling did say that it is in times of difficulty that you learn about yourself, and I think that that was what happened with me this year.

I had the pleasure of eating this German platter meal, which was featured in the Star few weeks back.

I also find myself indifferent about the new year. I dread it to a certain degree, because of the fact that I will be leaving for Melbourne in February, but it also comes with the realisation that I have to forge ahead; I can't mope and think that everything will be fine if I stayed; circumstances change and I need to be selfish and think about myself.

The Sydney sunset.

The new year also brings in a little fear into me. Like I said, this year has been a rough ride, so I'm just hoping that next year will be easier, and that I'll have a better time and perhaps get to actually adjust to living abroad.

2011 would also be the year when I would cease to be a teen; I would be 20. In many ways I still see myself as a kid that I simply can't imagine myself being an adult. To be called a man seems very weird to me! Perhaps, then, it's fitting that the last Harry Potter movie would be in cinemas next year. It's time to grow up, although I'm very reluctant to do so.

What about you? What is 2010 to you? What do you hope to achieve in 2011?

Fair Game

2010-12-23T00:43:00.001+11:00

Another movie I wanna watch. It's out in cinemas now!

Have No Fear, Feng Shui Is Here!

2010-12-21T19:24:00.000+11:00

I was browsing through the bookstore today when I set eyes on the usual end-of-year books- Feng Shui predictions for the coming year.

Most of the time, I read these out of curiosity, but I can never remember what I read, especially if I have to keep it in my mind for an entire year. So this year I'll do something different. I'll write out what I remembered.

I was born in the year of the sheep. And as I'm 20 next year I was categorised as a Metal Sheep. And apparently, next year will be a tumultuous year for us sheeps- there will be misfortune and minor illnesses that has the potential to become something worse, not to mention a possibility of being conned, but on the other hand, it's a good year for romance for sheeps; so I'll just have to wait and see if any of these predictions come true, won't I?

There were more specific predictions, too. Some of those stuck with me. For one thing, next year is supposed to be the year when the Metal Sheep grows up and sees the world (something I've already accomplished this year), but with a twist- love will play a role. I'm wondering what exactly will the coming year bring should the predictions be true.

The book also mentioned that for the Metal Sheep, taking a gap year would be beneficial. Why, I don't remember, or maybe it wasn't explained. I definitely found that funny, since talk of a gap year has surfaced in discussions with friends. I guess it means that we 20 year olds are at that stage in life when we begin to question what we want to do with our lives.

My star sign- think it describes me accurately?

I've always treated these things- Feng Shui, astrology and things like that with an open mind. I find some predictions far-fetched, yet some appear to be true, so what can I say? I can't call myself a sceptic, neither can I say I'm a believer. Once again, I'm stuck in between, as with so many other things in life.

But that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Brilliance or Bullshit

2010-12-20T21:15:00.001+11:00

Once, I watched an interview of two of Inception's cast members, and the interviewer had asked both of them whether they genuinely thought that the concept behind the movie was mind-blowing, or that it was so convoluted and confusing that people wouldn't realise that it doesn't make sense.

He used the phrase 'dazzled by brilliance or baffled by bullshit'. And come to think about it, it isn't easy to distinguish between the two, isn't it? Many great thinkers of today are recognised as pioneers and philosophers way ahead of their time, but at the time many merely believed these people to be crazy. Who are we to say that we are smarter than our ancestors? We don't even know how they built the pyramids.

Adelaide!

Another example that comes to mind is the game of Survivor. A player may make a move that is unconventional, and if it works, it's brilliance, but if it's not, then it's the stupidest move ever. We really do constantly fail to acknowledge that failure is an essential part of life.

Anyway, I found that phrase intriguing and it made me wonder. Is there really a difference between brilliance and bullshit? If you've seen Inception, perhaps you would understand what I mean. It was so confusing that you can really see it as really good or really bad. Maybe there's just a fine line. Or maybe not.

Brilliance. Bullshit.

This is why I would enjoy studying something like philosophy. I still might take it up as a major next year, but who knows. How fun would a subject be when you're being asked to justify an opinion on an issue that seems logical no matter what you say?

Brilliance. Bullshit.

I've started reading Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol. It's still holding my interest so far, but I constantly wonder whether the facts that are used in the books are real. For example, is there really this painting called The Apotheosis of Washington which depicts George Washington being transformed into a god that is in the U.S. Capitol Building? It is those small details that make me wonder how much of the book is false, and how much is true.

I'm still nowhere near deciphering the connections though, unless I flip to the last few pages which I'm reluctant to do. But it is things like these that are targets- did the author take the time to research all these small details to come up with a logical alternative, or did he simply made it all up? Either way, both can be said to be good and bad moves. But as it's a book that needs you to read it while you're wide awake and requires a lot of complicated information to be digested, I'm not sure I'm following everything as closely as I would like (most of the time, I just start falling asleep).

Speaking of sleep, I'm terribly in need of a nap now (woke up really early today for a morning walk), so goodbye!

The Coming Year

2010-12-19T18:09:00.001+11:00

Tomorrow, it will be the 20th of December. Just 11 more days left in 2010. It's really funny, because this year seemed really short considering all that happened.

The biggest change this year has definitely been me going abroad. I left in February, missing Chinese New Year for the very first time in my life. While it's not such a huge loss, it was weird for me at the time because CNY would mean one thing for me- balik kampung! Well, my parents' hometowns anyway. This year, I spent it in Australia, which was very different.

That, is my campus. No, I'm not joking.

Next year, I will be able to celebrate CNY (thankfully!) except that this year I will be constantly reminded that I will be leaving soon.

I guess in many ways, this year has been about growing up. Looking back, I definitely was like a child when I left, and I came back (hopefully) older (physically and mentally) and more mature (not to mention mellow).

Conversations with friends definitely made me feel as if most people my age went through something like that as well- the 20s life crisis I mentioned in the previous post. It's as if the realisation that I'm growing into an adult hit me while I'm there. I was leaving the nest and finding my own path to walk.

This year, I recalled a poem that I learned in high school, Si Tenggang's Homecoming. As I remember, it was a poem about Si Tenggang who returns to his homeland after being abroad, only to find people from home highly constricted in their thinking. But when I reread the poem, many verses definitely spoke to me.

the physical journey that i traverse
is the journey of the soul,
transport of the self from a fatherland
to a country collected by sight and mind.

i have not entirely returned, i know,
having been changed by time and place.
coarsed by problems
estranged by absence.

i've learnt
the ways of the rude,
to hold actuality in a new logic,
debate with hard and loud facts.

Get it? Taken in Melbourne.

Many people may think that I'm being ungrateful sometimes because I constantly complain about how tough life is, and how they would do almost anything for a chance to go overseas. Somehow I think that most of these people must never have had lived independently abroad before. It really is true that the grass always seems greener on the other side.

Of course, there were many fun times too- though nothing compared to what I've had experienced back home. But you've got to adapt and live with what you have.

Almost There

2010-12-18T15:28:00.000+11:00

I find it harder to keep myself focused on updating this blog now that I'm home and finally having a life again.

Just yesterday I went out at night with 2 friends, and our conversation turned to talk about our lives. It seems that we are all still finding our places in the world. One of us jokingly pointed out that it's like a 20s life crisis. But it's so true when you think about it.

And today, I watched Eat Pray Love. I found it rather meaningful, although I didn't really see the changes in the character as she struggled to find herself. But I admit I very nearly fell asleep halfway through the movie.

It's really weird how these messages, if you will, come to you right when you're thinking about it, don't they?

Anyway, here's another movie trailer.

Caption This

2010-12-15T20:47:00.000+11:00

A quiet winter's day?

Updating While Watching TV

2010-12-15T00:05:00.001+11:00

Just a trailer today. Only feeling slightly better today, and I'm watching the TV now- I'm glad that there are now ratings before a TV program starts, it's makes us seem so much more civilised and aware of the effects of the media... I stress on the 'seem'.

Sick. Again.

2010-12-14T00:11:00.001+11:00

I'm having a cold. It's really annoying that I've fallen ill two days after my return. Most people would attribute it to the weather, that I'm just getting used to the Malaysian weather again. That could be true, considering that summer this year in Adelaide has been cool.

Anyway, did anyone read today's front page article in The Star? I find it really funny that the Malaysian politicians are demanding that Singapore explains itself. It's like what people say, you only get hurt if it is true, right? Furthermore, I remember reading about another country (definitely in Europe) who assured Hilary Clinton that they use worse words to describe American officials. So it's a two-way thing. I bet Malaysian politicians do it too. After all, Singaporeans are always stereotyped as 'kiasu'.

So far, my time back home has been not too bad. I try not to get myself excited or to do things simply because I won't be able to do them in a long time, because that thinking will only make leaving harder in February. In other words, I'm trying not to get too attached to home. Or rather trying to get rid of my huge attachment to home and everything that is at home, like family, friends and food- the three Fs.

I've also managed to play badminton, although my stamina is now so bad I only lasted 5 minutes before I needed to take a break.

Today, I also received my results for this semester- I obtained results that I'm satisfied with. Now all's left to do is to get the transfer to RMIT finalised- hopefully I'll get exemptions for all my subjects this semester. That way I won't have to do any extra subjects.

The first meal I had when I got home was a 100 Plus and thosai bawang. The meal was good, but not heavenly, probably because I wasn't really hungry.

RMIT University- where I'll be studying at next year

Serving size is another thing. I don't know if it's me, but I don't remember roti canai being so small. It seems like it gets made smaller and smaller. I know, you'd say it's because I've gotten used to the large Australian portion, but rest assured that I do not eat out that often, although I have noticed an increase in appetite since my return.

TV has been great too. Finally I get to watch shows I miss. Malaysians do like crime shows (I thought it was just in Australia).

But the most amusing thing I've realised? I've gained 2 kilograms.

Shorty

2010-12-12T23:35:00.000+11:00

P.S. I finally watched Salt. Was blown away by Angelina Jolie. She's really, really good! And she looked very masculine when she acted as a guy!

P.S.2. I also managed to watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One. Felt it was a little draggy, but could be because I know what's going to happen already. Nonetheless, it was still awesome!

Second Homecoming

2010-12-11T17:04:00.000+11:00

I think parents have an obligation not to bring their infants on flights. Young kids should never, ever travel. By young I mean 3 years old and below. Even those under 10 I doubt should be brought on planes.

Why do I think this? Yesterday on my flight home I had the misfortune to have at least 2 mothers sitting at the row in front of mine. It was a horrible experience, for their kids were just learning to walk and could barely speak. Needless to say, they got restless very quickly and was very fussy about so many things, which meant for the whole 7 hours I had to endure a whole lot of crying and screaming. More often than not, when one cried he/she would trigger the other one and the whole plane would be drowned in their wails.

While sometimes it is really essential for making a trip, like in the case of the woman in front of me who lives in Adelaide but is travelling home to some European country (I could not remember what country she's from, I was trying to think of the peace I would get when I get out of the plane). But I managed to survive thanks to the pretty fantastic in-flight entertainment.

But in such a case, parents should really make sure that their kids have enough entertainment to last for the duration of the flight. I do remember once in a flight where the infant slept through most of the flight, and when he/she was awake he/she was very well behaved.

All right. For now the movie Salt is playing on my TV, and it's pretty entertaining. Till next time!

Crunch Time

2010-12-09T22:33:00.000+11:00

As I'm typing this, I'm multitasking- switching the combinations of the things in my luggages. I'm awfully worried that it will be overweight, but right now I'm hoping that the combination I've chosen (books in hand luggage) would be enough to keep my check-ins within my weight limit. Pray for me!

Normally at this time, I would be downloading the newest episode of Survivor, but as it's not out yet, I have nothing else but to pack while I wait. Patience is a virtue as they say, and it is something that I have learned. For example today I could've eaten a Tom Yam noodle soup for lunch, but as I would be home soon, I decided to wait it out and have something else instead.

I guess I can safely say that it has finally hit me that I will be going home tomorrow.

Anyway, this is a rather interesting article about why Malaysians decide to move to some other country. Also, regarding one of my earlier posts about student activism, here's an interesting piece written by a pro-student activism person about the justifications for the University and University Colleges Act.

Till my next entry, ciao!

Living Abroad

2010-12-09T18:05:00.000+11:00

Like I mentioned in my previous entry, through all the experiences I went through this year I've become a different person than I was before I came here. At the beginning, I didn't like my new self. But while I do not see myself liking this new me, I've slowly come to terms with my identity.

It's really funny, how when you're living abroad and alone that you do not tell someone about your problems. I, too, had thought that I was the only one who went through what I went through. Fortunately, as time passed by I began to realise that many people went through the same experiences as myself. Life was definitely easier when I had people around me who understood what I was going through.

This book sure looks interesting!

Then today, when I was browsing through some blogs, I came across something similar.

When I cried, it didn't feel like I was crying because I was in America, and far from home. I was crying because I realized how much I hated who I am right now, when before I had loved it. I hated how I don't need people - and dislike people. I hated how I'm such a self-important bitch. I hated how I can't do relationships. I hated how personal success is the only measure of happiness to me. I hated how I don't think humans provide any value to me.

Most of that, I went through as well. If only more people talked about this, then perhaps more would know about how living overseas is. While of course there are some people who have no problem moving to another country, for others it is extremely tough. Being on your own, in a foreign country, is not the easiest thing to do- I speak from personal experience. But it is also when you begin to see the world in a different light, and begin to comprehend how large the world is. It's life- you lose some, and you gain some.

In last week's episode of Survivor, the talk about how difficult life can be came up. As this season was old vs. young, the host asked one of the older contestants about what the younger players have yet to learn. Her reply? 'Life is not a piece of cake unless they've got an easy ride from their parents. You don't have a clue what's around the corner.... life is full of rocky roads'. While it may not sound very wise, if you watch the episode you'll understand what I mean.

In line with this post, I'll end with a movie trailer. It's one of the movies I'm waiting to watch when it comes out, for many reasons. Life lessons is just one of them.

Another Year

2010-12-08T22:58:00.002+11:00

It's really unbelievable that it is already December. Of late these things take a while to hit me. I made no plans for my recent trip to Melbourne (even nearly mistaking the day I'm supposed to come back to Adelaide) and now, I only started packing on my second last day here. Sure, I knew when I was due to go home, but I just didn't feel pressured.

Perhaps it's the whole living life a day at a time thing that I've sort of adopted here. Every day is a new day, but it's just another day. No day is special. Even though now I've started packing my things and emptying my apartment, it doesn't feel like I'm going home yet. Sure, tomorrow's my last day, but I do not feel the excitement I felt the first time I went home.

The Big Bang Theory- very funny sitcom!

The same can be said for the year ending. Last year I reflected on 2009, what I learned about myself, and the experiences I had. But that was a very different me. This time around, I only realised it was the end of the year when I saw Tweets and Facebook updates about how fast the year has come and gone. I find this new side of me rather unusual- I'm not normally this carefree.

But it's completely true that time passes too fast; just this time last year I was anxious about moving abroad; this year I've done it and will be returning home. However, even though time flies, many things can happen. Lee Chong Wei won the All-England at last. Serena Williams cut her foot and cannot compete until next year. A movie was made about Facebook. I lost a relative, but gained another while learning a lot about myself. All this happened in the span of a year.

I have to admit, even though right now I'm typing this entry out, I do not feel as if the year is ending... December just feels like yet another month. But hopefully I'll get into the mood to celebrate Christmas and the new year with awesome people. Then perhaps I'll be able to bring myself to write an entry recapping this year as well.

I'm thinking that this post has been rather enlightening if you had not been in contact with me for awhile. I'll give you time to digest all that, and leave you with this short clip taken from an episode (one of my favourite ones, in fact) of this hilarious sitcom, The Big Bang Theory.

Show me your mucus! There's actually a funnier clip, but because the person who put it together disabled the embedding function, I can't put it here. But do have a look, it explains the above clip... in a way. Enjoy!