"Twenty-O-Eight" - A Flash Review

"2008 began on January 1st and ends at December 31st at 12 am respectively. "

How about that for concise? Well ... NOT.
Minus everything that has happened in the outside world which has been typically in the brew for the past years; some new things came in and same came out. Typical expected and unexpected stuffings of norm which we have learned to expect.

Learning is the word of the year for me.
The ridiculously loved course, people and insight.

Somehow I have handled things this year with more maturity, independence and dignity (maybe this is a little bit overboard) which have suprised even myself.

LOL.

Anyway I have enjoyed this year in a way uniquely mine and only I can appreciate.

Well good can only get better.

http://www.moneywalks.com/2008/01/02/carnival-of-money-stories-40-one-year-anniversary-edition

Wishing all of you happy new year and many more happier ones to come!

Service! Service! Service! and the Credit Crunch

Can I get some service?!

Seriously. I know that sounds rude but I am probably going to say that next time I get crossed.

Well it is totally weird to go to international franchises with "Service to Smile" tags plastered all over their adverts and the real deal you get is being treated like the stuff that your dog dug up. And its ain't treasure.

This is the very reason we are lagging behind.
I am not expecting for "sirs" and "madams" nor rolling red carpets wherever I plan to set my foot at. But the decency to NOT to keep a customer waiting for 2 whole minutes at the counter while you whilst way expanding your social calendar with delivery boys?! I would have walked out then or even worse wrote a despicable comment in the suggestion box.
I was being "Asian" nice then.

Too bad I will be donning Las Vegas the next time.

http://www.hartfordbusiness.com/news4174.html

In times of the credit crunch, smiles will carry miles!

As it is everything is becoming expensive and shamelessly inaccessible.
Well it is do or die or better...
Stand out or get phased out!

Xmas, NEJM and BMJ

http://www.freecraftz.com/signs.html

Firstly a belated Christmas wish... (I dunno what came over me until I forgot to put this up)

If at all an accomplishment this Christmas would be learning how to make gravy for roast chicken which was not very difficult as people make it out to be.

Meanwhile I have been thrust into an endless stream of boredom which involves opening my e-mail and Facebook accounts again and again. I have taken up reading the NEJM and the BMJ which if you know what I am talking about should realise that I am super free. Sadly the BMJ is only for suscribers which if anyone out there suscribes too; please help me retrieve an article. Just give me a mail so that I can fill you in the details!

So that's about it for now; me parasitizing and scouting for new activities. If anyone has some idea of what I can do to waste my time better like a job or anything, do give me a buzz.

Signing off to more laziness ....

The End of the Too-Much-To-Do-In-So-Little-Time Syndrome

Well since November technically didn't exist for the blog; my humble apologies. I just had a LOT to do then. Tests followed by exams ... hey even to the extent of skipping a religious holiday, I was so caught up with work. Papers, pens, lack of sleep, fast food, coffee, towering dirty laundry with exceptional weather; I wonder why I didn't stew myself in that mess. Though it would be a pretty noxious one.

Hopefully I justified myself there even though I am not convinced. Most of the above could have been avoided if I planned well and more importantly kept to it. My current brainwave is to put that into the new year's resolution.

Speaking of which; the year is coming to an end as another is waiting to begin. Well what a year has it been (a terrible cliche on my part). With a new course, a growing blog (which often gets neglected) and people and my discovery of many new things, 2008 is itself something to be reckoned with. I might do justice to that with a post on it.

Speaking of posts now; I thank all the readers of Truly Home which credits on being my personal favourite. I sincerely hope to bring more good stuff to the blog.

Though there is not much good happening around us to cherish about; to put it simple: a lot of short sighted people out there y'all. And there is not simply that much money to go around these days and even more disheartening is the growing disparity among all of us. Yet life must go on (another cliche and film adaptation). There are still many simple pleasures in life which cause less than a dime and most of the best ones are F.O.C.

Unfortunately for me, food is not one of them. I'm making a mental note to learn to cook better in the holidays along with internet social networking (Facebooking and to a lesser extent Friendstering), researching, reading, bargain hunting, meeting old acquaintances and the general crappiness of my seemingly-dull-yet-exciting life.

With that, I am done with this post. Look out for the coming days; I might come up with something and pray the internet connection gets better.

P/S I am planning to watch the Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons in which the original version is available at the External Links section of the Wikipedia article of the short story.

Truly Home

Knowing me I don't post this regularly but I just remembered something of what I was watching on the tele and the gist of it is as follows:

When doing floral arrangements, after we are done, we tend to add one too many flowers into it on intentions of making it "perfect". Instead this decorator removed a stalk from it citing how his grandmother feels there should be room for butterflies to fly in between.

Picture courtesy from http://www.flickr.com/photos/dornickdesigns/2725228609/

I somehow extrapolated this to life in general on how it should not be overcrowded and trying to be made picture perfect. After all running after so many superficial things ruins life's beauty and happiness until we tend not to pause a moment to allow the good things that are to happen to actually happen. Imperfections are what that make life beautiful and non-monotonous to say the least.

On a more cheerful note and not to be dampened by the rain now or the frosty mutterings going about in the country; is a truly beautiful moment of being in our country. One of our Chinese neighbours gave away her excess homegrown produce of bayam and kangkung to all of us (being different in race and creed). It was not something shocking to us living here for the past decade or so to witness such things which are of norm here in this quaint neighbourhood. There was no nonsense of being untouchable or uneatable since ... forever, we just know life that way. Our Malay neigbour today passed us a bag full of cookies and savouries before they left for their kampung. The same of which all of us do in time for our ethnic festivities.

If only things can go back to the way they used to be in other places, life would be so much better and newspapers much pleasant to read. After all we who never did change in the first place, never knew of it.

Just Passing ...

Anyway since my posts recently have lost a lot of informational content and more self wallowing pity, it is high time to spruce things up while I have the time (which I technically don't have).

First of all, wishing all those who enjoy festivities a:

Courtesy of http://ecard.home.net.my/images/hariraya/aidilfitri3.jpg

Next for those who are up with dealing people as I had been recently, the following inspirational quotes from http://www.inspirational-quotes.info/people.html can be of help:

You must look into other people as well as at them.

Lord Chesterfield

A good deed is never lost: he who sows courtesy reaps friendship; and he who plants kindness gathers love.

Basil

A man's own good breeding is the best security against other people's ill manners.

Lord Chesterfield

To rejoice in another's prosperity, is to give content to your own lot: to mitigate another's grief, is to alleviate or dispel your own.

Thomas Edwards

Hear the meaning within the word.

William Shakespeare

Charity, good behaviour, amiable speech, unselfishness — these by the chief sage have been declared the elements of popularity.

Burmese Proverb

Kind words are the music of the world.

F. W. Faber

We are far more liable to catch the vices than the virtues of our associates.

Denis Diderot

Arguing with a fool proves there are two.

Doris M. Smith

Be courteous to all, but intimate with few;
and let those be well-tried before you give them your confidence.

George Washington

Look to be treated by others
as you have treated others.

Publius Syrus

Success in life, in anything,
depends upon the number of persons
that one can make himself agreeable to.

Thomas Carlyle

Never part without loving words to think of during your absence. It may be that you will not meet again in this life.

Jean Paul Richter

Let us believe neither half of the good people tell us of ourselves, nor half of the evil they say of others.

J. Petit Senn

The more you say, the less people remember.

François Fénelon

Never lose a chance of saying a kind word.

William Thackeray

The soul of conversation is sympathy.

Thomas Campbell

It is always good to know, if only in passing, charming human beings. It refreshes one like flowers and woods and clear brooks.

George Eliot

Every man is a volume if you know how to read him.

William Ellery Channing

If evil be said of thee, and if it be true, correct thyself; if it be a lie, laugh at it.

Epictetus

In many things it is not well to say, "Know thyself"; it is better to say, "Know others."

Menander

The less people speak of their greatness,
the more we think of it.

Lord Bacon

He who sedulously attends, pointedly asks, calmly speaks, coolly answers and ceases when he has no more to say is in possession of some of the best requisites of man.

Johann Casper Lavater

A good word is an easy obligation; but not to speak ill requires only our silence; which costs us nothing.

John Tillotson

It requires less character to discover the faults of others than is does to tolerate them.

J. Petit Senn

Well, that is about it for now and happy holidays!

The Suprising End to the Never-Ending Laundry

I was very much surprised on how I managed to squeeze weeks of laundry into two plastic bags and sort it out for good (at least 95% of it).

Thankfully I did it two hours earlier than I normally would as the cab arrived half-an-hour and I spent the other hour and half complaining to a friend about an ex-friend and eating. Typically, the usual mad rush was not there. In the bus station, I met a friend's friend who now is a friend and talked away about an hour and half while eating KFC. Then, the bus came and I had a great surprise to meet yet another friend and made a new friend who gave me a chocolate bar. The only fly in the ointment was the person sitting next to me with a slightly noxious smell, but thankfully I slept well and arrived earlier than I expected back home.

So, it was reasonably nice 12 hours I had and I feel this just goes to show that it is not emptyness that had been left behind but more room to move around and forward.

Cool, eh?

Pretty Terrible Things

According to one person that I thought I knew claimed the above which I think includes the following since the person wished not to elaborate:

1) Being resourceful
2) Concerned about the safety of others
3) Being non-discriminative
4) Having some common sense (I am repeating 1 again)

I am bemused by this absurd paraphrasing while I get back to sorting out my never-ending laundry. And the sad and funny part of this whole melodrama is that I am not melodramatic or sad. I am just indifferent.

Rising Costs and Raisins of Reality

Increasing oil prices finally got to me this time around when I got my bus tickets. A whopping 30% increase?! Which makes you blink, slap your forehead and in the end reach your wallet and give up your precious dollars.

On better note, I think I am finally done with unnecessary baggage and feel less choked. Reality hits you hard even in tiny bits but sometimes it is for a reason or many. Feeling relieved, free, nothing crappy to worry about are one of such things. When you barely have enough hours in a day to worry about yourselves, there is no warrant to worry about people who could not care less.

Return to Reality

After gauging on food and books for the whole week, I at least feel better now. Typically, it means the usual psychotic amount of work is going to start soon. The holidays are given just so that we don't die by mistake and we can recharge our batteries to discharge them effectively for the coming months which indeed are grim and scary looking.

I feel that I have a plan but then again reviewing my past records on plans .... Umm lets just say that best laid plans need not only be thwarted by obscure things like luck and by the smallest of things; big things: like being carefree (other words: lazy) and unnatural contentedness are sure fire holes as well.

But then again, you can never be sure without trying and this is what I am going to do. I at least minutely improve each time so let us see how this goes ...

I am not all sunshine yet but it takes a little while to get there after what I have been through these past weeks ...

Post 300 Rant

With evaporation of the jubilant feeling after 300, with all the work consuming me ... I was at the end a living zombie with caffeine toxicity and with don't-know-what-else maladies. Feeling crappy and mundane on the whole.

Some had their funny-bone tickled by me, probably they had just brains of cuttle-bone. There was the idiotic fellow in the bus station blithering in a language he thought I could not understand on how we booked the tickets beforehand without paying. Oh you self-consumed snake, if you knew that we live in a place where access to the nearest ticket counter sets us 30 minutes back, you would know to keep your orifice shut. Plus all you had to do was ask the person at the counter not spout venom at people who were already late for their bus. It was his only silver lining, if not I would have given him a taste of my acidity. pH 0 that is ...

Though thinking back, my RM55 had probably gone to waste since I was squashed like a sardine in the bus back home: my seat could not recline while the seat in front of me hyper-reclined. PERFECT.

On reaching back, I was so tired that I spent and am still spending the days sleeping to rid of the tiredness of the past weeks. Minus the fact that I nearly killed myself eating too much yesterday, there is pretty much negativity flowing from me.

Hoping for sunnier skies at least today to stop sounding hysterical and undead.

WE HIT 300!

Not the movie 300 or anything but the blog has finally crossed the 300 mark thanks to some new readers and smart advertising.

Either way, it should just get better and I am deeply appreciative to all of those who drop by to hear what I say or stumble upon.

So, many thanks and great content will follow once I am free which is like 3 weeks from now.
Till then I am going for a slumber on the blogging front ...

Food

Don't know why I am suddenly into food but well they say you appreciate something when it is not there right?

Right now (I am not starving) but well let just say I am just eating to live. I normally live to eat. With pasta, potatoes (I'M LOVING IT) and goodness knows how many other great things not available here, it is no wonder I sometimes have the craving.

Either way, I am not sure whether I will continue on with the food series but anyway, this was a recently thought to me simple recipe which makes a great lunch:

Potato Salad
Find good potatoes, mayo, raisins, apples and whatever you feel to your liking and add them to the proportion you please and chill. It is that simple. Yeah, do not forget to boil the potatoes first and go easy on the mayo (really, you don't want to overdo it).

And tuck in!

Seriousness? (Not Worth It If It Involves People)

True.

Human beings are too hard to satisfy and honestly, it is not worth it as they can forget you in just a second. So, the message is that it is pointless being committed and pouring life into something that is plainly lifeless and corrosive.

Hence, just follow the take it easy policy. At least you won't be disappointed and will be surprised by what you might unearth.

Treasure in fact.



P/S I am certainly not talking about any "relationship" because its neither here and there.

Another Nice Anecdote

Ever heard the story of the giant ship engine that failed? The ship's owners tried one expert after another, but none of them could figure but how to fix the engine. Then they brought in an old man who had been fixing ships since he was a youngster. He carried a large bag of tools with him, and when he arrived, he immediately went to work. He inspected the engine very carefully, top to bottom.

Two of the ship's owners were there, watching this man, hoping he would know what to do. After looking things over, the old man reached into his bag and pulled out a small hammer. He gently tapped something. Instantly, the engine lurched into life. He carefully put his hammer away. The engine was fixed! A week later, the owners received a bill from the old man for ten thousand dollars.

"What?!" the owners exclaimed. "He hardly did anything!"

So they wrote the old man a note saying, "Please send us an itemized bill."

The man sent a bill that read:

Tapping with a hammer ...........$2.00

Knowing where to tap .................$9998.00

Effort is important, but knowing where to make an effort in your life makes all the difference.

---
True. Maybe if we stopped channeling our energies to futile goals and project it in the right way, we might make a difference.

An Inspirational Tale from the Net

I happen to come across the following story on the net. Pure fiction but also bona-fide inspirational:

A boy was born to a couple after eleven years of marriage.

They were a loving couple and the boy was the gem of their eyes. When the boy was around two years old, one morning the husband saw a medicine bottle open.He was late for office so he asked his wife to cap the bottle and keep it in the cupboard. His wife, preoccupied in the kitchen totally forgot the matter.

The boy saw the bottle and playfully went to the bottle fascinated by its color and drank it all. It happened to be a poisonous medicine meant for adults in small dosages. When the child collapsed the mother hurried him to the hospital, where he died.

The mother was stunned. She was terrified how to face her husband. When the distraught father came to the hospital and saw the dead child, he looked at his wife and uttered just five words.

Questions:

1. What were the five words?
2. What is the implication of this story?

Answer:

The husband just said 'I am with you Darling'.

The husband's totally unexpected reaction is a proactive behavior.

The child is dead.

He can never be brought back to life.

There is no point in finding fault with the mother.

Besides, if only he had taken time to keep the bottle away, this would not have happened.

No one is to be blamed.

She had also lost her only child.

What she needed at that moment was consolation and sympathy from the husband.

That is what he gave her.

If everyone can look at life with this kind of perspective, there would be much fewer problems in the world.

'A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step'. Take off all your envies, jealousies, un-forgiveness, selfishness, and fears. And you will find things are actually not as difficult as you think.

MORAL OF THE STORY:

This story is really worth reading.

Sometimes we spend time in asking who is responsible or whom to blame, whether in a
relationship, in a job or with the people we know.

By this way we miss out something called LIFE.

---

Minus, the cheese, the story seems practical on how we sometimes forget to live.

Weekly Digest and An Announcement

This week on the whole was just filled with excessive BP with a surprising final exam on Monday followed by one on Friday which was known for quite sometime (nevertheless still an exam). How the exam timetable eluded the whole class with none of us knowing is a mystery worth a Bermuda Triangle or shows how bad inter-department miscommunication can be.

Besides that, everything was simply as usual busy with added pressure thanks to this.

And I have added the Youth Says Broadcaster thingi in the blog, so don't be shocked or anything if anything pops out.

Art in Action: Miming

I recently went to an event which was sadly very disappointing as many expected performances flopped to an embarrassing extent.

However, suprisingly a miming sketch put up by some young people was artistically funny and good. Great white dolled faces and gloved hands which accentuated expressions with vigorous actions and comical props pulled the whole thing off. A history of sporting events (which I think was certainly more for entertainment than credibility) pulled the laughs from the start till the end in which they jumped off the stage to the crowds. Minus the incoherent sound system, a job well done for the performing arts team. Finally, something that befits the name.

Sadly, no pictures available.

An update on the previous post: they never learn.

National Postal Service and Private Courier Services: Compared

I had the recent misfortune to be in the using and the receiving end of the NPS i.e. National Postal Service (there is no need to defame them by naming them as they do it well themselves). I only required one private courier service experience to go high and mighty with the NPS.

I mean almost all postal services have websites serving not only as information bases but also most importantly tracking services of your precious courier. While the private companies give you pinpoint details up to which line or port, the NPS has a defunct Track and Trace service.

I mean, for the charge we pay, we do not obviously expect minute details but at least whether it is still on the way or delivered should be good enough?! Is it too much to ask for especially when you reside in universities and residence halls?!

I received my very precious parcel exactly 2 weeks after it was posted and this was no international one (just across the Peninsula). The time delay was not my concern but the whereabouts is most depressing especially when your cargo is expensive and rare.

Today, I called to check on a registered post I sent yesterday evening and the response I got from the sleepy phone customer service person was "You sent yesterday? Then must wait ... 4 days." My post was just across 3 states and obviously by two days if all goes well it would have reached its destination. I mean what is the point after 4 days the customer gets to know of the stats unless (a) you want to waste money or (b) you are just so "confident" in your service (c) All of the above and in short you are plain inefficient.

There goes my ramble and now I sit pondering of the lousy language droning on the automated response when I dialed for their customer service. Choppy, lack of fluency and invoking the feeling of attending a funeral is more like the three best words to describe the monotone.

Irritated

I normally do not whine like this (on the internet at least!) but well, if you had your pencil box with an expensive scientific calculator in it HIDDEN behind a 20, 000 ringgit Muscle Man Model during a dissection section, then you would.

Not only did I end up searching like a fool throughout the dissection hall, I went messaging around 70 people to ask if they had seen it. Thankfully, some people responded and led me to the discovery of my lost pencil box.

I mean if they (meaning the people organizing this treasure hunt) had time to do all that, they would rather … never mind, they could have done a 100 other things. I personally decided not to look for that person/s. I have at least a few better things to do.

All I have to say is that I probably lost a few stones with all that running and adrenaline rushing. Not to mention a way lot of pressure as this is the second time it happened. Thank you very much.

In addition to that, I had the fortune to be the subject of temper and ridicule for some people today … It just confirms that my once thought suspicions as being disliked by most people is true. I sometimes think that people wish I were invisible and kept very quiet. Maybe I will just do that.

Nah, nothing shuts me up but maybe I will be quieter. HEY, I at least do not go around hurting people. Even if I do it is purely accidental, I try to apologize A.SA.P.. But at least this gives me the insight I need to understand about people whom I thought I knew. Well, well, the world is full of surprises... If I am going to be a subject of attitude, I too can do "attitude"but fortunately I was brought up and not dragged up, and that is the silver lining at the end of the day.

Facts of Life

How do sometimes people seem to have it all?

At least they look so in photos ... Either my idea of skewed perfection is my definition of "having it all" or maybe they are just simply photogenic (my eyes always look crossed and lopsided or glazed by the flash on my specs in photos),

or maybe having it all does not really matter and being happy with what you have and trying to make full use of what little you have is the silver lining at the end of the day....

"SHOOT FOR THE MOON AND IF YOU MISS YOU WILL BE STILL AMONG THE STARS"

Quote from P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern

Picture sourced from http://www.flickr.com/photos/tonyhoffman/121727283/

Crossing the Border

Today I had the opportunity to do a long overdue and postponed trip to Singapore.

Minus the details on the usual fanfare of researching on the internet beforehand, preparing unnecessarily and meeting two hours earlier only to eat, laze and gossip away in a food court, we managed to arrive in the island shopping paradise in one piece using the usual combo of buses and public trains without getting lost (That's a first!). I will also conveniently forget the details on how we made the poor person who was supposed to be showing us around the place to wait for an hour. Typical red carpet behaviour that we practice at practically any place.

The MRT Station at Orchard reminds me of some high-end Cineplex ...

First Stop: Orchard Road (I did say a shopper's paradise ...)

The person just had to put his foot there at that particular moment.

Nice is the word. Takashimaya.

You hear it by characters of Gossip Girl and you see it here for real ... xoxo (Out of place ...)

My staple idea of class...

The epitome of CUTE!

Brands, dollars and a feast for the eyes that loves both of these (especially when window shopping is the only option).

Next, I have to say this ... THE MOST I have ever paid for a ferris wheel (a.k.a. The Singapore Flyer) ... S$ 30?! albeit one that was advertised as the "World's Greatest Observational Wheel." It was well great for photos of the island and the surrounding borders like Malaysia and even Indonesia. Surprisingly, we had to go through an intense security check before we boarded the thing.

Wonder why they put up a net at the boarding site??? Any ideas?

The skyline from the pod of the Singapore Flyer.

The Esplanade zoomed from the pod. Looks more like a soursop than a durian.

Finally, we had this weird urge to visit Little India in which we really did properly spend (since everything did not cost more than three digits) . Even so, the food costs a way notch higher than in Malaysia (and that before converting!). We had tea and tracked the laid-back lanes to find a neat shop that sold all kinds of Indian crafts. We found things from Nepal and even weird ones like camel-bone jewel cases...

What a nice looking teapot at Little India ...

However, we were worn out to the soles of our feet by the time we decided to call it a day and the disgusting journey back with the pushing crowds to board buses and unruly behaviour just exhausted us further. Weirdly, the Customs people (both to and fro) in Malaysia never did bother checking our passports. Either they thought we looked too innocent or left it to their counterparts across the Causeway to being so capable at doing their jobs as well.

During the interchange while zooming back to Kranji MRT Station before boarding the bus to Woodlands Checkpoint. Too bad cameras are not allowed there ... Could have given more depth and colour to our suffering there.

P.S. The dates on the pictures do not reflect anything except my laziness to set the proper dates on the camera.

P.S.S. To all the unsuspecting people who ended as victims of me cam-whoring, my sincere apologies for catching all of you off guard with my Kodak's FLASH!

Confused Circadian Rhythm

Finally, I am supposed to have begun writing but well I am just so confused because my sleep pattern got so botched up that I can't even differentiate day and night. So, no afternoon nap for today and it is Sleep-All-You-Want in the bus back home.

Interesting things around the neighbourhood:

1) There are increased number of dogs.
2) This naturally is bad news for me.
3) Not only they restrict my mobility, they yelp all the way through the night when you are trying to elucidate the relationships between the internal thoracic artery and posterior inter-costal arteries.
4) They look cute when they are young, but still...
5) ... (Nothing to add here, just to fill up the space ... I am confused, remember).

Kindness and Gaining Clarity

Today, I had the misfortune (maybe I was being punished for a earlier crime) for walking three kilometres into a cowboy town to find that the saloon (OK Don't smack me ... the barber shop) to be closed. On top of that, there was no cab or whatever means of transport to get back to campus unless you count the ones which left me as I approached them. MENTAL NOTE: I have to get tested for the Transport Repelling Gene and Anti-dog Gene the next time I visit a geneticist.

However, when I was walking back in a fury of anger, shame and of course trying to clasp on positivity out of the whole event like exercising (finally!), a middle aged uncle in a small truck called out to me and asked whether I was headed to campus and asked me to hop in. I said yes and despite feeling a little bit apprehensive, I got on to his truck. He was a gas seller and I asked him how he knew where I was going, he said I looked new around the neighbourhood. Point: Despite being here for about 2 years, I rarely venture into the surrounding jungle, sorry development. This was in fact the third time. In the truck, we had some small talk but I couldn't help thanking my lucky stars and the Infinite for this stroke of luck (Hey, he saved me 2 km of walking and helped me to do some soul-searching). One thing was for sure: humanity and kindness does exist.

Sometimes, in life, when all becomes nearly meaningless like how I was for the past weeks, things like this happen by a stroke of incidence and so unexpectedly that they bring you back to clarity and pave you in a path of motivation. This one certainly did.

What do you think?

Depressed

Why do we get depressed when everything is going alright?

Sometimes, depression looms when people without arms and are impoverished lifelong seem to be happy.

Not that it helps anyway...

Feeling Numb

Too-Much-To-Do-In-So-Little-Time Syndrome has caught up on my blogosphere activities.

Frankly speaking, I haven't got that many ideas to post nowadays. In fact, no ideas at all. The passion, spirit and essence has drained away due to excessive slave hoarding.

I am just feeling senseless, numb and intoxicated with nothingness.

When I wake from the stupor of dullness, I will surely post something.

Till then, hang on and keep on visiting.

P/S Thanks for acknowledging your true nature, CHILD.

Between 29th of February till What Day is Today (???)

For being inactive, I blame it on my Too-Much-To-Do-In-So-Little-Time Syndrome. The days were passed in a haze of tiredness, work, work and more work and playing with colour.

However, so much has happened within the few weeks yours truly hibernated. The country got shaken up, some people were happy and generally most people in shock. I got myself a new roll of mahjong paper (How does it fit in here, I do not know)...

Lost and Found

Never take the bus if you are sleepy.

If you do, you probably would end up 10 km away from your destination like yours truly in the middle of nowhere where no one understands your language or even know where your destination is.

In the end, you would walk in some lonely desolated road where rain seems to have taken the invitation and all you could hope for is a miracle ... which in my case, did happen. Thank God!

I'm ILL!

For further information to this notion, refer to the previous posting.

*** On the other hand (which means very little or nothing to do with this post), I must complement Dell Malaysia for prompt service with my laptop woes. At least, I am less ill knowing that my soul-mate got refurbished.

Illness, Disease and Sickness

Sorry for being out (you are going to here these sorrys more often, rest assured) but today I found something curiously interesting.

How well are you? That's the question.

There are actually three ways we actually perceive the well being of someone; illness if the person is not feeling good but physiologically find. Goodness knows, whether Monday blues qualifies for this.

The next being disease in which the poor soul might feel fine while something is wrong or really wrong for asymptomatic cases. Better please check those weird lumps or bumps, they could something much, much worse!

While sickness is something that is sanctioned by the society on the individual, I think (I am not too sure about this; I will check and clarify later). And since society is the major determinant here, you know how vicious they can get. People with conditions like cleft lip get "looked" at a little bit too often while outpouring sympathy happens if someone breaks a toenail. Typical society...

So, if you are not feeling upto the mark, are you ill, diseased or plainly sick?

A Tale Worth Posting

I rarely do sentimental but I would have sinned if I was not moved by the humanity in the following story:

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A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door.

SON: "Daddy, may I ask you a question?"

DAD: "Yeah sure, what is it?" replied the man.

SON: "Daddy, how much do you make an hour?"

DAD: "That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?" the man said angrily.

SON: "I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?"

DAD: "If you must know, I make Rs.100 an hour."

SON: "Oh," the little boy replied, with his head down.

SON: "Daddy, may I please borrow Rs.50?"

The father was furious, "If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I work hard everyday for such this childish behavior."

The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.

The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy's questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?

After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think:

Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that Rs.50 and he really didn't ask for money very often. The man went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door.

"Are you asleep, son?" he asked.

"No daddy, I'm awake," replied the boy.

"I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier,"said the man.

"It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here's the Rs.50 you asked for."

The little boy sat straight up, smiling. "Oh, thank you daddy!" He yelled.

Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills. The man, seeing that the boy already had money, started to get angry again. The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father.

"Why do you want more money if you already have some?" the father grumbled.

"Because I didn't have enough, but now I do," the little boy replied.

"Daddy, I have Rs.100 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you."

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son , and he begged for his forgiveness.

It's just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts.

Do remember to share that Rs.100 worth of your time with someone you love.

If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family & friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives. And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than to our family.
---

Life is not merely a march to death, there is depth and meaning to everything we live by. Our existence is always cherished by another soul all the time. So, think twice before being narcissistic, suicidal or even homicidal for that matter. Celebrate and cherish life by living it!

PhD in Exposing Crap

Maybe one of these days I should start on a PhD thesis on identifying the malevolent falsities found in the World Wide Web. I seem to have a knack for these things as I constantly receive and spend time validating what I call as utter trash.

The following really got me spooked as it looked SO bona fide and I almost fell for it if not of my sudden impulse to cross-check with Wikipedia:

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CHECK TOILET SEATS BEFORE USE !!!

Three women in KL, turned up at hospitals over a 5-day period, all with the same symptoms. Fever, chills, and vomiting, followed by muscular collapse, paralysis, and finally, death. There were no outward signs of trauma. Autopsy results showed toxicity in the blood. These women did not know each other, and seemed to have nothing in common. It was discovered, however, that they had all visited the same Restaurant along Jalan Kuchai Lama within days of their deaths.

The health department descended on the restaurant, shutting it down.

(Wait ~ If it was really true, wouldn't they have been in the papers; I do read the papers or at least am surrounded by people who read them. I smelled a rat.)

The food, water, and air conditioning were all inspected and tested, to no avail. The big break came when a waitress at the restaurant was rushed to the hospital with similar symptoms. She told doctors that she had been on vacation, and had only went to the restaurant to pick up her check. She did not eat or drink while she was there, but had used the restroom.

(The plot thickens.)

That is when one toxicologist, remembering an article he had read, drove up to the restaurant, went into the restroom, and lifted the toilet seat.

(How CSI - Horatio! Things became more fishy...)

Under the seat, out of normal view, was a small spider. The spider was captured and brought back to the lab,where it was determined to be the Two-Striped Telamonia (Telamonia dimidiata), so named because of its reddened flesh color. This spider's venom is extremely toxic, but can take several days to take effect. They live in cold, dark, damp climates, and toilet rims provide just the right atmosphere.

(Ah! Building up to the climax - including bits of facts like exploiting a real spider ... I am hearing Oscar buzz!)

Several days later a lawyer from JB showed up at a hospital emergency room. Before his death, he told the doctor, that he had been away on business, had taken a flight from Indonesia, changing planes in Singapore, before returning home.

(The before death statement - pure soap opera.)

He did not visit the restaurant, while there. He did, as did all of the other victims, have what was determined to be a puncture wound, on his right buttock.

(The spider now can tell difference between right and left, it is even smarter than yours truly who still has trouble reading left and right. How embarrassing of me!)

Investigators discovered that the flight he was on had originated in India. The Civilian Aeronautics Board (CAB) ordered an immediate inspection of the toilets of all flights from
India, and discovered the Two-Striped Telamonia (Telamonia dimidiata) spider's nests on 4 different planes!

(Wow! What survivor spiders! Does the CAB exist? I don't know but I welcome any news on the CAB.)

It is now believed that these spiders can be anywhere in the country. So please, before you use a public toilet,lift the seat to check for spiders. It can save your life!

(Hmm ... no comments.)

And please pass this on to everyone you care about.

(This is what that seriously riles me and makes my BP shoot up a few notches. Fooling unsuspecting people into fear and panic and apparently from 1999)
---

Now after reading the sensational crap, it is now the truth from our from our favourite online encyclopedia; WIKIPEDIA and how the Malaysian author or someone who knows Malaysia creatively stole it and did their little bit of hocus pocus:

The Two-Striped Telamonia (Telamonia dimidiata), is a jumping spider found in various Asian tropical rain forests, in foliage in wooded environments.

Females can reach a body length of 9 to 11 mm, males up to 9 mm.

They occur in Singapore (new record), Indonesia, India, Bhutan.

In 2002 the spider became the subject of an email hoax claiming that it was a fatal spider found lurking under toilet seats in North Florida. This hoax was a rehashing of an older email circulated in 1999 with similar claims, except under the name South American Blush Spider (arachnius gluteus) - literally "butt spider". No such events ever occurred.

This email looks like this.

NEW POISONOUS SPIDER IN THE UNITED STATES A spider bite...please read........... And you thought the brown recluse was bad!!! Three women in North Florida ,

(North Florida became KL didn't it; the beginning of innovativeness!)

turned up at hospitals over a 5-day period, all with the same symptoms. Fever, chills, and vomiting, followed by muscular collapse, paralysis , and finally, death. There were no outward signs of trauma. Autopsy results showed toxicity in the blood. These women did not know each other, and seemed to have nothing in common It was discovered, however, that they had all visited the same Restaurant (Olive Garden)

(The original author had a grudge with Olive Garden while our Malaysian friend took offense to a Jalan Kuchai Lama restaurant ... more digging would uncover the true identity of the Malaysian hoaxter [Cross-check with all the restaurants there and their unsatisfied patrons, CSIans!])

within days of their deaths. The health department descended on the restaurant, shutting it down. The food, water, and air conditioning were all inspected and tested, to no avail. The big break came when a waitress at the restaurant was rushed to the hospital with similar symptoms. She told doctors that she had been on vacation, and had only went to the restaurant to pick up her check. She did not eat or drink while she was there, but had used the restroom. That is when one toxicologist, remembering an article he had read, drove out to the restaurant, went into the restroom, and lifted the toilet seat. Under the seat, out of normal view, was a small spider. The spider was captured and brought back to the lab, where it was determined to be the Two-Striped Telamonia (Telamonia dimidiata), so named because of its reddened flesh color.. This spider's venom is extremely toxic, but can take several days to take effect. They live in cold, dark, damp climates, and toilet rims provide just the right atmosphere. Several days later a lawyer from Jacksonville

(Jacksonville became JB - an innovation which must be given credit!)

showed up at a hospital emergency room. Before his death, he told the doctor, that he had been away on business, had taken a flight from Indonesia , changing planes in Singapore , before returning home. He did not visit (Olive Garden), while there. He did, as did all of the other victims, have what was determined to b e a puncture wound, on his right buttock. Investigators discovered that the flight he was on had originated in India. The Civilian Aeronautics Board (CAB) ordered an immediate inspection of the toilets of all flights from India , and discovered the Two-Striped Telamonia (Telamonia dimidiata) spider's nests on 4 different planes! It is now believed that these spiders can be anywhere in the country. So please, before you use a public toilet, lift the seat to check for spiders. It can save your life! And please pass this on to everyone you care about.

So if you get an email like this, know it is a hoax.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telamonia_dimidiata"

---
So now you know, even the most benign ones turn out malignant (that's too much Pathology...) and thanks to my hobby of "wikipediaing", it is one more trash decomposed.

Wait, that is our cute spider there below from the Hoaxbusters (http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org/hbicons/telamonia.jpg):

Cheers.

***
There was an individual's name affiliated for spreading this rumour which I callously published without contacting the person. My lack of research is foolishness on my part. Thankfully the person has contacted me and I am able to make the correction. I apologize for this serious mistake.

The dangers of forwarded mails ...

ravi

I am OKAY!

Things are certainly looking grim but well, adaptation is the key and at least I do that well for once.
If there is a will, there is a way! And that concludes my shortest post to date.

In a Haze of Daze

The lack of activity in the blog was primarily me being busy and now feeling really crappy and down for some unknown reason.

Maybe homesickness or people sickness?
I just am muddled, confused, sad, irritated and all-kind of negative feelings put together and oozing out of every pore of my system. I still am in wonder on how I am handling it all but ah well life goes on.

I eat when I feel down and it seems to help (I am underweight so maybe it is okay) so at least I have something to take out all these ill-feelings. That is it for now; maybe it ought to end soon ... I hope.

Meanwhile I am trying to drown myself in work; at least the satisfaction factor is there! What a hope! =)

Put an End to THIS!

Slim River Car-bus Crash - 26 January 2008

picture sourced from www.nst.com.my

Every other month we hear about a bus crash in every other place but we do not seem to care enough on why these things happen because it is every other life. The time has long come for us to act and stop living in denial by putting the blame on fate as all of these could have been prevented if only the bus operators were not negligent!

Today it is someone else but tomorrow it could be you. We all have the voice and the rights to demand safety during bus trips. I saw this on my friend's blog and it is seriously high time to act.

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This section is posted in remembrance of Ms. Lee Nian Ning (1987-2008) and the others who lost their lives in the Slim River Bus Crash

Please post this on your blog now to help:
Chung Lern and Nian Ning’s families would like all families and friends of the victims, dead or alive, in the Slim River Bus Crash to come forward and join them in taking action against the bus company. Stand up to seek justice for these three innocent individuals, who were all so young and full of life.

If you have a blog, please call out to ANYONE who
knows someone who survived or did not survive
the crash to come forward to join the Lee family.
Make a huge difference, make a huge fuss.

For now, you may contact Lee Chung Lern at chunglern@gmail.com or preferably on his handphone at 012-6670368.

Do check out the blog specially created for her as well at http://www.buscrashnomore.blogspot.com.
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In that blog there is an online petition to the Ministry of Transportation, Malaysia where you can sign a petition to urge them to act against these unscrupulous and selfish bus operators and bring change so that all of us can travel in the peace of mind. You too could go there directly through this link:

http://www.petitiononline.com/buscrash/petition.html

If you are signing, please do include your full name as it is in your NRIC (no nicknames, initials and anonymous nonsense, people you are not doing something against the law!) and e-mail address as it is counted as an e-signature. You also could alternatively send in your full name and NRIC number to buscrashnomore@gmail.com.

So, use your voice, folks and put an end to this!