Raving Me

7.40 p.m.

2011-01-06T20:22:00.005+08:00

Grey and indigo are really close in a drizzle;
At least around 7.40 p.m. in the equator;
And only if pupils are dilated and neck extended directly above.

For as bruised as twilight appears,
The expansive epidemic of Prussian blue spreads,
Consuming
heartbeats,
tics,
and blinks.

Then there are the clouds;
Ominously ever present;
Chaperoning in darker tones.

Then and very suddenly
shades of orange
whose origins I am not really sure.

Not the sun; slumbering in the west.
Street lamps perhaps; a collective illumination?
Or plainly smog; it was not drizzling now.

The origins as I finish did not matter.
I never knew anyway.
It was the wonder and the way that did.

2010

2010-12-31T18:45:00.003+08:00

We have lived a decade since Y2K.
Both nouns which I still cannot completely fathom.

This year however is still fresh and not yet over; is still throwing tantrums.
Nevertheless how bad, overcoming them to satiety seems to thread the theme of the year; fulfillment.

From uncharted waters leading to unforgettable experiences,
From unknowns to new friends,
From unknowing to learning.
It was fulfilling and for that it will be missed.
Thinking back the successes, we are humbled by the human spirit and can only be better.

Quintessentially to seek inspirations within oneself.

Wishing everyone a very happy new year and even more happier ones to come!

Home is ...

2010-11-04T21:32:00.004+08:00

Where you eat less than required,
Where you seem not to put on any weight even if you are constantly eating,
In which both situations you are commented upon and made to gorge on more.

Where clothes get washed without you bothering them,
Where unacceptable clothing is acceptable,
Where buying new clothes is primarily a matter of preference than finances,
In which clothes is not even a topic except when getting more of them.

Where chores get done no matter how much you grumble,
Where chores are less even if you grumble,
Where you can escape chores by pointing out a sibling doing less when it is actually the opposite,
Where you can feign breathlessness or allergy and escape,
In which if there are any real chores in the first place.

Where as much as you hate the excitement,
You would not have it otherwise,
Where as much as drama you create,
You know it is an unwritten responsibility of yours,
Where as much as you compare it with any other place,
You know you rather be at no other place.

Wishing everyone a very happy Diwali and even more happier ones to come!

Making a Point

2010-10-30T02:04:00.002+08:00

Straight to business; there is a community message I would like to spread.

You can start by reading this first:
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2010%2F10%2F29%2Ffocus%2F7323462&sec=focus

The Pusat Pemulihan Dalam Komuniti work to empower children with special needs. The centre in Merbok is organizing a Jumble Sale at the end of this year to raise much needed funds to run the place and organize activities.

They are looking for any form of contribution that fits into the bill of a Jumble Sale. If you have any used items, please contact Pusat Pemulihan Dalam Komuniti, D/A Dewan Orang Ramai Pekan Merbok, 08400 Merbok, Kedah or

Mr. Husni Zain, Chairman at 019 559 7951;
Madam Norliza, Supervisor at 019 420 8414;
Madam Rodziah at 012 549 6528;
Ms. Nurul Hasni at 017 432 7244;
Madam Sharipah at 017 414 5326

Thanks!

Needed vs. Wanted

2010-08-23T23:56:00.004+08:00

To trust is a most foolish thing and
to hope on people requires many more leaps of faith.

There is a very distinct line of difference between people needing you and wanting you.
Hoping tries to smudge this line but who are we kidding?
When the need vanishes, the needed also becomes invisible,
with the feelings forgotten and relationship turning rancid.

The only person wanted these days lives in the list in the police station. To discuss this is basically irrelevant.

I am lousy at long jumps let alone to take any leap;
across the drain or hopes likewise.

Allergies

2010-08-22T01:27:00.002+08:00

Mast cells can be directed towards anything: dust, pollen and even people.
Unfortunately they can't react towards the last: people whom your subconscious and conscious have meticulously dissected and deemed molecularly unacceptable to your very being.

We really can't deal with those whom we can't seem to set our eyes upon let alone waste any other sensory modality. The point is being that their existence has became your bane. It is really not your fault if they turn out to have manners of a five-year old, behaviours rivaling the Teletubbies, neonatal nuances and mindsets of the sixties.

Arcane irritants.
Choking characters.
Toxic personalities.

However life is not that kind to spare you from the balance. We resort to dealing with people we rather not deal with due to so many reasons.

The only way to keep your peace of mind then is to be as clinical as possible in those dealings. By that I mean: keeping things black and white and not involving any gray as the last spells trouble. Two plus two equals four and no lingering around for any small talk.

Sensory isolation helps me keep my sanity and my peace of mind.
A big word it has become these days.

Of innocence and irritability

2010-05-24T13:43:00.002+08:00

I may not be patient but I am at least reasonable and if you are peckish, I am fair.

I sometimes think people go all out to annoy the little patience out of anyone.
Instructions when told clearly should be followed. That is why they are given in the first place.

"Bus stop" does not mean "maktab." Any hearing impairment also would not translate to that either. So I was clearly thrilled when the cabbie decided to drop me there.
The worst is the audacity to correct me.

I did not respond much for I have long given up responding to brainless people.
There was just two things I could infer out of the situation: either he was going a for longer ride to get more out of my wallet or he was plainly ignorant. I am thinking the latter.

Either way, I was being patient.
May be they can learn conversational English, no?

And I think I will be reporting to the authorities about cabbies not using meters in SP.

The Art of Behaving

2010-04-15T02:23:00.002+08:00

Just because you can do something, whether you ought to do it is the ultimate question.
Ought to is simply not disturbing anyone anyway.
Let it be wearing more skin than clothes to embarrassing PDA.
And if you disturb someone, any person with a cerebrum would respond.
If the response disturbs you, you have just got a taste of your own medicine.
You asked for it and please don't insult the intelligence of the people you have just disturbed.

This is the simple logical chain of events.
Unfortunately since stupidity is the most contagious thing on the planet, hardly anyone would understand this and behave.

Common sense is so uncommon these days. PERIOD.

Abandonment Issues

2010-04-10T22:39:00.003+08:00

Just like how I abandoned the blog, I got a taste of my own medicine.
And I have realized it boils down to the choices one makes.

I choose not forgive.
I choose never to be foolhardy.
I choose not to look back.

I choose to move forward.

Somethings Never Change

2010-01-05T18:29:00.003+08:00

Image from http://jenbreaux.files.wordpress.com/2007/04/partyscenegg.jpg.

Sinusitis and I said, "I do" a real long time ago and even if I tried to cheat, sinusitis has clung on to me.

So when we get really romantic and chummy, we become much of a public nuisance.

I have learned over the many years through this affair to get medicated and stay away from people. Not that I am infectious or anything. Merely the fact that each time I sneeze, everyone stops for a split second from what they are doing and look at me. Then H1N1 came and everyone thought I was constantly infected.

When I cut off human company (which is really not a bad thing), I read books. Lots of them. They don't complain when I sneeze at them or splutter coffee when I sneeze or medicate them by mistake. I really do define "unputdownable" to the point that I have developed a BR* cramp in my left forearm.
*brachioradialis

I don't really remember when I started reading books. I don't really remember my very first book. That is how long me and books go.

Recently (meaning about 16 hours ago), I finished Sophie Kinsella's Twenties Girl which truly is unputdownable. Before you go thinking it's a chic flick or some trashy literature, it makes The Namesake look shy. So you know it's good; may be we will get a movie in the years to come. Quite an unexpected storyline (that which makes stories unforgettable). The author did a good job in storytelling a hip 20s scene (and yes this is the 1920s with the top hats and flapper dresses) while highlighting the challenges that those times.

It was really naive of me to associate the 20s to New York. Something about Marilyn Monroe and me being confused. Set in London and quite a first for me as I have not read about London per se in the 20s or the 21st century (P.S. I Love You was set in Ireland). Quite a breather from all the heather and villages of the 60s which I have come to associate London to. And yes, it is not just a quaint little shopping district.

A story is only as good as it is able to engage with the reader and vividly form a mini-universe in their head. This story has touch of all the right things to make it right. Paced storyline but not too fast or heaven-forbid too slow, rich with details but not florid and most of important of all filled with everyday people. I guess that last bit is what that makes me passionate about this book. Most stories these days are filled with characters which too much of "something" which makes them a pain and makes you look how many more pages are left in that chapter. Either that or they are canned with cryptic messages and imagery that stresses one out trying to decipher them. One or two is cute, a few is perfect but sentence after sentence of personification and depersonification?! This book as I have implied has neither of those foolish emblems.

More importantly I guess besides these niceties and enriched experience, it has got to have some message but not the wrong message. This book has some really funny ones like "Don't end up being a trailer" (that's a stalker in 21st century speak). That's from Sadie Lancaster by the way.

Speaking of Sadie, she would be now in trance as I have started droning. I better go and wake her up.

2009 - 2010

2009-12-31T16:30:00.003+08:00

To do justice to 2009, the word would be unexpected.

In a good way ... at least that is how I would see it.
A fulfilling year learning lots of new things (really), unearthing good people and discovering new opportunities; if I were to be succinct.
Of course there were equally matched incidents of drama but honestly I can't waste ATPs on typing them let alone think about them.

As much point there is in whining over lost time,
the same amount of worth is in basking over the good times.
Both are in past tense, and I am not doing a memoir, thank you very much.

While it has been quite a successful run, coming to think of it ... there was a lot of work done in order to get them ... sometimes much more than the next person.
I guess kites rise best against wind.

I don't do resolutions as I am a firm believer that I make God laugh when I make plans. The irony is that I always make plans and far too much of them. I could give Phileas Fogg a run for his money (not that he wouldn't put a wager). As much as everyone else reading this, I live an ordinary life and these plans sometimes bring extraordinary things into them ... hence we need plans. How much we follow them or rather how much I overlook a thousand things while planning is another story which you will have the entire new year to hear about.

So with that note, I wish everyone

A very happy new year and more happier ones to come!

In somno securitas?

2009-12-30T02:43:00.004+08:00

That means: In sleep there is safety.

Sort off cliched that the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland adopted this as their motto but that's not the point now.

While I suffer from somnolence now after the month long sleep-deprived state, I think about those days that even four hours of sleep was considered lucky. I thankfully did not suffer from insomnia and the sleep deprived state was voluntarily induced for a reason. However it was in sleep (which thankfully came quickly and left quickly), I truly felt free and safe. The rest of the hours were charged with some adrenaline or cortisol. Deadlines were the graffiti of those hours.

Now with sleep batting my eyelids easily, I marvel at how I was then. My then-self would have given the look of ultimate pity to my now-self; the weak-willed creature to sleep.

Surprising isn't it; how we mold to our objectives so quickly,
How subconsciously we accept change even though we consciously resist it,
How comfort zones are mere fixations of imagination.

Well I am not made of gold,
I am not made of iron either,
Or steel for that matter (that's Superman),

I am made of plastic.

Adapting, Malleable and Indestructible.
And so is the rest of the world.

Insight into Decision Making

2009-12-18T16:21:00.002+08:00

A group of children were playing near two railway tracks, one still in use while the other disused.
Only one child played on the disused track, the rest on the operational track.

The train is coming, and you are just beside the track interchange.
You can make the train change its course to the disused track and save most of the kids.
However, that would also mean the lone child playing by the disused track would be sacrificed.
Or would you rather let the train go its way?

Let's take a pause to think what kind of decision we could make ...

Most people might choose to divert the course of the train, and sacrifice only one child.
You might think the same way, I guess.
Exactly, to save most of the children at the expense of only one child was rational decision
most people would make, morally and emotionally.
But, have you ever thought that the child choosing to play on the disused track had in fact
made the right decision to play at a safe place?

Nevertheless, he had to be sacrificed because of his ignorant friends who chose to play where the danger was.
This kind of dilemma happens around us everyday.
In the office, community, in politics and especially in a democratic society,
the minority is often sacrificed for the interest of the majority,
no matter how foolish or ignorant the majority are, and how farsighted and knowledgeable the minority are. The child who chose not to play with the rest on the operational track was sidelined.
And in the case he was sacrificed, no one would shed a tear for him.

The great critic Leo Velski Julian who told the story said he would not try to change the course of the train because he believed that the kids playing on the operational track should have known very well that track was still in use, and that they should have run away if they heard the train's sirens..
If the train was diverted, that lone child would definitely die because he never thought the train could come over to that track! Moreover, that track was not in use probably because it was not safe.
If the train was diverted to the track, we could put the lives of all passengers on board at stake!
And in your attempt to save a few kids by sacrificing one child, you might end up sacrificing hundreds of people to save these few kids.

While we are all aware that life is full of tough decisions that need to be made,
we may not realize that hasty decisions may not always be the right one.

---
The above tale is one which I got through a forwarded mail.
It seemed to have the relevance and the edge of these challenging times ...

P/S Children should never play in train-tracks even if they are disused. Think about it.

The Sore Thumb of Polycytemia Rubra Vera

2009-11-05T05:12:00.006+08:00

http://z.hubpages.com/u/430409_f260.jpg

Somethings must remain normal
for a simple reason that
any glitch in that normality ruins
everything.

How anything behaves must remain normal
for yet another simple reason;
misbehavior in whatever the circumstance
is misbehavior nevertheless.

Indolent but nevertheless diseased, thank you very much.

In chess a pawn can be promoted but
in reality we are often pawned for gluttony.
Gluttony which both feeds and is fed, that is.
Gluttony which embarrasses and disappoints the poor pawn.

The worst of course is the ignorance and denial of the whole ordered chaos.
Very much like polycytemia rubra vera.

So would I have a sore thumb pointing wrongs out
or polycytemia rubra vera.

I think you know the answer already.
That was no question but
a statement of harsh reality.

The Tale of the Brass Idli Maker

2009-11-03T01:16:00.002+08:00

http://product-image.tradeindia.com/00274000/s/0/Brass-Handi-.jpg

I was pondering about this issue for quite a while; whether to write about it or not. It had been some time you would have noticed that I actually wrote something.

Anyway, throw rotten tomatoes at me if you have to.
The situation I am about to tell you came from a conversation some few dinners ago:

In a marriage (I think this does not apply to live-in relationships), if a particular spouse in anger chooses to break a family heirloom of another spouse to prove a point, how should the other spouse react?

In impulse people might do anything but common sense (however uncommon it is) would be somewhat exercised in most sane individuals.
Nothing crass, crude nor drastic.

If it was up to me, I would plainly pack all the other heirlooms (from the ancient hairpin to the one-of-a-kind brass idli maker) and send it to some other relative where it is probably safer and appreciated.

My point is heirlooms are not just things, they represent your heritage.
A part of who you are.
If your spouse could not respect that and choose to fire their neurons at such an astounding cranial capacity, to do something so intelligent --- either they have some underlying psychological problem or its time to think what you are doing in the relationship.

It is not just a thing,
It is not about you valuing a thing more than a person,
It is not about being a MCP,

It is about you
and about you knowing that you have self-worth and dignity.

Somehow that element is lost in most relationships these days.

It's Complicated

2009-09-14T01:46:00.003+08:00

When benign sights (maybe walking to the washroom together is slightly unholy) and romantic comedies results in depression; I think the term "it's complicated" is completely merited for. Even more so when it is a movie watched in complete exhaustion and only a tiny bit of the movie sets-off an emotional downpour.

In a weird convoluted way, being immensely busy with mainstream issues keeps us from realizing emotional handicaps. As someone puts it, these handicaps are very disturbing. However thankfully, the lifelessness has numbed us of pain. Not essentially a bad thing but not a good thing either as lifelessness leaves us pretty much devoid of humanity.

http://www1.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/2834078/2/istockphoto_2834078_she_loves_me.jpg

However, nothing can be compared to the confused, insecure, fearful and unsure state that being complicated renders one to.

We end up living by leaving it to chance and that is truly disturbing.

Rough Winds Do Shake the Darling Buds of May

2009-09-06T02:15:00.003+08:00

A choice of personal preferences should be allowed and it is a right.
We are at free will to like or dislike a certain thing to reasons most applicable to us.

Even to the extent; to some it may seem derogatory.
Fundamental fact: it is one's life and how one chooses it is simply one's own business as long no toes are stepped upon. This is highly applicable to busybodies who provoke people and create storms in many people's teacups. Bless me, my tea was ruined!

The point is that one's point is not discriminatory if it doesn't involve active participation to stand-up for the point. The action matters and creating a hoo-hah for nothing is simply self-initiated sympathy-co-mud slapping; the point where one descends to being discriminatory to anothers passive self-indulgent thought.

The fact of knowing such people disgusts me and I wonder whether the day will come when I am not allowed to like purple and eat mash potato.

And now; we know where the holier-than-thou attitude roots from and discriminates underdogs of all kinds.

In the name of God, the most Gracious and most Merciful

2009-08-02T00:08:00.006+08:00

Picture from: http://dakchomey.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/6f8aea9ea87f4459ae619931.jpg

Tragedy touched us.

Us.
Us.
Us.

Finally in death, she achieved what she set out to do.
Never mind the critics and the censors of her films,
Never mind the people who jeered at her efforts to appreciate our diversity,
But mind the fact we may never have another Sepet, Funeral or Talentime.

Yasmin Ahmad was and is a Malaysian,
More Malaysian than so many of us,
because she harboured hope in the Promised Land and acted upon it.

Now in death,
the storyteller,
the filmmaker,
got her ovation.

The full-stop, the finality, the exclamation mark;
death has its way of making things heard.

Yasmin believed in Malaysia and
she left me the trickle of hope.

A little bit less bitter,
A little bit less suspicion,
A little bit less prejudice,
A little bit more open,
A little bit more respect,
And a little bit more love,
Makes our little imperfections beautiful.

I met a person who acknowledged me after just mere glances,
He was not of my skin but sought to see the similarities that bonded us instead of highlighting the differences; let it be even the position of bus seats or the time we would be in SP.

Yasmin believed in Malaysia and
she left me the trickle of hope,
this person restored it to full brim.

We see only what we want to see
We are only as happy as our minds make to be
We are only Malaysian if we choose to be.
And Yasmin lived to be.

Not The Whole Truth

2009-07-20T20:54:00.001+08:00

There is nothing in substitute for the truth then where do white lies fall in place? Well somewhere on the gates of the greater good where gray prevails. Speaking of gray, the de-novo colours of sweatshirts, we find there is this curious little habit of ours of not telling the whole truth.

Of course you did go outstation for that conference but well, little intelligent you did not tell that your extra day was actually not accidental. The official version of events was bad weather and the flight got delayed. Oh yes, your clandestine activities did go undetected.

This is one example and we have others like taking a whole day to shop in a sale where you bought that leather bag with a 5% discount. Yet what you tell your friends over brunch on Sunday while munching on rolls is that you were bargain hunting and things were indecently cheap, probably even cheaper than the rolls you are eating.

It seems diluting the truth either by exaggerating or over-simplifying it is something of norm. Weaving florets on monotony and obscuring rancid from the fluorescent mess is something we rather do than stray into the lanes of lies. It maybe something deemed trivial or something downright dangerous but who is do deny it wasn’t necessary. Yes, a necessary evil it was; to deglaze and shine and yet we were not lying, thank you very much.

We do it for many reasons. For obvious ones like avoiding unnecessary conversation by people who have more time than us at the present so that it sounds mundane and we can continue on real business and these people will find some other victim. Sometimes it is not to lose face and be lapped with some attention for something totally ordinary. Most of the time it is for ourselves. An individualistic desire to not to be put in a situation of being bitten by our conscience for lying. By doing this, we avoid pangs of guilt and are contented by the fact that there was a morsel of truth beneath that waffle.

Call it cheating yourself, call it suave but the best of us and the worst of us do it.

"It is important to look good"

2009-07-16T00:28:00.002+08:00

I have heard the phrase above many times.
You know in reference to interviews, engagements, dates and a whole lot of other important end-outcomes.

Those dreaded first impressions?
Does the colour of a necktie or a cut of a dress tell whether a person is efficient? Does it mean that if you naturally have hooded eyelids; you are condemned to be lazy? The point is that first impressions do not tell anything much about character. It in fact hides a lot of things like laziness, inefficiency and all kinds of lousy traits.

However, I am not championing on going to meet a person with T-shirts stained suspiciously and unwashed hair. Those things are detrimental to you and the person next-to-you and is not pleasant on the eye.

Not pleasant on the eye.
Not pleasant on the eye.

Contradicting it sounds, actually because if you take it far enough, it would be alright to hire the handsome gentleman because the guy with the braces is an eyesore. Few words: it is plainly unfair. For one simple logical reason: you might not be choosing the better person because of something so superficial. Period.

We have to draw the line and I think the part about whether whatever that irritates your occipital lobe* is really detrimental or not should be defined. Not technically very hard: I sometimes choose to write them out on paper to remove the visual bias. I am open to better techniques though.
* the part of the brain concerned with interpreting what we see

Mirror, mirror on the Wall,
Who is the Fairest One of Them All?
We humans like beautiful things and everything positive is associated with being beautiful in the loosest sense. What was supposedly neutral is perceived as positive. Cinderella was beautiful and her evil sisters had to be ugly. Witches were undoubtedly with crooked noses. In short, ugly humans were bad humans. Even food had to look good with garnishing so much to wet our appetites. Is it instinctual? No, I think it is a very wronged learned behavior to appreciate skin-depth beauty based on pigmentation preferences. Cavemen were icky. Look I am into this now. It is ingrained to say so much. Before we are mature enough to appreciate true beauty (the one which is formed by positives), this dangerous principle has been seeded into our subconscious. Even this skin depth philosophy is tainted and crooked in its own way, some people still see tall, fair (which is so unfair ... oh the malignancy has spilled into syntax too) and thin as beautiful. The irony of fair being unfair is enough to speak volumes on our so, civilized nature.

My point is ...
Bad habits are difficult to weed out. Watching children watching their weight, dying of anorexia, resort to stealing to finance their labels, losing self confidence and the ensuing vicious cycle. This dreaded prophecy is almost as equivalent to shoving the reality of the situation right under our noses. If we still choose to deign to ignorance and continue teaching our kids wrong lessons, don't complain when civilization crumbles because it was important to look good.

We do not borrow this earth from our grandparents, but we owe them from our children.

Just Not Into You?

2009-07-14T18:40:00.002+08:00

I watched a show many months back and I think there is a book ,"He is Just Not Into You?"
Though it was mainly for romance and dating, let's just extrapolate into the lives of the lonely and empty.

Humans much like Sims yearn for social company.
To be acknowledged, to be praised, to be shot down, to discuss, to be inflamed, to bicker or plain gossip.We love to be the centre of attention even if it boils down to one person. Actually most people just it with one or two or three. Crowds of millions might just call for propranolol.

Nevertheless very few enjoy being lonely.

Yes, we love our moments of solitude. Alone is when one hears one's own voice. This is important for this self forms the crux of impulses and split-second decisions which matter.
It however best kept in durations of moments.

But when it stretches out into a monotone that you start hearing your own echos, feel alone even when you are amongst people and the fact that people actually only converse to you when they need you; seems to be like they are just not into you as yourself. The worse being those moments when you are physically alone for a few seconds and it hits you like a truck: the realization of the ugly side of everything superficial.

Not that anything is wrong with you. Even if you are "difficult", every cloud does have its silver lining. Sometimes it is appearance, sometimes it is in the nature of being reserved, sometimes it is the boundaries of norms and the list is truly endless. Plainly it is hard to meet like-minded people who aren't stereotypical. I still haven't met someone who likes paleontology and astronomy. Sometimes it is also the part about the lack of reciprocation: you are there with a 110% invested and they seem to throw you blue moons' worth of responses for your many missed calls.

Yet we do meet people who are like-minded though they can easily fall into the "just not into you?" category when you haven't heard from them like for awhile. That is when you take a breath, try to clear ,"Lonely ... I am so lonely" out of your head and stop being a little selfish ... People have lives to live just like you do. Unseen to you are their many commitments, obligations and a many other things pleasant and unpleasant. It is of little compensation but a logical rationale nevertheless.

It is sometimes not always about you. Yes people are not always into you. Some people plainly need you for your abilities rather than your own emotional needs. I always imagine that you end up being dry, crusted and extremely lined if you only think about this.

This is because it is truly depressing and restless but think about the millions who live a physically much difficult life than yourself. Going to school involves kilometres on foot, getting clean water being a miracle and suddenly apple martinis and your need for devotees seem guilty.

Oh perspectives! Nasty essential speed-breakers are they? Just not into you or are you yourself not into yourself? Or is this feeling deeply rooted on the need to fill up your time? Endless debates that we orchestrate ourselves which actually have simple solutions:

Fill your time.
Live your life.
Stop thinking about stopping.
And you will realize happiness is neither an exclusive privilege or unaffordable luxury.

Apples and Oranges: The Search for the Balance between Opposing Worlds

2009-07-12T17:00:00.002+08:00

It is inevitable that things will never be the same as you left it.
Either you would have fast-forwarded or worse ... degenerated.

Suddenly you realize: how did I get here?
Why is everyone speaking Greek and Latin?
When did everything known and safe change?
Ultimately ... the "Why am I so in the dark ages?" question will pop up and there is little remedy to that except going on thinking and thinking about choices and fate until you sound psychotic (pretty much like now).

The other end is equally unpleasant: dealing with cavemen is not easy, thank you very much.

And where are we? Right in the middle.
Stuck in this stalemate, we are resigned to make do with what we have.
Not a bad thing, actually.
Greener pastures do not exist, we form them.
We have to fertilize, plough, seed and weed our niche.

Image Copyright: http://www.greenhutgalleries.com/products/images/0wha025.jpg

In that, maybe we would
find that elusive golden mean,
where true happiness and peace lies,
where life's very framework lies.

To own the sense of independence, the deciding-stroke of your destiny and to live.
What a hope!

After Anne and Beyond

2009-07-12T00:39:00.003+08:00

Finally Anne Frank is done.

Few simple words: non-fiction and real life accounts are by the law of life: incoherent, unpredictable and don't simply have the edge to hold ones attention unlike their fiction counterparts.

Nevertheless, Anne was something I deemed necessary and yes, it was worth it even with all the teenage whining, over-thinking and asphyxiation.

Now it is done and I can finally have peace of mind.

Uh Uh ...

2009-07-04T20:06:00.002+08:00

That's what you feel when you realize that a Pulitzer Prize winning book is not your cup of tea. Hopefully, the other book I bought- Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl lives up to my insanely evolved razor-edged reading taste-buds (or maybe I have fallen in love with Miranda Priestly's character).

Either way; its not relaxing reading such books or helps you to fall asleep (it conversely keeps you awake debating for hours and hours with yourself ... hopefully I have not misread my first signs of insanity). Nevertheless, they are eye-opening or if you'd rather say: making you stop turning a blind eye on the inevitable truth shoving it right before you and ringing a klaxon saying, "WAKE UP!"

Scary but a necessary realization.

At least I realize, I am not frightened of ending up working without holidays and I am at the core ... culturally rooted unlike some of my fictitious acquaintances.

Though I secretly wish they were.

Tum Ti Tum Ti Dum ...

2009-06-30T20:00:00.003+08:00

To loyal readers (if any are out there): I have been doing a lot of stuff and plainly my lack of organization left my blog ... well untouched. There were a couple of instances I did have something worthwhile to say but either a lousy net connection or like a short-lived firework I am just back to doing mundane things.

Now I am reading the mini-budget a.k.a. the economic stimulus package which is actually quite interesting. I am reading also the National Geographic which has lovely pictures (helps you when you get those headaches ...) and I actually found out that Neanderthals have bigger brains than us. Who would have thought about that? Anyway reading is something I enjoy doing in the holidays. I always seem to get hold onto good books by simple virtue of checking whether they made the New York Times Bestsellers List. This time however either the Times got it wrong or I have evolved tastes.

Anyway I really hope to push up readership through some miracle.

Dacryocystitis

2009-03-22T22:16:00.003+08:00

I have been in blog void, writers block or whatever you choose to call it.
Needless to say the cause.

Currently recovering from an allergic bout of a really irritated opthalmic nerve.
I am thinking of alcohol syringing while meeting a really old acquaintance really soon.

Happy Lunar New Year!

2009-01-24T23:26:00.003+08:00

SOURCE: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2397/2244295698_a9d23d3917.jpg?v=0

Wishing all of you a prosperous and fulfilling lunar new year ahead!

Mahendra, Behari, Ashalata and Binodini

2009-01-24T03:36:00.005+08:00

SOURCE: http://mimg.sulekha.com/hindi/chokher-bali/Stills/bali6.jpg,http://mimg.sulekha.com/hindi/chokher-bali/Stills/bali3.jpg and http://mimg.sulekha.com/hindi/chokher-bali/Stills/bali4.jpg

Told in poetry and the finest of expression, Chocker Bali is a timeless tales on human anthropology. I happened to watch it today and it was beautiful (even though I only watched half of it).

It speaks of tendrils of human behavior, desires and how we swim through the reeds of society. I can't possibly do enough justice for this movie and the novel by Nobel prize winning Tagore (reading it is a new birthday wish). The four main characters represent the essence of living affluently though Mahendra is a personal favourite along with Binodini.

If you are a thinker, go for it.
The portrayal and authenticity would intoxicate, inflame and inspire you.

BMJ, Facebook and Medicos

2009-01-08T02:45:00.005+08:00

As weird as this article sounds, please read it. It is important and relevant to my more ... let's say "outgoing" medico friends.

I could not put up a link in my Facebook account, so here is the article itself from Student BMJ and Medscape:

Student BMJ

The Dangers of Facebook

Posted 12/29/2008

Abstract and Introduction

Abstract

Increasing numbers of doctors and medical students are turning to websites such as Facebook to make friends, chat, and organise social events. These innovations have made some aspects of life easier and are a powerful tool for communication, but they also blur the line between our personal and professional personas. With the veneer of friendship that's offered on these sites, it's all too easy to reveal more information than is appropriate. If this information falls into the wrong hands, problems can arise about your integrity, employment, and fitness to practise medicine.

Introduction

In a recent study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, the Facebook profiles of a group of medical students in Florida were scrutinised with the aim of establishing how dangerous Facebook could be in the intersection of personal and professional identities. The study found some profiles publicly displaying photographs of trainee medics drinking to excess, engaging in sexual behaviour, and, in one instance, posing with a dead racoon. Three of the 10 students in the sample had also joined groups on Facebook that could be interpreted as sexist or racist.^[1]

Whether the private activities of a medical professional have an impact on their ability to practise is debatable, but it cannot be denied that putting private material in such a public arena has the potential to undermine trust in the profession.

Who Uses it?

Online social networking in the medical community is a worldwide phenomenon and one that is no longer the sole domain of medical students ( box 1 ). With 90 million active users around the world,^[2] it's a fairly safe bet that your colleagues and boss are on there, not to mention many of your patients. You don't need a degree in computer science to go online and see who is using this technology.

Many students now rely on this technology for organising social activities and keeping up with their friends. "Without it you wouldn't know what was going on," said a student at St George's Medical School, London. Students are using these networking tools to show their support for causes, exchange answers to exam questions, and disseminate course notes, in addition to sharing the mandatory photos of alcohol fuelled antics. In a remarkably diligent act of altruism, a group of medical students ("podmedics") have even taken to recording and sharing their notes as audio files for others to download and enjoy on the road.

Junior doctors are making time for the technology too, with most UK schools boasting groups with a few hundred members. In a quick survey, 36 regional groups of trainee general practitioners were found, and these are often open to all to observe, interact with, and market to. "Protect general practice" groups had 5000 members from diverse clinical and non-clinical backgrounds, including some of the few specialist registrars making use of the technology. In addition, a small but active group of tech savvy senior professionals use Facebook to upload videos of endoscopy cases and discuss them with small groups of colleagues.

Medicopolitics thrives in this environment. More than 10 000 individuals took action through Facebook to show opposition to recent changes in the provision of hospital accommodation for young doctors in the United Kingdom, while others weighed in to the debate about medical education. More diverse groups such as "The NHS is sucking my soul dry" and "I am a doctor and I hope my patients don't see me on Facebook" are also popular, though much to the disappointment of its 5700 members the latter was recently closed down. Perhaps a patient found it.

What Are the Dangers?

The General Medical Council guidance from Good Medical Practice hasn't changed—"You must make sure that your conduct at all times justifies your patients' trust in you and the public's trust in the profession"^[3] —but it's undeniable that the advent of online social networking has increased the chances of being caught acting disreputably.

One of the problems arising is how we choose to define a friend online. If one's personal profile—detailing hobbies, groups, interests, photos, and videos—were available only to true friends, there would be little cause for concern. But the online environment breeds a false sense of security, where online friendships are often formed with little thought for the possible consequences. Michael Anderson, one of the growing ranks of junior doctors in the United Kingdom keeping a blog, was recently added by a patient, and though he was touched by the sentiment, he decided that his privacy would be compromised if he accepted.^[4]

Notably, the profiles of two thirds of the medical students in the Florida study were available to Facebook users not listed as friends. This may have been a conscious decision in some cases, but more likely it reflects a widespread ignorance of the enhanced privacy settings that are available. This is hardly surprising, given that website providers, in their efforts to reassure nervous users, have produced a multitude of confusing options. There are no prizes for guessing that the default situation is to share information with users and advertisers alike.

Aside from the risk of identity theft (two in five Facebook profiles reveal information that can be used to set up bank accounts and so on^[5]), it is the professional implications that are of greatest concern to the medical community. Recently the Highland Deanery suspended a trainee in general surgery for "scatological" comments made about a senior medical colleague in an online discussion, which was seen by a concerned friend who felt duty bound to take action.^[6]

A senior tutor at the University of Cambridge admitted to viewing applicants' Facebook profiles out of curiosity during the admission process.^[7] Although he maintained that this had no bearing on his decisions, one wonders what he may have thought had Amy Polumbo applied to Emmanuel College that year. Ms Polumbo, Miss New Jersey 2007, was thrust into the public eye last year when her title dangled perilously in the balance after lewd images from her Facebook profile surfaced in the national press.^[8]

"The cost to a person's future can be high if something undesirable is found by the increasing number of education institutions and employers using the internet as a tool to vet potential students or employees," says David Smith,^[9] for the Information Commissioner's Office, in relation to recent UK governmental guidance on online social networking.^[10]

To some extent the medical regulators are playing catch-up with the advances in social networking, but guidance is available and it's well worth observing in your online activities.

How Can I Protect Myself?

The American Medical Association advises doctors to "recognise that your personal conduct may affect your reputation and that of your profession,"^[11] and a spokesperson for the General Medical Council made it clear that regulators appreciate the need for balance. "Medical students and doctors are entitled to a private life, and to use their time away from studying and work as they wish [they] should consider whether the images of what was fun at the time could cause embarrassment if they were accessed by patients, or the public, later. In extreme cases such images could lead to a complaint being made."

The fact is that doctors and would be doctors are held to higher standards of personal conduct than other groups in society. Saintly behaviour is neither demanded nor expected, but with the job there comes an expectation of a reasonable level of common sense and decency. It is possible to protect one's personal and professional reputation while enjoying positive interactions with patients and colleagues outside the professional arena.

With the potential for such difficulties you might wonder about the rightful place in our lives for this technology. It is no doubt here to stay, but it doesn't have to be a minefield of ethics or mistrust. With a little care and attention ( box 2 ), online social networking has the potential to make life a good deal easier for medics: to connect us with our friends and colleagues, facilitate learning and communication, arrange events, and share our knowledge with the wider world. You could even join the General Medical Council's Facebook group and continue the discussion there,^[12] but bear in mind that when you're online, you're anything but off duty.

Box 1. What is Online Social Networking?^[13]

These websites offer a virtual space where people can share information and communicate with other people. This is usually in the form of a personal "profile," elements of which other people, "friends," can see.
A social network service focuses on building online communities of people who share interests and activities.

Popular websites include Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Orkut, Hi5, and Friendster.

Revenue is typically gained via advertisements.

Box 2. How to Have a Hassle-free Facebook Experience

Short of severing your electronic umbilical cord and suspending yourself in a box over the Thames, is there any way of using services without jeopardising your privacy or integrity?
Make your profile private, so only your friends can view it.

As in life, choose your friends carefully.

Use common sense and discretion when choosing your profile photo. A happy snap of you at a party—lovely; a photo of you doing shots blindfolded at the same party—perhaps not.

"De-tagging" is a fair way to deal with a photo which portrays you in a poor light, but persuading your friends not to publish it in the first place is even better.

If you must act in a questionable way, be smart and don't get caught.

References

Thompson LA, Dawson K, Ferdig R, Black EW, Boyer J, Coutts J, et al. The intersection of online social networking with medical professionalism. J Gen Intern Med 2008;23:954-7.
Facebook official statistics. www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics.
General Medical Council. Good medical practice. London: GMC, 2006.
Anderson M. The junior doctor. http://thejuniordoctor.blogspot.com.
Nugent H, Dean J. Millions of Facebook users 'leave themselves open to identity theft'. Times. http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/ the_web/article2253720.ece.
Praties N. Row after deanery suspends trainee over Doctors.net comments. Pulse. www.pulsetoday.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=23&storycode=4120357.
Shepherd J. Would-be students checked on Facebook. Guardian Unlimited. www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/jan/11/accesstouniversity.highereducation.
Foster P. Caught on camera—and found on Facebook. Times. http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/ article2087306.ece.
Johnson B. Privacy warning for young users of networking sites. Guardian Unlimited. www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/nov/23/news.facebook.
Social Networking Advice—ICO Youth. Information Commissioner's Office. www.ico.gov.uk/Youth/section2/intro.aspx.
American Medical Association. AMA Code of Ethics. 2006. www.ama.com.au/web.nsf/tag/amacodeofethics.
Facebook group: Becoming a doctor. www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7930898447.
Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_social_networking

Reprint Address

Neil Graham, E-Mail: neil@zeebit.com

Neil Graham, medical student, University College London

Philippa Moore, freelance journalist, London

Competing interests: None declared.
---

I hope this prompts people to act more sensibly in the future.

P/S I by the way do NOT own any piece of the article above and the ownership and rights of the article above is clearly stated above anyway.

A Great Time and ....

2009-01-06T20:58:00.005+08:00

First of all, minus getting lost a few times; today was a great day and I finally got to see PJ thanks to a very good friend of mine. We had a great time and even more interesting conversations which I think I could never have had anywhere else. LOL.

Then, I came back home (3oo km south bound) and saw this online:

Air India sacks 10 overweight air-hostesses

Bernama

NEW DELHI, Tues:

No one knows better the virtues of looking slim and fit than 10 air-hostesses of Air India, who have lost their jobs for failure to shed those extra kilos that rendered them unfit for flying duties.

The services of these air-hostesses, who were grounded by the national carrier for being overweight, have been terminated for their failure to reduce their weight to the acceptable standards and refusal to take up alternative ground duties.

Confirming the decision, the Press Trust of India (PTI) quoted an airline spokesperson as saying that the termination of their services was carried out “strictly under the terms of their appointment,” a claim that has been dubbed as illegal by the sacked employees.

Sources said the “overweight” hostesses were given sufficient opportunity to reduce their weight to the acceptable standards, and they were also offered alternative jobs on ground, which they refused to accept.

The sources said while 10 air hostesses were sacked in the Northern Region, there were some more across the country who have been served similar notices.
The sacked air hostesses, however, said that the action of the national carrier was illegal as they were not served any notice and the decision was taken when the matter was pending in the Supreme Court.

“The action is illegal and against natural justice. I will soon file an application in the Supreme Court against the order,” advocate Arvind Sharma, lawyer of the air hostesses told PTI.

The rules prescribe different weight limits according to their height and age. For an 18-year-old air hostess with a height of 152 cm, the maximum weight permissible is 50 kg while for air hostesses in the age group of 26 to 30 and a height of 152 cm, the weight limit is 56 kg. — BERNAMA

---

Well talk about stupidity. People really have very little brains to let stupid things like this to get into their contracts. What were the people in-charge doing?

While image is important in the service industry, such lewd discrimination would foster only malignancy on self-image of individuals who already have enough assault from the media's potrayal of "beautiful."

Being overweight is never healthy, but sacking people because of it is pointless. Not that it is going to positively encourage people to take care of their weight.

I suppose in their heart of hearts, these companies are even concerned about their employees' welfares? Looks like more of like an attempt to show that they need to sell their image by using their employees. Talk about sexism and being cheap.

I suppose they don't understand that weight problems often stem from diverse reasons like underlying endocrine problems. They should probably elaborate on their "sufficient opportunity".

And I thought this Scale God nonsense had altars in Western countries but now it looks like even Eastern people are governed by the scale.

Next thing you know; if you burn a tone darker (sun burn perhaps) you might get sacked?

Talk about a mass soul maiming.

"Twenty-O-Eight" - A Flash Review

2008-12-31T20:50:00.004+08:00

"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

2008-12-30T19:15:00.004+08:00

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

2008-12-28T20:14:00.009+08:00

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

2008-12-22T03:21:00.003+08:00

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

2008-10-01T02:06:00.005+08:00

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 ...

2008-09-30T19:24:00.005+08:00

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

2008-09-27T21:12:00.004+08:00

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

2008-09-26T14:05:00.004+08:00

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

2008-09-13T21:06:00.004+08:00

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

2008-09-06T02:22:00.003+08:00

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

2008-09-01T09:16:00.004+08:00

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!

2008-08-12T01:46:00.004+08:00

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

2008-08-08T23:43:00.002+08:00

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)

2008-08-06T00:25:00.002+08:00

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

2008-07-28T17:46:00.002+08:00

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

2008-07-28T01:08:00.004+08:00

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

2008-07-26T03:08:00.002+08:00

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

2008-07-20T02:50:00.002+08:00

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

2008-07-16T18:46:00.003+08:00

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

2008-07-04T16:53:00.005+08:00

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

2008-06-30T17:43:00.005+08:00

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

2008-06-27T23:42:00.016+08:00

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

2008-06-20T16:39:00.002+08:00

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

2008-06-08T18:24:00.003+08:00

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

2008-05-10T17:10:00.003+08:00

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

2008-04-16T18:42:00.004+08:00

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 (???)

2008-03-14T22:57:00.003+08:00

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

2008-02-29T22:18:00.002+08:00

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!

2008-02-27T01:29:00.002+08:00

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

2008-02-25T13:07:00.002+08:00

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

2008-02-17T01:39:00.004+08:00

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

---
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

2008-02-16T16:20:00.010+08:00

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:

---
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!

2008-02-15T21:44:00.002+08:00

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

2008-02-11T23:31:00.000+08:00

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!

2008-02-02T09:34:00.000+08:00

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.

---
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.
---

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!

The Things People Come Up With ...

2008-02-01T02:02:00.001+08:00

I recently read some crap out to fool people about a drug that can render tubectomy redundant i.e. sterilize a woman completely.

People, if any company discovered the know-how to sterilize a woman without surgery, then obviously that company would be rich (I meant for proper family planning purposes). And the Progesterex story circulating around is actually, well a hoax.

I found this on Wikipedia (not the best of sources but sufficiently satisfactory). Once again, if all the miraculous and bizarre things reported in networking sites are true, probably the next thing is we will see pigs flying or cows doing the cha-cha, sorry, the moo-moo.

---
Progesterex is a fictitious date rape drug. It is part of a hoax that began to circulate in 1999 via e-mail on the internet. No actual drug by this name or even with these properties exists, and no such incident has ever been documented or confirmed.

(Maybe the prankster got the idea from progesteron being used as a contraceptive)

Typical contents of the e-mail hoax are as follows, although different versions tend to turn up over time:

"A woman at a nightclub called _______ on Saturday night was taken by 5 men, who according to hospital and police reports, gang raped her before dumping her. Unable to remember the events of the evening, tests later confirmed the repeat rapes along with traces of Rohypnol in her blood and Progesterex, essentially a small sterilization pill. The drug is now being used by rapists at parties to rape AND sterilize their victims. Progesterex is available to vets to sterilize large animals. Progesterex is being used together with Rohypnol, the date rape drug. As with Rohypnol, all they have to do is drop it into the girl's drink. The girl can't remember a thing the next morning, of all that had taken place the night before. Progesterex, which dissolves in drinks just as easily, is such that the victim doesn't conceive from the rape and the rapist needn't worry about having a paternity test identifying him months later. The drug's effects ARE NOT TEMPORARY - Progesterex was designed to sterilize horses. Any female who takes it WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO CONCEIVE.. The weasels can get this drug from anyone who is in the vet school or any university. It's that easy, and Progesterex is about to break out big on campuses everywhere. Believe it or not, there are even sites on the Internet telling people how to use it. Please forward this to everyone you know, especially girls. Be careful when you're out and don't leave your drink unattended. Please make the effort to forward this on to all you know... Guys, please inform all your female friends and relatives."

(Unfortunately, it looks and sounds pitiful upto the extent that truth gets blurred in the process ... I mean why do these people do this in the first place? As if we need a little more fear in our lives?!)

A version of this hoax has also recently made the rounds via bulletins on MySpace.com (July 2006). It made it to Bebo in September-October 2006.

A version of this hoax has been seen on Facebook (Jan 2008)and in the form of a group named "Heads Up Ladies", and sports the same story as listed above.

According to the Spanish language website VSAntirus.com at least two versions in Spanish have made the rounds since 2001 as well.

Furthermore, no sterilization pill for horses exists. Sterilization is done via gelding of stallions. Mares are usually left unaltered.

(EXACTLY ... They never do it on females, only the male ego in humans makes all kinds of things go in reverse...)

In addition to this vet students do not have access to drugs. Drugs can only be prescribed by a qualified, registered veterinarian (Member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons - MRCVS - in UK).

(Precisely, then next thing they will say is that Pharmacy students are commissioning drugs!)

On 18 April 2006 UK Member of Parliament Lynne Featherstone submitted a Written Question to the Home Secretary on whether the Home Office had calculated the number of date rape incidences that had been connected with Progesterex. Home Office Minister Paul Goggins replied that the drug did not exist.

(CASE CLOSED)
---

Again, it boils down on how much an author wants credibility in his work. Especially when the internet has become so influential today, the truth must be the only thing that is spread.

Posting Gone Missing

2008-01-30T00:38:00.001+08:00

Sorry people that I had to delete the article on Pizza Hut. Just had dinner there by the way. They are nice, fair people and don't charge you unscrupulous tax. PERIOD.

On why I had to delete this article is because some Anonymous character wrote a lot of irrelevant things (to a certain point defaming me though the individual I think did not intend to do so) and I did not enable comment moderation. So, I had to just get rid of the whole post to get rid of the comment. If you guys have any idea on deleting comments when comments moderation is not on please do tell!

HELP!

Dishing out more stuff on myself ...

2008-01-24T21:06:00.001+08:00

Guess people (at least 66.67% of the poll on your bottom left) want to know more about myself. So, back by popular demand is a survey which you can recycle for a great many times from bulletin boards, anyway just loved those musical bullets:

1 . Lets start with your name?
♫ Ravi (ah ah .. so that it is why it is Raving me).

2. What do you think about smoking?
♫ An ultimate sign of stupidity and an effective way to kill people you love.

4. Whats your favourite drink?
♫ Too many to name one ... Ribena, calamansi, lemon juice, Peelfresh orange
(and I insist on Peelfresh) and so many more.

5. What is one thing you question a lot?
♫ The unknown future.

6. Do you lead people on?
♫ No and people find this irritating (especially when I lay those unnecessary warning words that I cannot assure you 100% on so-and-so) , sad though.

7. Are you married?
♫ No and I don't think i believe in it anymore (I hear those happily-ever-after couples sharpening their knives).

8. Have you ever told someone of the opposite sex/same sex you loved them?
♫ Too bad ...

10. Do you miss someone?
♫ Yes, my best friends.

12. Are you single or unavailable?
♫ Single and ... (well you can fill in the blanks).

13. Are looks important?
♫ Unfortunately yes, that is how the world works.

14. What were you wearing just now?
♫ T-shirts and short pants of the same brand (coincidence).

15. Are you mad at someone?
♫ Maybe?

16. Are you taking anyone for granted?
♫ I don't know.

17. Where do you keep your money?
♫ And why would I advertise to the World Wide World?!

18. Would you kiss the last person you kiss?
♫ The kiss would had have to happen in the first place.

19. Would you rather sleep with someone else or alone?
♫ Alone and I somewhat cannot share my bed with anyone else.

21. What time did you wake up this morning?
♫ Well it was a p.m..

22. Quick, say a line from any song
♫ twinkle, twinkle little star ...

23. How was your day?
♫ Exceptional.

24. Do you live near a friend?
♫ No, sadly.

25. Are you scared of spiders?
♫ No.

27. Do you believe in love?
♫ Hmmm ....

28. How old do you want to be when you have kids?
♫ Do i want kids in the first place? Even if i do, it would be after 30 and now I think you will want to know my age?!

29. What do you know about the future?
♫ A murky cloud with specks of sunshine.

33. Do you believe everyone deserves a second chance?
♫ Depends on what they did on their first, not everyone is a Severus Snape.

35. Most hated food?
♫ Anchovies and prawns; makes me gag therefore an absolute NO-NO!

36. What is a major pet of yours?
♫ Animals and I have a respectable distance from each other for the greater good.

37. Do you wish someone would call you?
♫ Yes!

38. Do you miss your childhood?
♫ Seriously yes! When life had no deadlines and expectations of holistic development crap.

39. What's something you wish you could understand better?
♫ Making money!

40. If someone doesn't like you, it's usually because?
♫ Because of me I guess.

41. What are you excited about?
♫ The upcoming holidays after this one ends.

43. Kissed someone in the last half hour?
♫ Refer no. 18, you people just love to have a go at me!

44. Have you lost friends in the past?
♫ Yes, but they were never "friends" in the first place so it is not my loss.

45. What did you do four days ago?
♫ A haze of laziness with occasional profiting of time.

Well, there you have it folks! If you want to more about me, just ask me on what you want to know or send me one these surveys!

33 Things On and About Me

2008-01-10T00:42:00.000+08:00

According the poll in the blog (if you search hard enough ... it is somewhere in the bottom left corner of the page - unless it got expired, then too bad!) , 50% (considering only a total 2 people have voted thus far - anyway thanks!, deeply appreciate both of you) wanted to know more about me.

So, instead of me spinning a "Long-Before-Your-Time" tale, I thought a savvy survey would do it. Before you thank me for my creative genius, this survey was extracted from a Friendster bulletin (people always to brag about themselves indirectly) and guess it would tell you a lot about me indirectly and hopefully will bring you back to this blog indirectly often (I am crossing my fingers!). So without further nonsense from me, here is the survey:

1. What do you think of the most when you are alone?
Dreaming about myself being rich and successful; hosting a talk show. In short, living the high-life which I hope is good.

2. When it is a rainy night, what do you do most of the time?
You can do SO many things. Rainy days are a great excuse for most activities. I just simply prefer to go out in the rain walking under the umbrella next to a friend or by myself. However, I usually end up either sleeping or fixing the best cozy meal for myself.

3. When was the last time you were out?
Just now, I went out of the gate to see the non-existent man with the axe after going to out to the mall.

4. What do you do when you see a full moon?
Just check whether it’s a new moon or an old moon. I simply don’t feel anything by the moon.

5. Would you rather swim in the lake or dive in the ocean?
Tell you what; I will swim in the nearest swimming pool. When I see a lake, I remember SUPERNATURAL and oceans remind me of JAWS. Anyway, most of the lakes and oceans are too polluted to be swum in the first place. So, PEOPLE DON'T POLLUTE! IF WE ALL STOPPED OUR BAD HABITS, ONE DAY PEOPLE LIKE ME CAN GO SWIMMING THERE AND IT WOULD BE A BETTER WORLD TO LIVE IN!

6. Who would be the best partner of a good cup of coffee?
Me and Myself. I LOVE coffee too much and I will probably drink the other’s coffee, so it is SAFER for you that I am to be alone with my coffee.

7. If you'll ask yourself a question now, what would it be?
Why am I telling my sinful side to the WWW?

8. If certain things in your life fell apart, what will you do?
Pick up the pieces and move on to be better than before. PERIOD.

9. Favorite month/s?
December and March (just because a VVIP was born then).

10. When your friends forget you, what will you do?
A tough one … Well, there are always so many other fish in the sea and friends who forget you were not your friends in the first place.

11. Do you talk to yourself?
Yes and I’m PROUD of it! Helps me to calm down, think clearly and creatively plus solve a lot of problems and plan my day.

12. Is there anything that you are craving for right now?
To be in KL with a friend. I am addicted to that place.

13. Would you like to have a chocolate right now?
NO! It seems weird but I don’t like chocolates. To be honest, I only eat chocolates when there isn’t any other better food around.

14. Ever cried for something stupid?
People only cry for stupid things. Tears are far beneath the pain of serious issues. Stupid things; yeah when I was little, I did cry all the time for things like drinking medicine and stuff.

15. Do you like anime?
If the story is good, why not? Pokemon counts, right?

16. How about Japanese music?
What is Japanese music??? (Blank ... blank)

17. Do you have a girlfriend?
What do you think?

18. First thing you do after watching a movie?
Get up from the seat and rush out of the theater.

19. Do you wash the dishes in your house?
Rarely but when I do, I do them really good and spotless.

20. Can you last two days without a bath?
I think so as I have high endurance but ... two days without a bath, I will probably be nuts by then, so what's the point?!

23. Still go to the mall with your parents?
Yes, most of the times actually. It’s not as bad as you think. Firstly, you don’t have to spend your own money. Secondly, you don’t end up buying crap that you don’t need. Finally, you get a free, comfortable, safe ride to and fro and free eats on the way!

25. Are you brand conscious?
Unfortunately, yes but not to the extent of spending wads of cash on my favourite EIC or Passages shirt which costs a bomb. I wait for sales. Patience ... patience (you now know what to get me for my birthday).

26. Ever fell in love?
Not sure about what is love in the first place.

27. What time is it?
1.45 am, sorry for the late post, y'all!

28. Where are you?
Home Sweet Home.

29. Is it in you to kill someone?
I don’t think so. But you can never be too sure?

30. Daydream a lot?
Yes. Like duh!

31. Happy with your life?
Could be better but yes, satisfied for now.

33. Favorite place to eat in a mall?
Depends on which mall. Any place is fine by me as long as it is clean and has good food to eat.

So, if you thought you knew me, now you know better and if you didn't know me before, now you know me!

Cheers.

Winds of Change

2008-01-08T19:31:00.002+08:00

Someone recently told me that when you starting talk politics, it is a clear sign you began aging. So, it beats me to surprise when I read the following article in The New Strait Times last Sunday.

Seems to give a whole new tangy flavour and sizzle to politics, doesn't it?

NEW STRAIT TIMES (English daily in Malaysia)
2008/01/06

NewsFocus: 'I'm pro nothing, but Malaysia'

Sarah Chan and Michelle Gunaselan (right) are members of a Facebook group named VotED who take politics very seriously.

'Apathetic', 'ignorant', and 'lazy' are labels hurled at Malaysian youth who are shirking their citizenry responsibility this coming election. But there are also those who make spreading political awareness their task, albeit in a less conventional way. The cyberspace, after all, doesn't just belong to the converted few

GOOD friends Michelle Gunaselan and Sarah Chan are your typical chic youngsters who work the week through just to live on Fridays.

Come weekends, the girls will hit clubs and party till the break of dawn.

And in-between sipping vodka to the thump of the house music the pair will ask other clubbers if they have registered to vote in the coming election.

Behind the party animal mien are two young people who take politics very seriously.
For far too long, politics had been associated with long, boring talks on issues that the young could not relate to, but that's a misconception, said Michelle, 25.

"People don't understand that politics pervades every aspect of their life.

"Whether you study in a private or public institution, what your first job is, what your salary is, the price of the shirt you bought from Topshop -- they are all political decisions."

On nights when they are not shuffling on the dance floor, the duo attend political forums.

They, in fact, lent support to the people of Myanmar at a candlelight vigil before hitting a trendy nightspot in October last year.

Despite being in the know of the country's social development, Michelle and Chan said they did not know enough, especially about elections.

"Being in the media line, my friends and I consider ourselves quite savvy in terms of what's happening socially around the country," said 22-year-old Chan, who writes for a magazine.

"We were born in the 1980s, and the coming election will be our first.

"But we have no idea how it works, how the ballot box looks like, how to vote -- we don't know the specifics. We know the issues, but not the process.

"This is quite worrying."

Textbooks, said Michelle, could offer only fundamentals and technicalities, but not other things young voters might like to know, such as who their MPs are, what they are doing for their constituents, and how local elections are carried out.

The women, along with four others, decided to search for answers collectively and also reach out to similar-minded peers.

The idea, mooted spontaneously at a barbeque in November, has now spawned into a Facebook group named VotED, which registered some 500 members within three days.

The account has now more than 800 members, made up mostly of young urbanites who have inked their names onto the electoral roll, or are beginning to take an interest in the political sphere.

In line with the group's aim to educate peers about the voting process, the women had initially planned to hold an event today, but it fell through due to lack of funding and the failure to get a venue.

Contrary to typical political seminars, the event was not to preach ideologies, but to educate young voters through talks, with the incorporation of vibrant lifestyle features such as music and films.

"Older people say that the young are not political, which is true to some extent, but who understands the dynamics better than us?" said Michelle.

Chan added: "We know what young people like and don't like. It has to be education, but in a fun-loving way.

"You know, we are the MTV generation with very short attention spans. It would be like attending a gig or party, but for a different cause."

On whether choosing not to vote should be respected as a right as well, Michelle answered in the affirmative.

"I completely agree with that, but in order to make any decision, one must be educated.

"You can choose not to vote for anyone, but have you completely gone through all the options? Or is it an emotional decision?

"It is a decision all right, but let it be an informed one."

Efforts to find a venue for the event came to naught because establishment owners, linking the group to political associations, were reluctant to host the event.

Chan, in stressing the group's neutrality, said that it ws not affiliated to any party.

"We all have personal opinions, but we're not going to put that into the agenda of the day. The point is education, not conversion."

Michelle added, "The moment you say something, you're instantly labelled as an opposition, that's really unfair.

"As a Malaysian group, we want what's best for Malaysia, and whoever offers us that should get the vote.

"I'm pro nothing, but Malaysia."

from the NST online (www.nst.com.my)

A Day-trip Checklist by Yours Truly

2008-01-08T00:39:00.000+08:00

Well, if you read about my not-so elaborated and not-so wonderful KL trip, here's a bit more about it. I was initially planning a post on it but decided against it (the trip was just a haze of tiredness peppered with very few good things, so I rather not write about it).

However, what I did do right in the trip was to prepare a small backpack which saved me a great deal of trouble. Indeed, when you go on a day-trip relying wholly on public transport and your sneakers in a big city, it is good to be well-prepared. If not, plan to fail. The following are some must-haves in your bag (some of which were there in my bag and others especially number 1 which would have greatly improved the quality of any trip to begin with):

1. A bottle of water (a must have in tropical cities ... unless you want to fork out cash for over-priced isotonic drinks to prevent you dieing of dehydration).

2. Sufficient cash in your wallet which must have all your important personal documents. Extra cash hidden in your bag (in case you get pick-pocketed).

3. Maps (big cities = complex navigation).

4. Bus, train, cab, trishaw, auto or whatever public transportation schedules (refer 3).

5. Important phone numbers along with a charged cellular phone with sufficient credit (what’s the point of a 3G phone with 12 cents credit?!). If not, get yourself some coins for the public telephone.

My otherwise rundown, rammed-down phone would be certainly a thumbs down if not for its reliable and cheap POST PAID line. Thank you M&D!

6. Working pens, pencils and other convenient on-the-go writing apparatus like a small notepad (chuck away those cap-screwing pens; fountain pens in the hustling of a train station?!).

7. Mini-personal grooming kit (a hand-towel, a comb, lip-balm - if your lips crack often in heat and whatever else you need); the point being that you should be able to spruce yourself up before your destination so that you don't look dragged across the city even though you have been.

8. A jacket (to cover up spills and stuff that you never knew were there in the first place).

9. A spare change of light clothes (another just-in-case and worst-case-scenario lookout).

10. A small medical kit (in case you trip on the stairs while rushing for the train or feel woozy after a tiring trip)

11. Extra space in your bag (you don't want to clog your bag heavy with stuff that you will never use in your life and get a backache, plus that extra space could be used to store items that you are bound to pick up on the way).

That's about it till now to travel light and easy. This list ought to be updated from time to time. So, do drop in stuff that you think is important in your day-trip backpack. Cheers!

A Rainy Weekend to Review on Raincoat

2008-01-07T00:58:00.000+08:00

The weekend was a damper; me recovering from a whirlwind KL trip last Friday by getting lost with three bags of books in the KL trains across Sri Petaling to Jalan Pahang. PLUS, all of those without that much sleep. However, I had put much thought into a movie I just saw recently; in fact the Saturday before last on the tele.

It's called Raincoat and it's not English; Hindi to be exact but honestly you don't need much of language to understand, provided good subtitles are there. I even read subtitles for English or other known-languages movies. It's just the irritating habit that develops if you like to read too much up to the extent to the failure to understand legible speech.

Let my worries sleep aside.

This movie is in fact an epitome of how much Bollywood has evolved to suit the themes of a global audience from its jingling, bulb-screwing and dog-patting song days. This movie has no songs! It is not just that, excellent direction, beautiful cinematography and surreal acting is what that makes this movie really a class of its own. Not straying from the simple formula of failed-love by economic compulsions, the story deals with the meeting of estranged lovers. Ajay Devgan, (who plays Manoj@Manu) seeks Aishwarya Rai (who plays Neeru) for financial assistance thinking that the other who married a rich guy was really rich. The harsh truth being both in similar financial destitute.

Both Aishwarya Rai and Ajay Devgan (left: thanks to www.bollywoodpremiere.com) have done a splendid performance acting as impoverished individuals in limited sets (actually only a rainy day, a rainwashed road and three houses if I am not mistaken). Both try their level best to conceal the truth by spinning lies woven with the truth hidden subtly and when the truth comes out unexpectedly through other means, both continue the drama more eloquently and try to help the other in unexpected manners. How and why the Raincoat is in the movie? That's a question too beautiful to be answered.

The beauty of this sad tale is its dialogues of fake cheeriness, the hidden meanings of the false boasts of their "wonderful lives" and how all that on-screen happiness both try to convey to each other leaves such sadness in the hearts of the audience. Therefore, it is truly a movie for the intelligent who are willing to dissect beyond the acting during commercial breaks to discover the true pain of loss and the human spirit in such bare terms.

In short, Raincoat deserves an applause for being another example of how Bollywood films have moved to a different league of their own compared to their other Indian counterparts.

So, what do you think?
Leave your uncensored comments along with messages of grammatical errors your sharp eye spots (I was chopping onions before this post; so I am quite teary, blurry and irritated; in the eye only!).

Where are the ribbons? Where is the scissors? ... It's a Grand Opening After All

2008-01-05T00:56:00.000+08:00

Confusing isn't it? Creating post after post for only one comment (which I am very grateful for despite the lack of enthusiasm).

Anyway, that was the sad, old past in Friendster blogs where readership is limited to your nearest who rather say things to your face (or behind your back), instead of wasting precious ATPs typing it out for you.

So, with that out of the way and all rumblings of the past well-justified, WE ARE MOVING HERE TO A MUCH GREENER, VOCAL YET VICIOUS NEIGHBOURHOOD!

--- And I have to say, I am truly excited! (Ahah! For once! Better make a mental note here to think about during the days when life seems purposeless) ---

I am pretty sure by now you would have got some idea about what I have got to say (that is if you read the above but if you did not ... well, keep skimming and scanning in your English comprehension passages, will you?).

I AM:
Plainly blunt, sarcastic with a touch of emotion about things that matter to me and hopefully to you!

Connect with me and comment without my picture in your head with an axe!

SO, THAT'S ABOUT ALL THE GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR YOU TO FOLLOW

and

CATCH YOU LATER!

P/S Of course, I will sprinkle some spice into the whole thing with little bit of aunties tale, gossip and day-to-day happenings of my life (which if it kept you awake and thinking, BLESS ME, I have found my purpose!).