Eatin' Me Own Hat

I gladly take my words back.

Malaysia gives US$1mil to hurricane victims in US

But then again, did they have to wait so long?

A to Z

A is for age: 25

B is for Booze: Long Island Iced Tea - so stiff, so good.

C is for career: Design engineer

D is for Dad's name: Mike

E is for essential items to bring to a party: facial wipes, oil blotters, lipstick, breath mints, mobilephone

F is for favorite song at the moment: Before Your Love by Kelly Clarkson

G is for garments you like to wear: Do bags count as garments (I'm such a bag junkie)? If not, me old faded, ripped-at-the-bottom jeans

H is for hometown: Penang

I is for instruments you play: Piano

J is for jam or jelly you like: Kaya

K is for kids: I'd like 2 (a boy and a girl)

L is for living arrangements: Living with my parents in Malaysia, on my own in a very kick-ass apartment in Japan

M is for mom's name: Ling

N is for names of your best friends: Too many close friends to mention (in the UK and in Penang).

O is for overnight stays in the emergency room: When I was born (can't remember the rest)

P is for phobia(s): Cockroaches, falling down the stairs

Q is for quote you like: "That which does not kill me are going to wish they did because I'm going to kick their sorry ass to kingdom come".

R is for relationship that lasted the longest? 5.5 years

S is for siblings: One brother

T is for things to do before you die: Travel to Europe (Paris is a must. I don't know why).

U is for unique trait: I can twitch my ears using my facial muscles; people think I can sing (again, I don't know why).

V is for vacations: I've been to the US, UK, China, Japan, Thailand and Singapore.

W is for worries: That my loved ones would give up on me.

X is for x-rays : Orthodontia, chest.

Y is for yummy food you make: I make a mean spaghetti sauce.

Z is for zodiac sign: Gemini

A New Camera

No thanks to my ever-procastinating nature (I hear no end of it from the parents and friends), I sent mybeloved, damaged, digital camera for repairs a tad too late; it is still not ready, thus I wasn't able to bring it with me to Japan. However, I did manage to buy an el-cheapo digital camera on the plane for less than RM500. Surprisingly, the photographs taken were pretty good.

And before any of you start reprimanding me for my impulse purchase, I'm happy to say that my brother will be inheriting that camera when I return to Malaysia in November. Call it a belated birthday pressie, which, his unfortunate sister needed to use first ... tee hee hee! Hey, at least it's better than the huge brick of a Sony he's using right now (which, he also, errr, inherited from his sister before leaving to Australia).

That lucky, LUCKY boy ;)

Back in Japan (Again!)

Two months sure fly by fast. I'm back in Japan, and will be here for 2 months. I'm currently writing this post from Narita Airport. Wireless Internet access is not free at the airport; it's 500 yen/day. Oh well, I'll just take it as a very expensive cybercafe for an hour lah. At least there's something for me to do for the next hour.

Stayed at the Excel Tokyu Hotel last night, which was quite good (very clean!). Japanese hotels are known to provide yukatas as pajamas for hotel patrons. However, the hotel I stayed at last night provided a beige tunic which somewhat resembles a hospital gown. Ahh ... no complaints, as I do not need to use my own pajamas ;)

Left the hotel at 7am, hoping to catch an earlier bus to Takasaki. Arrived at the airport at 7.25am. At the ticket counter, the sales clerk told me that the next bus to Takasaki is STILL at 8.55am! Argh. Have to wait for an hour and a half. So, to pass the time, I'm watching a LOT of CNN (especially on the news on the upcoming Hurricane Rita at the Florida Keys).

And blogging ;)

Happiness Is Not A Tended Rose

Happiness is not a tended rose
Amid the prescient beauty of a garden:
Perhaps one senses soon some gate may close;
Perhaps one senses soon the earth will harden.
Years come and go like waves upon a shore,
Violent or peaceful with the wind.
After one has given up on more,
Love waits within the heart, its passion thinned.
Even in a passage void of light,
Nether windings black with rage and grief,
There are waters sweet with lost delight
In which one finds a strong, serene belief.
No happiness can overcome life's pain
Except one love, and love give life again.

What A Week

Apologies for the week-long silence. I've been rather preoccupied lately, what with all that's going on.

It's been an emotional week for me. Falling out with friends may seem easy, trivial even, when you do not do anything about it. Building bridges, and regaining trust is the most difficult part of all. Suffice to say, I learnt a lot from the experience.

Time sure flies. In less than a week, I shall be going to Japan. Again. To say that I'm tired of it all is an understatement. That country could either make me or break me; it depends on how I choose to live. At this moment, I really do not know. I can choose to remain optimistic, with hopes that things will be for the better this time. But with greater hopes, come greater disappointments. I've learnt that lesson plenty of times.

Still, having said all that, I choose NOT to be jaded. There are still good things in life which I can look forward to. Friends, soaking in a different culture, the experience in living in a different country, etc ... any of these has got to, at least, amount to something good. I choose to believe it will.

On a lighter note, I shall be going to KL for a long weekend. I shall be attending a good friend's wedding, whom I have not seen in close to two years. On a not-so-light note, I shall also be meeting with an old flame too, whom I have not seen in a long time. I hope things will go well. Ackwardness aside, it will be good meeting up with old friends again (we were a crazy bunch back in the UK). Plus, it's a great excuse to dress up! :)

Oil Prices Dropping?

Another piece of news - Tech stocks edge higher as oil prices drop.

Now, I may be oblivious to what's pretty much going on in the world at the moment, and do correct me if I am wrong, but if oil prices are dropping, why am I still paying RM1.62 a litre of petrol every freakin' week??

A New Day

A new day has begun.
A day of promise, of hope, of possibilities.
Of building newfound bridges,
And of mending broken ones.

I'm optimistic. I'm determined to be. And to start it off, I shall not swear at the lousy drivers on the way to work :)

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

- Reinhold Niebuhr

Loneliness

You're now entering the place,
where you sit or stand alone,
and loneliness you embrace.
The pain in your heart approaches,
your mouth gets dry,
all you feel like doing,
is sitting down to cry.
it feels like emptiness for miles,
here there are no smiles,
all you have is yourself,
and your broken heart.
The loneliness grows,
and that horrible feeling starts,
you hear nothing only groans.
The only people you see,
don't even care about you,
they only live to survive.
Every time they talk,
everything takes a dive.
So you just stand there,
wishing that someone cared,
but all they do,
is laugh and stare.
Cold people see you from a distance,
they don't want to be near you,
they don't even want to hear you.
Their insensitivity,
is uncalled for and unfair,
they leave you alone and in despair.
All you do is sit there alone,
you wish they would approach you,
but oh well.
You need a good friend,
and you feel that if you don't find one,
your sad world might soon end.


* Adapted from here

Humanity At Its Best

I read this on the news today - Countries Offering U.S Aid for Katrina.

It was encouraging to know that so many countries offered whatever aid they could, to help the victims and the emergency personnel during the Hurricane Katrina disaster. Third-world countries actually contributed millions of dollars to the relief. The ones which did not send money, sent valuable medical services, equipment and manpower instead. I thought that such contributions (services and equipment) were really useful, compared to monetary supplements because these services were needed immediately. I guess there is still such a thing as corporate humanity in the world. I found it rather amusing that Panama contributed 120 000 pounds of bananas to the relief. Oh well, you spare what you can.

Still, you know what the disappointing thing is? I did not see Malaysia on the list.

Quote Me Not (6)

Love is not blind - It sees more and not less, but because it sees more it is willing to see less - Will Moss

Silence Is Golden

Before 4.52pm, I spoke less than 10 sentences to anyone during the day. Maybe the change in environment brought upon the newfound silence, I do not know. Is it a good thing? It could be, as I had quite a lot of work done today. On the other hand, I was rather lonely, not speaking to anyone. Those who know me will be surprised to know that as I am normally a very talkative person.

Guess things have changed, huh?

O Romeo, O, Like, Wow

Read this article many years ago, on an old issue of Readers' Digest.

Does Shakespeare appeal to the youth in the United States? Well, like, sort of.

This is like a real super-sad play about this dude Romeo and this dudette Juliet. They had names like that ‘cause it was like the real old days, before MTV. So, no one had cool names like Heather or Brandon or Shawna. They all had really geeky names like Benvolio and Tybalt and Mercutio.

Anyway, these two families, see, the Montagues and Capulets, really hate each other. I mean, they can’t even walk down the street without thrashing on each other, ‘cause, like, that’s what happens right at the beginning.

This dude, Sampson, who works for old man Capulet, he sees this other dude, Abraham, who hangs with Montague, and he bites his thumb. I mean, like, Sampson bites his own thumb, not Abraham’s thumb, which in the old days was like saying “Your mama!” And Abraham says, “Are you dissing me?” So they start beating down. But it gets broken up before anybody’s really messed, you know. And the Prince — he’s like the principal of this whole town — he says, “Yo, next time you people get in each other’s face, I’m gonna twist someone’s head round so their cap’s on straight.”

So then Juliet’s old man decides he’s going to have this party. But he has to send this servant out to tell everybody, ‘cause, like, they didn’t even have phones then. But this servant is, like, dyslexic or something, and he can’t make out the names on the list, so he, like, stops someone to help him read it. Duh! It’s Romeo.

So Romeo looks at the list, and there’s all these names of dweebs, freaks, jocks, stoners, nerds, goobs and motorheads. But then he sees Rosaline’s name. She’s this chick he thinks is really fly, so he decides to crash the party, which is like, easy, see, ‘cause it’s a masquerade party.

Meanwhile, Juliet’s mom, she’s trying to fix Juliet up with this guy named Paris. Is that a dorky name or what? I mean, I thought Dweezil and Moon Unit were weird.

Romeo goes to the party even though he’s totally bummed because he loves Rosaline and thinks she, like, doesn’t love him. But Romeo’s homey, Mercutio, tells him, like, “Chill. Just go. Party down. There’s going to be some fly babes there.”

So Romeo gets to the party and starts checking out the chicks. He sees Juliet and he goes, “Who is that babe?” And she goes, “Who is that hunk?” Which is bad, see, ‘cause, like, Shakespeare already said they got “fatal loins,” whatever that means, and they’re “star cross’d,” which means both of them are Aquarians, I think.

But that don’t stop them. So Romeo starts hitting on her, and they hold hands for a while and he goes, “O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do.” And he kisses her, and it’s, like, super rad, I mean totally awesome for both of them. But then Juliet’s nurse pulls her away, ‘cause, like, in the old days they really had a cow if they caught you sucking face.

Juliet’s cousin, Tybalt, sees that Romeo is trying to ease in on a Capulet, even though he’s a Montague, so Tyb says, “Yo, hand me that sword.” But Juliet’s dad says, “Be cool.”

Then it’s curfew or something ‘cause everybody has to leave, but when Romeo is heading for his pad, he says, “Check it out, dudes, I’m gonna bail,” and he jumps over this big fence into Juliet’s garden. He’s like creeping in the trees and he looks up at Juliet’s bedroom and goes, “Who left that light on?” or something like that, and she goes, “O, Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?” And it’s like, duh, ‘cause he’s standing right under her balcony. But maybe she took her contacts out to go to bed.

So he goes, “Do you want to get married?” and she goes, “Yeah.” So they do. . . only in secret.

But then, like, right after this, Juliet’s pushy cousin Tybalt shows up again and starts getting in Romeo’s face. See, he doesn’t know they’re married ‘cause he didn’t get an invitation. And, like, he should be happy, because he didn’t have to buy an electric tin opener or anything. He wants to kill Romeo. But Romeo won’t fight him, so Tybalt jumps in Mercutio’s face, and him and Mercutio start thrashing on each other. Mercutio gets killed, so Romeo kills Tybalt, which is, like, dumb, ‘cause now him and Juliet aren’t gonna get any wedding presents.
Then the Prince exiles Romeo, which is, like, being grounded but like in a whole nother state or something.

So Romeo and Juliet have to split for a while. Juliet goes, “O, think’st thou we shall ever meet again?” ‘cause, like, some guys act like they like you a bunch at school but then they never phone you. You know?

Romeo leaves and Juliet is really bumming ‘cause her old man wants her to marry Paris. Duh! She’s already married. But her parents are still planning a wedding, so it looks like she’s going to get an electric tin opener one way or another, or maybe even a microwave. But then this priest guy gives Juliet this stuff to drink so that everyone will think she’s, like, dead until Romeo can get back. But this stuff is so good that everybody thinks she really is dead, and, they put her in this tomb thing, you know.

Then Romeo dreams that Juliet has found him dead, and even though he’s grounded in another state, he says, “Later. I’m outta here.” He takes off to see Juliet, but he stops, like at a pharmacy, for some poison. So he misses this letter that the priest sent that says, “Juliet isn’t dead. She’s, like, sleeping.”

But then Romeo sees Juliet and he goes, “Ah, dear Juliet, why art thou yet so fair?” ‘cause, you know, if she was dead she ought to be green and starting to smell funny. And that totally bums him, so he takes the poison. Duh! Then you’ll never guess this part. She wakes up and sees Romeo and goes, “O happy dagger!” and kills herself.

I mean, are these people serious or what?

That was, like, so sad!

Those Were The Days

Found this whilst blog-surfin'; thought I'd share it here:

Memory was something you lost with age
An application was for employment
A program was a TV show
A cursor used profanity
A keyboard was a piano
A web was a spider’s home
A virus was the flu
A CD was a bank account
A hard drive was a long trip on the road
A mouse pad was where a mouse lived
And if you had a 3 inch floppy . . .
.. . . you just hoped nobody ever found out.

What's happening to the world??!!

Quote Me Not (5)

One may have a blazing hearth in one's soul and yet no one ever comes to sit by it. Passers-by see only a wisp of smoke rising from the chimney and continue on their way. - Vincent Van Gogh

Kinda deep from someone who hacked his own ear off, don't you think?

Shoe-sies

I broke the strap of my favourite sandals yesterday. It is one of 'em Japanese-slipper types, which has lots of boho beads on them. So disappointed :(

Browsed the Internet for the latest shoes around ... lo and behold, I found this:

*drool*

The price? US$830 by Manolo Blahnik.

I am so tempted to set up a PayPal button on this site for my very kind and generous readers (*hint hint*) to donate to the "Get Tine Her First Manolos" campaign.

Tempting, oh so tempting ;)

Modern Talking

I was at the shopping mall today, and walking past an electronics store, I heard the almost-forgotten band, Modern Talking, playing over the 42-inch TVs. It's been such a long time since I've heard Cheri Cheri Lady and Brother Louie. I can't help but feel nostalgic for the 80s (when boys were fiends) and 90s (when boys became crushes).

How time flies, when playing loud music over the stereo no longer appeals to me. I'd rather be listening to soft jazz and contemporary ballads rather than having heavy metal rock the house (pardon the pun). What is it with the music nowadays? How is it that everybody became so angst-ridden and washed with the oh-the-world-hates-me-I'd-rather-be-dead feeling, that they all became Avrils? Or have we become so jaded that sappy love songs are now nothing more than just "hit-the-sack" music?

One thing's for certain. Next item on my shopping list?

A Modern Talking CD ;)

Daily Schedule

If only life was so simple ;)

Creationism vs. Evolution vs. Contradictionism (Finale)

I am so addicted to this.

Creationism vs. Evolution vs. Contradictionism: The Secret Untold Story – Part III

Creationism vs. Evolution vs. Contradictionism: The Secret Untold Story – Part IV

The end.

Drats.