It's those dreaded times again. The finals are approaching faster and faster with the mercy of a bullet-train. My days have been filled with 'wonderful' activities...Amongst them, wrestling with confusing Math questions, battling Engineering Science, trying to conquer Visual Basic albeit unsuccessfully, and mind-feeding myself with Production Engineering.
It's a slow Sunday today. And there's really nothing much to do if you ignore the high pile of work to be done currently residing pretty comfortably on my desk. The semester is now winding down to its inevitable end. Many things have happened throughout the course of this semester. New friends have been made, dear friends have been missed dearly. New knowledge has been acquired. I've gone through experiences I wouldn't have gone through otherwise. I know the basics of life-saving though I daren't put my skills to the test. My Mandarin's still as crappy as it first was when I came in. I still can't dive.
Being in a course that's generally populated by guys has it's perks and downs. For one, when it comes to the workshop, the guys usually display 'gentlemanly' attributes and help the 'fairer sex' get our work done. That means we don't have to do the hard work. But, we end up doing almost all the cleaning after that. The downside of being amongst the few girls in class is the lecturers pick up your name fast. And you find yourself getting called up during lectures ! Pretty scary. Like yesterday, my friend and I were sitting in the lecture hall, minding our own business when the lecturer suddenly spoke into the mike
" Joanne ( somehow they can't get my name right) and Kimbery (this is worse, they forget that L is part of the pronounciation and she gets called Kim-Be-Ri instead of Kimberly) what are you both doing there? Came in late is it? This questions should be 'wet-wet-water' for you both right? "
* 'wet-wet-water' is a direct translation from the chinese phrase meaning 'piece of cake' which has become a 'trend' to use here.Somehow, I find it really irritating, especially if the lecturer starts using it.
Anyway, for one thing, I hate being in the spotlight and when such a 'public-announcement' is made, all eyes would inevitably turn to us. Secondly, we were not late for the lecture. And to make such an assumption was a bit unfair to us and thoroughly presumptuous of the said lecturer.Well, I digress.
Back to the topic, I haven't blogged properly in ages but I promise I shall try my best to come up with something better than " I don't really have much to blog about", "I really can't think of anything substantial at the moment", "I have nothing to write here but since my blog's been looking pathetic I decided to drop by and get a round of crapping done". "I can't think of anything to write yet my fingers can't stop it's frenzied tip-tapping"...ah, ONE meaning,so many ways to put it.
Being away from home has taught me how to appreciate things. Things I used to take for-granted. I miss fooling around with my brother. I miss his *ahem* sometimes lame jokes, his wise-ass cracks, his insatiable thurst for graphic thingamajigs, his bottomless stomach and his act-coolness. I miss grandpa's steady calmness and the way he used to spoil us silly with snacks. I miss everything about Ipoh. Even the hotter than hot weather.
On an entirely different note, I realised lightning is beautiful in an awesome way. It really is. The way a sudden blaze of electric-blue illuminates the dark sky. And the sharp crack that accompanies it. There was a thunderstorm on Friday evening. We switched off the lights and rested on the bed. I was facing the window and it was spellboundingly magical to just lie down and watch the lightning play across the sky, while claps of thunder punctuated every voltage-packed firework. A majestic orchestra of sounds and light.
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Randomness
Wow, it's been a while since I last blogged. Work's been piling up recently. In the blink of an eye, the final semester examinations have finally come knocking on our door. And, I've still got loads to study and I'm still sitting here, blogging when I've honestly got nothing much to blog about. Alright, maybe I do have some thoughts buzzing through my mind but I can't put them into words for now.
A few things about studying here..:
- I've used so much more Cantonese than I ever did the rest of my life.
- I don't remember eating so much Malay food prior to coming here this. I used to be picky and all.well, people sure change.
- Sometimes it hits me that I've been living 'independantly' for almost 3 months now. It's something big for me since I've never left home prior to this. Thank God for a roommate who can be as crazy as me at times. Chatting till the wee hours of the morning about anything and nothing...
- My English seems to be deteriorating as the days pass. To remedy this, Kim and I have started or at least attempted to speak using the most complex words as possible to substitute simpler words whenever we converse, effectively causing eyebrows to raise whenever we launch into our litany of 'thesaurus-obtained' words.
- The sunsets here are simply breathtaking ! Or maybe it's the same everywhere but I only realised them here since I've got so much time on my hands and nothing to do.
- I discovered I'm pretty much afraid of everything. Enough said.
- I've come to the conclusion that Ipoh food rawks. KL food....let's just leave it at that.
I think that's all I can purge out.
Till 'inspiration' strikes next,
Aloha !
A few things about studying here..:
- I've used so much more Cantonese than I ever did the rest of my life.
- I don't remember eating so much Malay food prior to coming here this. I used to be picky and all.well, people sure change.
- Sometimes it hits me that I've been living 'independantly' for almost 3 months now. It's something big for me since I've never left home prior to this. Thank God for a roommate who can be as crazy as me at times. Chatting till the wee hours of the morning about anything and nothing...
- My English seems to be deteriorating as the days pass. To remedy this, Kim and I have started or at least attempted to speak using the most complex words as possible to substitute simpler words whenever we converse, effectively causing eyebrows to raise whenever we launch into our litany of 'thesaurus-obtained' words.
- The sunsets here are simply breathtaking ! Or maybe it's the same everywhere but I only realised them here since I've got so much time on my hands and nothing to do.
- I discovered I'm pretty much afraid of everything. Enough said.
- I've come to the conclusion that Ipoh food rawks. KL food....let's just leave it at that.
I think that's all I can purge out.
Till 'inspiration' strikes next,
Aloha !
Friday, August 04, 2006
Break
They say happiness is self-gained. In many ways I think that's really true. One man's meat may be another's poison. I've been 'philosophy-ing' the past few days. Thinking about life's quirky ways. Sometimes life seems a bit of a game. Sometimes it's a waiting game, sometimes it's thrilling, sometimes you lose some but then again, you gain some. Justice may be a very subjective word. Happiness too for that matter. Anyway, I was taking a short break from the books and decided to do these.....
| Men See You As Choosy |
 |
How Do Men See You?
| You Are A Woman! |
 |
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Random thoughts
Today started pretty horribly. It was bad enough that Kim and I overslept and had to make a mad rush in order to get to class on time, but as if to add some spice and sprinkle some ‘excitement’ into an otherwise dreary Tuesday morning, the lock on our door got conveniently jammed. So there we were, a couple of fools trying to ‘un-jam’ the errant lock. Our efforts, much to our chagrin, ended in vain. We had to ask the security office for their ‘professional’ help. Boy, did I wish I didn’t enlist the help of that surly, burly old man. He glared at us as if it was our fault that the lock got jammed. He then dismantled the whole doorknob and re-fixed it. Then, he forced me to test it 2 times, in a really ‘unfriendly’, stern manner. All the while saying “OK?! OK?! Don’t say it’s jammed again. OK?!” in Malay. Ya, Mr. Locksmith, we woke up this morning and by means of a good morning greeting said to our dear door-lock “ Hey mate, would you do us a favour and go jam yourself?”
5 minutes after he left, I opened the door to go to the washroom. Much to my horror, the door did not budge open at all ! The only thing I held fisted in my palm was the doorknob! Detached from the door. As I stared dumbly and rather stupidly at the knob, I couldn’t suppress the hysterical laughter that bubbled up my throat. When Kim saw what happened, she just said “Shit” and we convulsed into helpless laughter. Having had such a bad experience with the security guy, we endeavoured to ‘repair’ our own door, which basically involved us shoving the whole doorknob back into the doorhole?(whatever it’s called) but not without a lot of prayer before that.
The whole campus is abuzz with the recent news of the fatal attack on one of our fellow collegemates. I was horrified to learn that there was another case which happened barely 5 minutes later after the first one. It’s truly tragic and saddening that such a thing could have happened. And to someone so young. You read about such cases in the newspapers practically on a daily basis but when it happens to someone your age, someone your friends know,someone from your hometown and for the past 5 years studied in the school adjacent to yours, the sense of unreality hits you even as reality itself sinks in.
I was walking back from the canteen after dinner today and I beheld a beautiful sight. A sight that very seriously stole my breath. The sky was splashed a mellow hue of orange, while white, fluffy clouds were tinged in a halo of gold,reflecting flecks of pink. And in that instant, it hit me how utterly lucky I was.To be able to see something so simple yet beautiful. How lucky I was to be alive. How blessed I am to be able to breathe without the aid of beeping machines, to be able to run and laugh and be a part of life in all it has to offer. The ups, the downs, the whole rollercoaster ride life itself is. It hit me that out there, there are kids leaving this world even before they get the chance to savour the banquet life has spread out. That people like Lee Khian Yip will never ever be able to watch the sun set ever again. That how often we take simple things like this for granted when these are the things we need to treasure the most. Family, friends, and simplistic beauty. And in all that, sorrow is an essential part of the opera of life. For without sorrow, how then will we know what true happiness is?
5 minutes after he left, I opened the door to go to the washroom. Much to my horror, the door did not budge open at all ! The only thing I held fisted in my palm was the doorknob! Detached from the door. As I stared dumbly and rather stupidly at the knob, I couldn’t suppress the hysterical laughter that bubbled up my throat. When Kim saw what happened, she just said “Shit” and we convulsed into helpless laughter. Having had such a bad experience with the security guy, we endeavoured to ‘repair’ our own door, which basically involved us shoving the whole doorknob back into the doorhole?(whatever it’s called) but not without a lot of prayer before that.
The whole campus is abuzz with the recent news of the fatal attack on one of our fellow collegemates. I was horrified to learn that there was another case which happened barely 5 minutes later after the first one. It’s truly tragic and saddening that such a thing could have happened. And to someone so young. You read about such cases in the newspapers practically on a daily basis but when it happens to someone your age, someone your friends know,someone from your hometown and for the past 5 years studied in the school adjacent to yours, the sense of unreality hits you even as reality itself sinks in.
I was walking back from the canteen after dinner today and I beheld a beautiful sight. A sight that very seriously stole my breath. The sky was splashed a mellow hue of orange, while white, fluffy clouds were tinged in a halo of gold,reflecting flecks of pink. And in that instant, it hit me how utterly lucky I was.To be able to see something so simple yet beautiful. How lucky I was to be alive. How blessed I am to be able to breathe without the aid of beeping machines, to be able to run and laugh and be a part of life in all it has to offer. The ups, the downs, the whole rollercoaster ride life itself is. It hit me that out there, there are kids leaving this world even before they get the chance to savour the banquet life has spread out. That people like Lee Khian Yip will never ever be able to watch the sun set ever again. That how often we take simple things like this for granted when these are the things we need to treasure the most. Family, friends, and simplistic beauty. And in all that, sorrow is an essential part of the opera of life. For without sorrow, how then will we know what true happiness is?
Random thoughts
Today started pretty horribly. It was bad enough that Kim and I overslept and had to make a mad rush in order to get to class on time, but as if to add some spice and sprinkle some ‘excitement’ into an otherwise dreary Tuesday morning, the lock on our door got conveniently jammed. So there we were, a couple of fools trying to ‘un-jam’ the errant lock. Our efforts, much to our chagrin, ended in vain. We had to ask the security office for their ‘professional’ help. Boy, did I wish I didn’t enlist the help of that surly, burly old man. He glared at us as if it was our fault that the lock got jammed. He then dismantled the whole doorknob and re-fixed it. Then, he forced me to test it 2 times, in a really ‘unfriendly’, stern manner. All the while saying “OK?! OK?! Don’t say it’s jammed again. OK?!” in Malay. Ya, Mr. Locksmith, we woke up this morning and by means of a good morning greeting said to our dear door-lock “ Hey mate, would you do us a favour and go jam yourself?”
5 minutes after he left, I opened the door to go to the washroom. Much to my horror, the door did not budge open at all ! The only thing I held fisted in my palm was the doorknob! Detached from the door. As I stared dumbly and rather stupidly at the knob, I couldn’t suppress the hysterical laughter that bubbled up my throat. When Kim saw what happened, she just said “Shit” and we convulsed into helpless laughter. Having had such a bad experience with the security guy, we endeavoured to ‘repair’ our own door, which basically involved us shoving the whole doorknob back into the doorhole?(whatever it’s called) but not without a lot of prayer before that.
The whole campus is abuzz with the recent news of the fatal attack on one of our fellow collegemates. I was horrified to learn that there was another case which happened barely 5 minutes later after the first one. It’s truly tragic and saddening that such a thing could have happened. And to someone so young. You read about such cases in the newspapers practically on a daily basis but when it happens to someone your age, someone your friends know,someone from your hometown and for the past 5 years studied in the school adjacent to yours, the sense of unreality hits you even as reality itself sinks in.
I was walking back from the canteen after dinner today and I beheld a beautiful sight. A sight that very seriously stole my breath. The sky was splashed a mellow hue of orange, while white, fluffy clouds were tinged in a halo of gold,reflecting flecks of pink. And in that instant, it hit me how utterly lucky I was.To be able to see something so simple yet beautiful. How lucky I was to be alive. How blessed I am to be able to breathe without the aid of beeping machines, to be able to run and laugh and be a part of life in all it has to offer. The ups, the downs, the whole rollercoaster ride life itself is. It hit me that out there, there are kids leaving this world even before they get the chance to savour the banquet life has spread out. That people like Lee Khian Yip will never ever be able to watch the sun set ever again. That how often we take simple things like this for granted when these are the things we need to treasure the most. Family, friends, and simplistic beauty. And in all that, sorrow is an essential part of the opera of life. For without sorrow, how then will we know what true happiness is?
5 minutes after he left, I opened the door to go to the washroom. Much to my horror, the door did not budge open at all ! The only thing I held fisted in my palm was the doorknob! Detached from the door. As I stared dumbly and rather stupidly at the knob, I couldn’t suppress the hysterical laughter that bubbled up my throat. When Kim saw what happened, she just said “Shit” and we convulsed into helpless laughter. Having had such a bad experience with the security guy, we endeavoured to ‘repair’ our own door, which basically involved us shoving the whole doorknob back into the doorhole?(whatever it’s called) but not without a lot of prayer before that.
The whole campus is abuzz with the recent news of the fatal attack on one of our fellow collegemates. I was horrified to learn that there was another case which happened barely 5 minutes later after the first one. It’s truly tragic and saddening that such a thing could have happened. And to someone so young. You read about such cases in the newspapers practically on a daily basis but when it happens to someone your age, someone your friends know,someone from your hometown and for the past 5 years studied in the school adjacent to yours, the sense of unreality hits you even as reality itself sinks in.
I was walking back from the canteen after dinner today and I beheld a beautiful sight. A sight that very seriously stole my breath. The sky was splashed a mellow hue of orange, while white, fluffy clouds were tinged in a halo of gold,reflecting flecks of pink. And in that instant, it hit me how utterly lucky I was.To be able to see something so simple yet beautiful. How lucky I was to be alive. How blessed I am to be able to breathe without the aid of beeping machines, to be able to run and laugh and be a part of life in all it has to offer. The ups, the downs, the whole rollercoaster ride life itself is. It hit me that out there, there are kids leaving this world even before they get the chance to savour the banquet life has spread out. That people like Lee Khian Yip will never ever be able to watch the sun set ever again. That how often we take simple things like this for granted when these are the things we need to treasure the most. Family, friends, and simplistic beauty. And in all that, sorrow is an essential part of the opera of life. For without sorrow, how then will we know what true happiness is?
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