I'm officially 2x!
Well, it's really another approximately 12 hours away if I really, really wanna be exact. However, who cares about accuracy by now? The more inaccurate it is, the better.....who knows I might be able to squeeze in another year or two.

Home, here I come!....

So excited..., I can't wait for tomorrow to come.

A sleepwalking contrarian

I'm a contrarian and I'm enjoying it!!!
Don't really know why, when, what, who, where and even if...
Who does anyway?
Just taking one step at a time and enjoying the ride I guess...

Nothing

I used to really love to read. I used to read almost anything I could lay my eyes on. I can remember clearly reading out loud any text on any billboards that I could lay my eyes on, while leaning againts the front part of my Dad's old vespa (I remember once he sternly told me to quit trying to steer the whole thing -- should've noticed the early signs of a control freak, perhaps?).
I don't do that anymore. Not reading the billboards and not steering any vespa now. Sure do miss the good old times.

No Harry Potty & the Toilet Bowl, please...

I've just remembered something else that really pissed me off a few weeks ago.

You see, I was all excited, and I mean EXCITED, to finally see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, since it came out locally during my exam week. So much so that I was willing to squeeze in the seventh row from the front, and all the way to the side, in order to protect my left ear from what my right ear has to suffer from. They always manage to outdo their previous movies, so I expected this one to be even better than the previous HP movie (which I lurrved by the way).

Unfortunately, all the excitement just plunged down the cliff, not even rolling down the hill, as I started getting disappointed within 15 minutes into the film. The freakin' movie that I saw was really equal to some low-budget HK movies with crappy editing. Didn't realize it at first, but a few minutes later, I realized it wasn't really Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Not all of it, at least....

Although most of the film's intact, for all I know, I might as well have gone to see Harry Potty and the Toilet Bowl (suggested title for this version of the movie that I saw, to reflect the impact of the additional editing). Whoever was in charge of the local cinema and movie business, basically cut up the movie into a practically uneventful chain of events.Without seeing the full version, I can only positively confirm one missing link. However, I'm sure there are more.

I feel so bad for the directors, actors, cinematographer, special-effects guys (what are they called, by the way?), cameramen, ... I mean everyone who busted their ass off for this movie.
If it really upsets me when somebody messes around with any of my oh-so-meaningless projects, without discussing it with me, I can't imagine how bad they must feel if they saw this version of the movie.
Just wondering if there is any law at all in this world that protects the integrity of an art production? I mean, c'mon... hundreds and hundreds of people must have put their minds and thoughts into this movie. I think, movies, regardless of their scale of productions, rightfully deserve to be treated as an art form.
But if so, then how would you feel if somebody just decided that Monalisa needed to look more proper, with a full-blown turtle neck top and her hair done nicely in a tight bun like Prof. McGonnagal? Or if somebody just decided to paint a proper set of pants and shirt on David to make him more presentable?

Just imagining the time and effort put into a single shot in a movie, I think if I were in any way involved in the production, I would rather have the movie be rated as "for adults only" instead of it being crappily-edited like that.

I was listening to a discussion regarding defamation a few months ago. I wonder, had I been Rowling, would I have filed a law suit for defamation through crappy editing?

But then again, I'm not Rowling. And my anger has subsided significantly. I think I'm back to the old optimistic me, looking forward to another movie: Chicken Little. Speaking of the poultry reminds me of something: Though this is kinda passe, I wonder if Donald Duck should wear pants now if he wants to protect his existence.

A day in the life of a couch potato

Geez....it's been one heck of a boring week! I'm seriously in need of an effective method to drag my butt out of this flat. Am quite sure it has doubled up in size by now. Talk about being a couch potato, I think I can actually be a couch pumpkin by now (think those scary, gigando pumpkins they have around halloween).

Must go out and do something useful tomorrow...... like shop for a new pair of shades, maybe? :P
Seriously, mine are so badly scratched that my hands just automatically reached out and try to "rub the fleck of dust away". Must get a decent pair, since I might have to drive in the next few weeks. Or actually, I would really like to drive....
Gosh, I really miss being behind the wheel.
Which reminds me, must go and convert my license. OK, now that's another thing to do.
Sh*t! ... I still haven't sent the check for the overpayment. Wonder if I'm on the country's Most wanted list by now.
Must do it tomorrow too.
Oh, might as well go and get Dad's favorite pen fixed while I look for shades. Oh yeah, I still owe my niece a birthday present. Guess a formal outfit for the seminar and the power lunch would be great, though things would've been so much easier had they had GAPs here.
Now did Bro ever confirmed whether or not he still wanted that Daft Funk CD?
Anyway, must also get super duper powerful sun block for the family trip.
Should I get my passport renewed here or back home?
Speaking of home, aaaarrrggghhh... must clean the room before my cousin comes back from OZ!

Wait a minute... where did all these chores come from? Thought this was supposed to be a holiday break with me having nothing to do?
Geez... I'm so exhausted just thinking about them, I think I need to sit down, catch my breath... and maybe watch another episode of whatever crappy show they have on TV. Yeah... think that's just what I need....

I'm a salted fish?

五月天's 咸鱼

Can't really translate the whole song as I'm not sure what the symbolic significance (I assume) of the salted fish is in this song :P
Wonder if I can find anyone to help me with this. Hmm... maybe I'll just ask my Chinese-speaking classmates.
But anyway I just love this song.
Am even considering making it my official personal anthem ^_^

我是一只咸鱼 不想承认也不能否认
不要同情我笨又夸我天真还梦想著翻身
咸鱼就算翻身 还是只咸鱼输得也诚恳
至少到最後我还有咸鱼不腐烂的自尊

我没有任何天分
我却有梦的天真
我是傻不是蠢
我将会证明用我的一生

我如果有梦 有没有错
错过才会更加明白 明白坚持是什么
我如果有梦 梦要够疯
够疯才能变成英雄 总会有一篇我的传说...

我不好也不坏不特别出众
我只是敢不同
我的人生就是一错再错
错完了再从头
也许放弃掉一些活得更轻松
我却不再是我
我不愿一生晒太阳吹风
咸鱼也要有梦

有一天有我的天空

作我的英雄 在我的天空
我知道你懂 知道你会懂

Women in Their 30s

Found this from my pile of saved favorite links. Can't remember if I got it from a friend or by accident, but I love it! It's making the big 3-o sound like such a good place to be that I'm actually a bit excited about getting there now... well just ever so slightly, at least.....

As I grow in age, I value women who are over 30 most of all. Here are just a few reasons why:
A woman over 30 will never wake you in the middle of the night to ask, "What are you thinking?" She doesn't care what you think.
If a woman over 30 doesn't want to watch the game, she doesn't sit around whining about it. She does something she wants to do. And, it's usually something more interesting.
A woman over 30 knows herself well enough to be assured in who she is, what she is, what she wants and from whom.
Few women past the age of 30 give a damn what you might think about her or what she's doing.
Women over 30 are dignified. They seldom have a screaming match with you at the opera or in the middle of an expensive restaurant. Of course, if you deserve it, they won't hesitate to shoot you, if they think they can get away with it.
Older women are generous with praise, often undeserved. They know what it's like to be unappreciated.
A woman over 30 has the self-assurance to introduce you to her women friends. A younger woman with a man will often ignore even her best friend because she doesn't trust the guy with other women.
Women over 30 couldn't care less if you're attracted to her friends because she knows her friends won't betray her.. Women get psychic as they age. You never have to confess your sins to a woman over 30. They always know.
A woman over 30 looks good wearing bright red lipstick. This is not true of younger women or drag queens.
Once you get past a wrinkle or two, a woman over 30 is far sexier than her younger counterpart.
Older women are forthright and honest. They'll tell you right off if you are a jerk if you are acting like one!
You don't ever have to wonder where you stand with her.
Yes, we praise women over 30 for a multitude of reasons. Unfortunately, it's not reciprocal. For every stunning, smart, well-coiffed hot woman of 30+, there is a bald, paunchy relic in yellow pants making a fool of himself with some 22-year-old waitress. Ladies, I apologize.
For all those men who say, "Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?" Here's an update for you.
Nowadays 80% of women are against marriage. Why? Because women realize it's not worth buying an entire pig, just to get a little sausage.....

-Andy Rooney on Women in Their 30s-

So I guess this is it.
There goes my 4-year effort to get a fairer skin tone.
The tropical sun has finally taken its toll through a 1 hour bike ride under the sun. It wasn't even a full-blown sun, for God's sake!

Anyway, Mr. Vain, my new buddy from class, was so hilarious on the way back home. Browsing through the cds that one street vendor was selling, he asked me to find one with the "doggie song" by Jay.
"Eh? Come again?"
"The doggie song.... ya know....."
For a split second I thought he meant that "who let the dogs out" song, but then I figured it's Jay Chow's 四面楚歌 since the lyric's a bit loaded with the word 狗 and words that rhyme with it. It took me a few seconds to realize that he was actually looking for 安静 or anjing, which means a dog in Indonesian.
That's a good one.

I'm dyslexic

So it's official....
I was like half a step away from being $2000 richer, and I blew it.

I had this weird dream. A really weird one, in which my aunt was having a conversation with "God" during her prayers and she was given a very clear set of number consisting of 4 digits.

Geez... Think it will take a while for me to recover.

Darn it.. think I'm dyslexic....

你很笨 leh! - One interesting cab ride

Flagged a cab today to campus as I didn't feel like spending over an hour with the bus. The wait was ok but I should've noticed the signs when the cabby didn't even bother driving up to where I stand and made me cross the street instead.
It wasn't until I got really close that I realized he's a really old guy. I later found out that he's in his early 70s.

Anyway it started off as any other cab ride until the guy started interrogating me on the reason why my English was different than the local version. At first he was quite impressed that given my country of origin that I could understand and speak a bit of Chinese, but the discussion then just went tumbling down the hill afterwards. He started interrogating me about what I do and used to do. Silly me didn't think that such an old man can be so scarily fierce and just answered all his questions in a matter-of-factly way.

I really didn't expect the guy just completely go berserk once he heard what I did a few months ago.
" 你很笨leh！为什么要回来？可以住美国不要住？？？你真得很笨 leh!!!"
(Unofficial translation: YOU MORON!! ARE YOU STUPID OR WHAT!??!You could've stayed in US and you chose not to???!?!? )
He was talking at the top of his lungs. He couldn't believe anyone with the right mind would have done what I did. I could see his eyes from the rear view mirror and I could tell he was fuming. I think if I were in any way related to him, he would've yanked my hair and dragged me out of the car and just beat the heck out of me.

Trust me, he was REALLY scary.
He then spent the rest of my cab ride lecturing me about how one should not be a 井底蛙 (literal translation: frog at the bottom of a well -- a dry one, I hope) and how one should aspire to be a 海鸥 (seagull, I think).
He told me about how his son is in Australia and is doing really well and happy there and doesn't even want to come back.
"This place is not for humans to live in" he said. He then asked what I thought I would get from this place. I went for the easy "dunno" way out. Didn't see the use of getting into an argument with him.

He then went on about how US is such a good place to live, with its totally chemical-free fruits and vegetables, and chickens that are not injected with hormones (HUH?!?!??!?), its laid-back lifestyle, where everything is just beautiful and perfect.
It's amazing anyone could be so misled about US, huh?
And even more so, that this is all coming from someone who most probably had never been to US. Or maybe that's actually why he could've been so misled in the first place.

I waited until we got really close to where I was gonna get off, and politely asked:
"Uncle (local way to address older male individuals), since you seem to like the place so much and since you're son is doing so well out there, so how come you're driving a cab here? Why are you not there with him?You should go and stay with him there.Let him take care of you now."
"Ah? Me?"
I must have caught him offguard.
"Yup."
There was a few seconds of silence.
" I don't like bread leh...........I prefer rice."
He laughed and I faked a laugh to go along with it.
" I told my son that I'll go there when I'm older and senile, so I can eat anything."
What a lame excuse, I thought.

And there, right at that second, I felt bad. I felt sorry for him.
I know that some senior citizens nowadays prefer to live by themselves, working to support themselves and to maintain their independence, like my grandparents. However, I also know that not all of them have the benefit of a choice as my grandparents do.What if that's the case with him?
What if I had just made another cut in an open wound?

I remember somewhere along the way, the guy heaved a heavy sigh and shook his head showing a strong disappointment.
" Haiya,......真替你可惜啊...."
He sounded like he was genuinely concerned.

Then I remember my late paternal grampa.
Although he was never as nosy as this guy, I could see some similarities in their "tough guy, tough love" style. Grampa was both the coolest and the grumpiest guy all in one. He said very little when unnecessary but when he's pissed off about something, his old fiery side would come out right away.

I wonder if he would've said the same thing to me:
"你很笨leh!"
I hope not.

Just realized I haven't really taken any picture since I got here. Kinda' miss my camera. The thing is it's quite troublesome to lug around with me considering the size and weight. Hmm... is it time for a new one? ^_^

Confession of a procrastinator.... (or is it late-bloomer?)

I did. I did. I did.
I have. I have. I have.
I am. I am. I am.

I wish.

One heck of a bus ride

I'm quite convinced that the bus driver seriously forgot that he still had another passenger on board. OK, so I guess 00.15 am it's not really a good idea to still be on the bus through the industrial park. But, hey, I'm a paying customer, OK?

This guy was swerving from one lane to another, swaying his body along as if moving along with a music playing in his head. By the time he got through the first roundabout (of a few along the way), it seriously felt like I had just gone through a ride in the amusement park.

Brakes? What's that? Neah.. don't know it, don't need it.

Geez, I had to hold on to my dear life, utilizing all my limbs to grab whatever footing and holding I can find just to avoid getting thrown out the window.

But anyway, I was so relieved after being done with my individual presentation today that I didn't even feel the need to curse or anything like that. Didn't even need any alcohol after managing to drag some of my friends out for supper after class. They were just amused at how happy I was.

Yipee!! The two trouble-makers, along with their parents aka. my bro and sis-in-law, are coming to town in the next few days. So should have some "entertainment". Honestly, nowadays, just having more people around is high-intensity entertainment for me. Pathetic? I know....

Hm... somebody suggested backpacking to Phuket over the break? Now that's an interesting idea.... Wonder how long I'll last on the road. Now if we had a car it would be great. Just lurrrve driving. Anyway, I think maybe we should start with Malaysia first though. Redang island's beach looks gorgeous on the website, and I just saw a package that includes 3 snorkeling trips. Tempting idea.... questionable prospect, though.

Anyway,I was also thinking of Penang. When he was still around, Grandpa offered to take me there a few times, but I never took the offer. Now I wonder if he really was just looking for an excuse, and a friend, to go there. He seemed to like the place a lot (though I have no idea what's there). Should've noticed that....

Gullible? me???

Something interesting happened yesterday. It wasn't an eventful day or anything like that but it was interesting.
For the first time ever, someone actually used the word "gullible" to describe me.
Me? gullible?
Interesting...., never in my life have I associated myself with that word.
The thing is I tend to relate being gullible to being "innocent", up to a certain extent (not to mention also slightly "slow"? So, I'm not sure if I should be mad right about...... NOW?).

I definitely don't see myself as being "innocent" for sure, so it's quite hard for me to relate to the word "gullible".

Of course the person who said it is a classmate that has known me only for the past 2.5 months or so, but I do wonder if that's how some people really see me.

Really need to take a longer look at myself in the mirror next time....

wait a minute.... (!??!?!)

geez.....
this is so ridiculous....
Just realized that for the past few months, I've been running around thinking that I'm one year older than I actually am.
GEEEEZZZ, girl... what's wrong with your brain?????!?!?

Didn't realize this till the other day while my uncle was advising (i.e. lecturing) me on how I should just find someone to settle down and all that stuff. He asked how old I am and I promptly answered: 2X! The same thing I've been telling my new acquaintances in town.

Of course, not that it makes that much of a difference though, since it's almost the end of the year anyway. But still.... even my 5-yr old niece can tell she's almost 5, not almost 6.... ?!?!?!??

So much for all the time and money spent on school huh? can't even get this simple math straight?

Really need to have a CT-scan I think.
Something's wrong up there in my control room.

23.55

Just submitted a report a little over 12 hours ago, 5 minutes before the end of the 19/10/05 deadline.
phewwwhhh...... Have no idea what I was rambling about in the 12-page long discussion.

A classmate was trying to convince me that the $1 per week is worth the hope that you're buying with the TOTO / 4D here. I personally think it's a waste of time but he sure was very convincing though...
We'll see....

In any case, wonder if 2355 would hit.

arrrgggghhh.....
16-page research proposal in 72 hours?
arrrrgggghhh...
!
those group projects!
must type type and type some more.
arggggggggggghhh......

Disposable memory

Just realized most of my friends have become just text in my inbox or in my IM window. Well..., ok... so I guess maybe once in a while a few animated emoticons (how are we supposed to pronounce this by the way?).

I'm just not sure if it's a good thing or not.

Is it good because I still have them in my thoughts, that at least we are maintaining that thin line called friendship despite our nerve-wrecking daily routines and work pressure? Or is it bad because it's all that I have left from all the great times we used to share?

I just miss a lot of people, that's all. Can't help but wonder if they are thinking of me too. A friend once told me not to hold on too hard to any memory that you have. "People come and people go.... That's life," this friend said, not long before she basically just flew away and disappeared into thin air.

As much as I try to, I am a sucker for nostalgic memories. Think I've managed to let go of a lot and I've managed to drag myself to move on (physically: twice) but I reminisce a lot. Wonder why it is so much easier for everyone else to let go.

Just wish I could do without this 30GB hard drive (or have a teeny, itsy, bitsy one just to run the OS) and just stick with USB thumb drives for good. Disposable memories for your brain.... wouldn't that be great then?

Mine is sinus

That's my problem alright.

Another freakin' flu attack in less than 2 weeks????!?!?!? Can hardly use my nose right now that I might actually survive without it if you cut it off now. I mean c'mon... that's really pushing it, don't u think?Who in the world gets a second cold less than 2 weeks after the first one?
What the heck is wrong with this place anyway? Or is it me? IS IT REALLY?
This freakin' sinus pain is driving me nuts!!
By now, think I'm quite ready to just use a vacuum cleaner to take care of things. Just get everything out in the open.....

So sorry for the disgusting idea, by the way.