One Semester Comes and Goes

Time flies folks. One semester in TAFE has gone, and soon I'll be in Semester 2. I had no idea things were going this fast. Now I'm stuck with a 1 and a 1/2 month holiday. Hopefully I'll find something productive to do. Plus I have just realised that the process of finding something productive to do is not exactly err... productive.

Of course before things come to an end, there is always a last ditch effort by fate to keep the humans occupied. For me this comes in the form of the Malaysian Studies final today. I wonder why these people have to have an exam on a Saturday. Can't they choose any other weekday? Perhaps they think we just sit there and laze our Saturdays away, and that's why they find it necessary to help us fill our time. Can't blame them.

After the exam that spelled the end of the semester, I joined my friends in Gurney for lunch at Seoul Garden. Yeah that place where you get hot oil jumping and popping all over the table ( and in some instances, all over you ). It's our idea of celebrating the end of the semester. Later we ended up watching 'Monsters VS Aliens'. Cartoons! YAAY! How exciting! Seriously, it was quite amusing. Never mind the fact that it's kiddy stuff. Sometimes we all need our share of kiddy stuff.

With that, allow me to wish my friends from TAFE happy end of semester, and may your debits, credits, depreciations and petty cash reimbursements stay with you till the next time we drag ourselves back to college!

Motivation In Action

Not long ago the wind blowing in my direction notified me about a motivation camp that was about to be held in my primary school. For those of you who don't know, I mean Kwang Hwa. The school and my Standard 6 Form Teacher were attempting to fish out some old students to help with this mega project ( the only thing more mega being the human genome project ). So I decided to join in the fun. Enough of an introduction.

I know this post is dated Wednesday but I'm writing for last Saturday and Sunday(23&24 May). Yes, I know I'm late once again, but better late than never. Right? RIGHT?!

The camp was meant for Standard 6 students about to go for their UPSR. They were split into 12 groups, and the groups were named after moral values. How cute. I was put in charge of a group of 22 kids. Group name?


Hormat. Respect. A little weird, but at least I didn't have to come up with a team name for them, or I would have 22 kids going after my neck. Name-giving isn't my specialty.

Together with my friends ( many I haven't seen for a long time ), I had to keep an eye on the kids, tak kisah lah when they makan, main, mandi( boys only )... it was not easy, and I had the feeling my charge was actually getting the better of me. When gathered together, their sheer numbers were enough to pin down a fully grown T-Rex.


My group were a cute lot, not too nasty, except for a few boys that would make the toughest backstreet gangster break down and beg for mercy.

Okay maybe they weren't that bad, but they sure were a pain in the you-know-where. The only way I could control them was by shouting like a deranged medicine man. I'm not the type that shouts a lot ( that's why I never went far in my uniform unit in high school ), so I found that to be a challenge too.

It was fun, but tiring. VERY tiring.



That's my friend Ken Ann sleeping. You gotta agree that's one interesting posture. A bit like Taichi.

One of the highlights was the errrr... fashion show. The interesting part was that instead of cloth, our 'fashion designers' were working with newspapers, leaves, branches etc.

I was actually quite surprised by the kids' creativity. Initially I thought they would only be able to come up with newspaper sarongs. Their work was good, although a bit freaky. Some kids wore the obituaries on their backs. Others had headlines and advertisements all over.


I wonder how this guy feels in his suit. The way his nose and mouth is wrapped up suggests that the haze is becoming worse I suppose, or maybe it's just a H1N1 precaution thing.

Night time. We had a gathering in the field to watch some performances by each of the groups. Couldn't take much photos as the camera's contact was going haywire.



Waving to the music folks! I have no idea where those pompoms came from. I thought only cheerleaders used those. After all that, the kids were put to sleep ( some forcefully ). A meeting was called to pick out a few lucky guys and girls that were going to receive prizes ( best and outstanding male/female participant ). Then we old friends went to eat wood.

Kayu nasi kandar. 24 hours. 1.30 a.m. we reach, still open. Makan makan, cakap banyak, habis makan, cakap lagi. Then we went back to school. Cakap lagi. Satu malam tak tidur.

The next day, things were more relaxing. Most of the day was spent on a round-island trip. Due to some battery problems ( and a fever that was developing ), I didn't take much photos.

This is where we had our buffet lunch. Fisherman's Wharf. Been here a few times with my family. There are no fishermen there. Food's decent you know.

Here a 12 year old girl from my group gave me an interesting comment. While the kids were eating, they asked for my age. So I told them. Then came the expected question about my relationship status. So I told them I was single. You know what the girl said? 'Maybe you're too honest'. I nearly choked on my juice. Too honest?! Hmm...

Later in the day we had to climb up the forest reserve near the Teluk Bahang dam. It wasn't very tough. Interesting? Yes. The guide had much to tell us. All about the trees and plants. The ants there are the size of your thumb, but that's considered small compared to what I saw when I was a kid hiking up somewhere I've forgotten. I just remember I was freaked out. After the hike, the bus took us round town and finally back to school.

Then it was time to bid farewell to my 22 anak angkat. Yes they were trouble sometimes but now I'm starting to miss them. Hope they do well in their UPSR. After the closing ceremony, I took a photo with my old classmates from 6M.

My class teacher's in front. Looking at this photo I realise how much we have all grown through these years. My teacher lost no time in reminding us that no matter where fate takes us all, we'll still be a part of Kwang Hwa.

I couldn't agree more.

Another Movie

They say it's not good to buy pirated CDs although they may have nothing to do with pirates. So instead of buying the original CDs that will cost us the price of getting out of hell, we go to the cinema and watch movies at student price.

Quite smart, eh? Yeeeessss. That's smart.

Watched the Vulcans do their 'Live Long And Prosper' thing a while ago with the Wise Guru Teng Shin-


The new Star Trek had a healthy dose of humour in it, plus a good amount of explosions. BOOM! BANG! ALL BLASTED TO BITS! HARHAR!

Today it was time for 'Night at the Museum 2'-

This one was actually hilarious. See? Even Lincoln there says it's a good movie. And have you ever had any idea that Napoleon was actually that small? He's 2nd from right, with the weird hat.

Have to thank Zhong Yang for inviting me to the movie with his sister and Huan Li. So at least I would not have to spend the rest of the day wondering what to do.

By the way today I learned that I should never hand the popcorn lady a RM50 note. Especially when my popcorn only costs RM3.30. She'll spend 5 minutes searching for change once she's sure you don't have any. I walked away with 9 RM5 notes and some small change. So it's always good to have some change ready. No wonder Obama won with his 'change' manifesto.

The Rat Race Continues

I thought things were going to be easier after a week packed with tests. As usual, I'm proven dead wrong. Apparently the game's not over until it is. When's that? No idea.

It's interesting how the subject Accounting can have 2 final exams. They take a really thick book, split it in half, call the 2 halves Accounting 1 and 2, then proceed to have 2 final exams. Maybe this way we won't have too much to handle, or maybe Australians love final exams. I don't know. Let's hope I manage to control my carelessness this time. Exam's on Monday. At least it'll be over at the very start of the week.

Then comes Tuesday. I just realised the world really loves interviews. Or maybe my feng shui chart just includes a lot of them for the year. The guys from the Star Education Fund want to have a little chat with me. I missed the big fish (also known as JPA Scholarship), so hopefully I'll get lucky with this one. It'll be easier on my parents and I'll get to prove that at least some people on the planet think that I deserve a scholarship.

I know it's only 2 events scheduled for the week, but the interview thing is rather... intimidating. I'm trying not to worry too much. I suppose they won't start interrogating me about Newton's Law Of Thermodynamics or something like that. I am, after all, an accounts student.

When Tuesday is over, maybe I'll get to catch a breath. Suffocation kills you know, but I must remember my problems are nothing compared to the tight schedule of our PM.

Back To The Blog

Nearly dormant for an entire week, this blog, but I suppose that ain't long. Ewe Juan has been busy lately, handling 2 tests, accounting and Malaysian Studies, and 1 presentation for finance. So blogging took the backseat for a while.

So, after talking crap for the presentation and writing crap for Malaysian Studies, I write crap here. I crap a lot. No point denying that.

This goes to Teng Shin who's making his mark at the Perak Matriculation College. Go score and be top boy again. You did it in CLHS. You can do it in matriculation too. Just give some face and don't completely bulldoze everyone there okay? Or you may scare the nuts out of those college kids.

This goes to Ah Ban who got into a bit of a mess today. We all get into trouble sometime. It may involve a car, the police, the ISA, or Sumitra. Your problem is just a minor one, so take it easy. Look on the bright side. No broken limbs, bones or necks. It'll be over soon. Don't worry.

This goes to everyone scanning the blog. If your veggies taste bitter, it's not necessarily pesticides. Obviously I don't have much to write about, so I'm talking about vegetables. The veggies planted in my garden were just harvested, and though they were not bitter gourds they tasted more bitter than bitter gourds. No pesticides were applied. Only water and a lot of banana and papaya skin as humus. It's been nearly 3 hours since dinner and my mouth still tastes bitter. Is it any wonder why some people simply HATE their veggies?!

Okay enough cakap banyak. Got to go rinse my mouth with some juice to get rid of this weird taste.

It's Out and So Am I!

Ah well life's not always perfect (and so is the government). The JPA scholarship's out, 6.5 hours late, and (drum roll)...

TIADA TIADA TIADA TIADA no GAGAL!!!

WOOHOOH! YEEHAW!!! I didn't get it!

You think I'm nuts? Think again. The Perak State Assembly is even more nuts. Yup, me and a whole bunch of pals didn't land the jackpot. To those who did, congrats!

I know you're wondering why I can still type all this crap when I should be cursing the JPA. Well you only live once. No time for dissappointments. ALWAYS LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE OF LIFE PEOPLE!

To those in the same position, ah well it doesn't mean we're doomed to eat grass our whole life or something. Take it easy folks! It's not worth all the heartache and sulking!

Again to those who made it: Good luck and congrats!

The Inconclusive Poll Concluded

Trust me to come up with a poll that is inconclusive. Even the polls located in the Rapid Penang bus look more conclusive. Don't know what I'm saying? Good. Me too.

Note: 1st option: Aye, yes.
2nd option: No ( Then why are you polling here anyway?)
3rd option: Poll? What's that? A Thai dessert?

If you look at the side there, yes, there, you will see that a poll about... well polling has just been closed. Why is the poll inconclusive? Because no one who wants to choose the 2nd option will choose the 2nd option. See? Kosong percent. Anyway, my data shows that a fair amount of my friends would be happy to contribute to polls that are as absurb as that one. Meanwhile, either 37% are trying to be funny, or they don't know much about Thai desserts. No offence, it's your right to choose the 3rd option, or it wouldn't be there in the first place. By the way I don't know much about Thai desserts too, but I do know this one-

It's called Thap Thim Krop or Tap Teem Krawp or Tharp Tim Krop. I don't know how to spell it. Quite good you know, if you can find it you should try it. If you have cholesterol problems stay away.

Back to the poll. Wait... I have nothing else to say about it. So, well... that's it la.

Decreasing the Depth

Today in college a press conference... errr no just a little meeting was held and guess what, readers of this blog have agreed that what I write here is too deep. I never really thought that what I write would ever be too deep. I thought I was a guy with a simple mind.

Deep or not deep, I've been writing like this for a long time, and it would be quite difficult to change this style now. It's been my style ever since I began writing essays. So if things here get too deep and you can't see the bottom of it, I offer my sincere apologies. I will try to write in a... errr... not so deep manner.

However you can expect me to not cut down on the amount of rubbish here.

It's rubbish (and lots of it) that makes this blog what it is. So brace yourself for the unstoppable onslaught of crap that will flood the blog. Har har...

Late Labour Day Message

This is a late Labour Day message to all those labourers who are always late, those who are sometimes late and those who are never late.

I belong to the 'sometimes late' group (see? explains why this entry is late); but in the first place, am I a labourer? Hmm... maybe, but that's another story.

I bet all you labourers are now tired and probably sick of your job. Here I would like to emphasize that if you're a friend of mine from INTI, you're a labourer too. You are labouring on Mr. Beh's Finance assignment. Aaaaand I bet you're sick of your assignment! How do I know? I have been keeping track of your MSN personal messages! Most of them are laments about how your assignments are driving you nuts! Yup, you guys are tired. So tired you may even find yourself reading sentences over and over again. So tired you may even find yourself reading sentences over and over again.

So, since it's Labour Day, it means it's about time you, yes I mean YOU, and everyone else, gets some recognition for your good (or bad) work. Hey, even bad work deserves recognition. Hell even RIDICULOUS work deserves recognition! Look at this yellow cube-



I bet you know that yellow sponge. The cartoon is as ridiculous as a penguin being the MP for Bayan Lepas. The theme song asks viewers 'who lives in a pineapple under the sea'. You are familiar with this lot of nautical nonsense. And yet, look at the recognition Spongebob is getting! So who says ridiculous work (or people, for the matter) do not deserve recognition?

By the way, Spongebob does deserve some credit, not because he's a labourer, but because he has successfully entertained people curious enough to watch the cartoon (like me)! Arr! Are ya' ready kids?!

Sponges in the sea aside, all of you, yes YOU also deserve some recognition. So, though I may be in no position to give you the recognition, I would like to say thanks to you for doing what you have done, what you are doing and what you plan to do. There are several, no, many exceptions though. For example, if you have just/are/are planning to rob a bank/assasinate me/burn your toes/drink kerosene/play with fire... I am not going to thank you.

So, err... thank you again and keep up the good work. The days ahead are still long, and will probably require a lot more effort to pass. Sooooo...

ARE YA' READY KIDS?!