Once upon a time there was a boy who loved a girl,and her laughter was a question he wanted to answer the rest of his life.
If You Must March 9, 2011
If you must steal,then steal away my sorrows.
If you must lie,then lie with me all the nights of my life.
If you must cheat,then please cheat death because I couldn’t live a day without you.
First Encounter with The Tech Kind February 7, 2011
Sometimes I wish I never came to learn of The Wonderful World of Apple, not the fruit kind but the ‘things-you-never-knew-you-wanted-until-Steve-Jobs-unveils-his-latest-must-have-techie-toy’ kind. It seems like iWorld changes its latest must-haves faster than you can say…well..’i’. Everything gets smaller, thinner, lighter, and keeps redefining the meaning of multitasking and instant gratification each time. It seems that anything and everything is possible these days, except I haven’t seen an Apple product that could brush your teeth for you. Something the toilets in Japan could proudly boast of having the upper hand.
So upon the unveiling of the latest iProduct, all hell seems to break loose. Or at least that’s what my purse feels like.
One night, as I tried to drown my sorrows with lime juice at a mamak (after having learnt of the release of iPad 2 and its cost that is slightly more than Bangladesh GDP per capita), I got nostalgic and tried to remember my first ever encounter with technology. For the life of me, I couldn’t simply remember when was the first time I ever surfed on the internet. It took some jogging (of memory,not of legs) to come up with the following list.
*Note : The list, entitled ‘First Encounter with the Tech Kind’ started off in line with the techie theme but ended with just about any ‘firsts’ since the author had the attention span of a 2-year old. Credits to R, who sat very patiently with me at the mamak store, rather willingly racking her brains of ‘firsts’ as well (her inputs are indicated with ‘R’). This exercise has made us both realize that we are in dire need of gingko biloba (a herbal aid in memory boosting).
‘FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH THE TECH KIND’
Our first….
1.Computer Game : Pong & Frogger; Solitaire (R)
2.Gameboy (or Gameboy-like apparatus) : Pacman; Tetris (R)
3.Purpose requiring the need of a computer : Geography project for school (aged 14 maybe) (both)
4.Internet : Don’t know!!!! Aargh….(this is the one that really got us both stumped!)
5.(Unknown category) : Linux black screen white black font with keyboard controls (R)
6.Cinema visit : Jurassic Park (aged 15, gosh…is this pathethic or what?!); Superman 1-4 at the Cathay Rex cinema next to Hock Kee Seng, Kuala Terengganu (R).
7.Handphone : Nokia something-something aka The Yellow Brick (aged 19….!); Ericsson something-something aka The Dark Blue Brick (1999) (R)
8.First Car : Ford Laser Dark Grey TK5355; Toyota Corolla Silver Blue NN9339 (R)
9.First Plane Ride : Mid90s’(1hr ride or so to Sarawak); Late 90s’ (many hours ride to Australia) (R)
10.Overseas trip : Singapore (does this even count??); Golok, Thailand (by rather dodgy transport means, which I am not allowed to divulge here, paid for by even dodgier means – let’s just say someone’s piggy bank no longer resembles a piggy bank). This ‘first’ had me in hysterics for a good half hour at least.
11.First Major Thing Ever Bought with Own Money : My Swift 2010; Utopia by Thomas More (this is a book, by the way) 1998 (R)
12.First Ebook : Harry Potter Book No.4 or 5; The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe (R)
13.Hollywood Crush: Edward Furlong (from Terminator…I plead temporary insanity at time of crush development), Hugh Grant (yay to British accent, brown puppy dog eyes and super dry wit!); Ethan Hawke (R)
14.Music Idol : Kurt Cobain (once signed off in school books as Courtney Love); John Lennon
Thus, many lime juice cups later, in my overspent brain cells condition, I came to a conclusion – Change really is the only constant in life. Exhale, embrace and enjoy your ‘firsts’. Many more will come. And hopefully, at the very least, these firsts will one day serve you a whimsical evening of reminiscent laughter.
And yes, gingko biloba anyone?
Invictus November 7, 2010
I came across this short Victorian poem by the English poet William Ernest Henley (1849–1903) while fooling around the Net. Struck by the last two lines of the poem, I googled about the poet.
Apparently he was struck by tuberculosis of the bone at a very young age and had to have his leg amputated at the age of 25.
(Note to self : Do NOT complain the next time I can’t find the size of my must-have shoes of the moment).
He wrote this poem on his hospital bed.
I must say, I admire his creative juices! He could come up with A Few Good Lines from a position of what I believe must have been quite uncomfortable. I imagine hospitals beds in the 19th century could not have been as comfortable as a cushy Starbucks armchair.
I have plonked my ass here (i.e Starbucks, not a 19th century hospital bed) for quite some time, with my favorite cup of soy green latte and all I could do was cut and paste HIS words onto my blog and voila! MY Few Good Lines For The Day..
Anyway, an ode to you Mr Henley sir, a job well done ole chap!
I am the captain of my soul indeed.
*INVICTUS*
Out of the night that covers me
Black as the pit from pole to pole
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid
It matters not how strait the gate
How charged with punishments the scroll
I am the master of my fate
I am the captain of my soul
William Ernest Henley (1849–1903)
Let Me Show You My Latest Line of Bullsh*t August 27, 2009
I can’t believe my last blog was written 5 freaking months ago! Holy mother…I didn’t actually realize this sad sad truth until J gave me a virtual whipping over Facebook chat (or was it Gmail chat) yesterday for abandoning my poor blog. It was an orphan blog for 5 months but orphan blog it is no more!
*grits teeth in determination while making a silent vow to myself to keep on slogging to me blogging*
But because I have absolutely NO IDEA what to write today, I’m just writing for the sake of writing. Which I could be very good at – just ask my English teacher Mdm Lim who used to always chide me for writing a novel when all she asked was for a 300-word essay. Well, all I can say is a LOT of things can happen when your essay starts off with “It was a dark and stormy night…” It definitely warrants just a tad more than 300 words. Of course, in Manju lingo, ‘a tad’ could mean 3000 words over limit.
I re-read my earlier blogs in my attempt to be inspired but alas, I’ve hit the all-time dreaded writers’ block. Most days I feel I’m more of a blogduh than a blogder. Some days when I am extremely optimistic bordering manic euphoric, I say to myself I COULD be the next most popular blogder in this side of the world, one with a million hits a day (ok, perhaps a wee bit of a stretch, even in a fantasy) because people just can’t get enough of me and ne’er complain about me going over the 300-word limit.
Sheesh. Is this how writers feel when they’ve got absolute zilch to fill in the blanks of their yet-to-exist book? I wonder how Shakespeare felt when he couldn’t show off his latest line of bullsh*t.
Earth Hour 2009 March 25, 2009
Saturday Mar 28, 8:30pm.
The world will be plunged into darkness.
On purpose.
What started out as a modern battle cry against global climate change by 2 million people in the city of Sydney in 2007, has quickly gathered momentum in people around the world and now stood recognized as a global initiative, coordinated by World Wildlife Fund (WWF). In 2008, more than 50 million participated and in 2009, a billion people from 1000 cities are expected to join in.
Today, 2 days before the actual event, aptly named Earth Hour 2009, individuals, governments, businesses and communities from 2400 cities and towns in 82 countries have signed on their commitment to send out this message of hope and message of action.
The action? Simple.
Switching off lights for an hour .
The message? Even simpler. We stand united against climate change . We want to be part of the solution, not the problem.
Major iconic landmarks around the world have signed on. Over here in Malaysia, KLCC Twin Towers (once the tallest in the world not too long ago), KL Tower and Dataran Merdeka (where the Union Flag was lowered and the Malayan flag hoisted for the first time at midnight on August 31, 1957), will go dark in their virgin support for Earth Hour 2009.
Others include the Sydney Opera House, the Coliseum in Rome, Stockholm’s Royal Castle, London’s City Hall, New York’s Empire State Building and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
The famous Cola-Cola billboard in Times Square will be dark.
The Google homepage.
National Geographic will be suspending air time for an hour.
Tottenham Hotspur, White Hart Lane will be turning off their lights!
Even the Sphinx and the Great Pyramids of Giza will go dark for Earth Hour this year, becoming the most ancient monument (5000 years is a long time) to stand as modern day symbols for action on climate change .
Heck, my mom’s house in Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu will be dark. (Though my dad is praying there’s no live telecast for football at that time)
And I will be walking with family and friends, along with hundreds of other Malaysians in Earth Hour Walk of Hope in Kuala Lumpur, probably carrying a candle and wearing a shirt that says “I’m Not Trashy, I Recycle”.
In the dark, of course.
Anyone and everyone should join this movement. This is my bit for Earth Hour, spreading the good word to join in!
‘Turn Off. Take Action”.
The One March 18, 2009
“Find a guy who calls you beautiful instead of hot, who calls you back when you hang up on him, who will lie under the stars and listen to your heartbeat, or will stay awake just to watch you sleep… wait for the boy who kisses your forehead, who wants to show you off to the world when you are in sweats, who holds your hand in front of his friends, who thinks you’re just as pretty without makeup on. One who is constantly reminding you of how much he cares and how lucky he is to have you…. The one who turns to his friends and says, ‘that’s her.’”
Ever After March 10, 2009
1 Union. 4 weddings. 3 weeks.
L, the Sandbox Bully aka ‘Chin Chea Hoh Peng Ewe’ , finally got hitched 2 weeks ago. Her nuptials were celebrated over the span of 3 weeks – 1 religious (Muslim) ceremony ‘akad nikah’, 1 traditional Malay bersanding ceremony in the northern Chinese heartland, yet another traditional event – the Chinese tea ceremony followed by a Chinese banquet dinner in the west Malay heartland.
Photographer skodeng the 2 lovebirds...
All 4 events were beautiful but what struck me the most was not the decorations or the food, or even the dashing (to some) tall dark (and bald) hotel event manager (!) but the pure happiness that seemed to radiate from everyone who attended those events – especially the bride and groom.
The bride, who seemed to be on the brink of being Bridezilla in the months before the actual wedding (no thanks to certain fickleness and ‘tidak tahu’ attitude of persons who shall not be named), was practically shining with such joy on the actual day- it was pure bliss.
Never mind the 3 compadres who were getting cross-eyed from staring too long at wedding checksheets (all 9 of them, including a flow of events with automatic time calculation based on activity duration and a flow chart for flowers delivery). But we enjoyed every minute of it – being the eyes, ears and hands (and feet) for the bride. For 2.5 decades worth of friendship, we’d even do the cha cha and the twist with L’s grandmother (which we did, and which L’s grandmother outshone us, without breaking a sweat!).
And most eyes were glistened with tears during the bride’s speech at the Chinese dinner, of which I paraphrased and do no justice to it :-
“To my dad, my hero – I worship you;
To my mom, when I have kids on my own, I want to be the mother that you are – perfect;
And to S, there’s no one else I’d choose to be my life partner – I want to grow old with you”
Then the song that Adam Sandler sang in the ‘Wedding Singer’ on the plane “I Wanna Grow Old With You” came on.
My heart bloomed. Yes, bloomed.
I do love weddings.
I love the notion of it, I love the sanctity of it, I love the simple truth of it.
I just love Love.
And the thought of couples so much in love with one another that that’s all they want to do – grow old with each other.
Ever after.
What would you do…? March 6, 2009
This is the ‘game’ I promised to post up earlier (refer to the post on 3D).
Players : R & M
Venue : At our respective offices using our desktops
Note to blogders : Obviously, we were not skiving. These were very important questions that had to be answered in the span of a single working day. Productivity was all-time high on this date. Because we looked like we were working really really hard typing away furiously on our keyboards.
******************************************************************
a) On a rainy day?
[R] If I’m at home, probably snuggle up with a good book. If I’m at
work, dream that I’m at home snuggled up with a good book.
[M] Will blame it on climate change. Damn the weather these days.
Then if at home, curl up with a good book. oh, and a good piece of dark
chocolate. If at work, open my pdf file on harry potter series or gilmore girls
script (yes I actually have this). start reading. but no curling up.
b) If you lost your luggage
[R] Panic. Then go lodge a report. Then mope about it.
[M] Curse. Ask to see the manager. Demand the clothes voucher (and
hotel room and whatever perks I can coerce from them) as compensation.
Perfect excuse to go for a shopping spree in a foreign place. Why mope
when can shop?
c) If you got all your wires messily tangled up?
[R] Panic. Then it depends on my mood. If I’m in a good mood, I’ll
TRY to sort it out. If mood not so good, sorry la. wires tu bernasib
baik kalau tak kena potong!
[M] Curse. Count to 10. Then painstakingly try to sort it out. Make
mental note to get those IKEA wire organizer thingymajiggy.
If unable to sort it out, will leave it and tell to self that wires are
meant to be tangled anyway.
d) If you found out that there are bona fide aliens out there?
[R] interesting one. Seeing that I have exactly three friends, I’d
probably think about extending my circle. Oh and also, I’d get
permission to study their brains when they died … if they died.
[M] Seek way to communicate and request to get on board just to
check out their cool gadjets. If the movies are right, they’re supposed to lightyears ahead in terms of technology. Cool.
Oh, and tell them I come in peace.
e) If you saw yourself at the bar?
[M] Say to myself “Holy crap! I look that good??” Then watch myself
for afar, looking out for possible habits that ppl may make fun of behind
back. And write a secret msg to myself posing as secret admirer. Watch my
reaction. And snicker.
[R] I would probably watch myself for a bit, and decide that I’m not
as weird as people think I am. Just for the heck of it, I’ll show up in
front of my other me for a glimpse of a second, make my other me think
I’m crazy and order two more rounds of drinks. Then because my other me
can’t hold her drinks, probably throw up on the floor and have a bad
case of hangover the next morning.
f) if the ozone layer was so thin, it was gonna crack open tomorrow and
suck all of us out into space?
[M] Say ‘ I told you so’ to my three friends.Then ask permission
from the bona fide aliens for a free ride out to space.
No need for unpleasant sucking sensation.
[R] Listen to your ‘I told you so’, so I can follow you out with the
bona fide aliens.
g) if every book on earth was burnt chairman mao style?
[M] Train up at a nearby terrorist camp for assasination lessons.
Form a special SWAT to assasinate Person Who Decided To Be Like Chairman Mao And Burn All Books on Earth. Assasinate said person quickly and effectively (he/she wont know what hit him/her). Celebrate the rescue of every book on earth.
[R] Call Achmed the Dead Terrorist.
h) if we lived in a less cultured world where we had to wear leaves for
clothes?
[M] Who says wearing leaves makes us less cultural?
But in the spirit of leaves for clothes, I’ll choose daun helikopter and
daun pisang. Daun nipah gatal siket. And sharp at the edges, dont you
think?
[R] Thank God for for the un-invention of cloth. Take the
opportunity to cuci mata 
More questions
i) If you found a mysterious looking lamp that says ‘Rub Me’ in the
middle
of a desert?
[R] Rub it and hope the genie of the lamp appears dan bukan singa
ataupun lord voldermort ataupun the clown from the movie IT. Dan kalau
diberi wish, aku akan wish la. kalau tak diberi wish, aku rub the other
way and hope the fler goes back in.
[M] How does one define ‘middle in the desert’? But since I came up
with the question i better shut up.
Anyways, I look for instructions for How to Rub Me first. No SOP No
Rubbing.
But knowing my inquisitiveness, I will rub the lamp.
saje nok tengok ade genie ke dok. But first think of the wishes I want
granted. nanti genie marah sebab make him wait while I think up wishes.
j) If you found a a mysterious looking lamp that says ‘Dont Rub Me’ in
the middle of a desert?
[R] See i)
[M] Are you kidding? Rub la in true spirit of my Rebel Without a
Cause manner. The more you say DONT rub, the more I want to do so. Must be some repressed childhood memory that helped form my useless rebelling.
k) If you stumbled upon an ancient tomb and over the gate entrance it
says “Slow & Painful Death Upon Those Who Dare Pass These Gates”?
[R] Probably pass through, because I’d be damn intrigued to know
what’s on the other side. It’s probably a lame prank pulled by the bored
gatekeeper anyway.
[M] Depends what awaits me the other side. Why risk slow and painful
death if all that awaits you on the other end is just a couple of bones
and dust??
If got gold and diamonds, lain cerita. Then I’ll tell myself it’s just a
lame prank pulled by the bored gatekeeper.
l) if I were to ask you what is your most influential, important,
life-altering book of all time.
[M] Damn hard question. Does magazine and guidebooks count?
“National Geographic” and “Lonely Planet” series. For opening the world
to me and daring me to take the roads less travelled.
“Gandhi” – Man. What a man. His virtues clearly outweighed his flaws.
“Mighty Heart” – the story moved me but it wasnt the story that affected
so much, rather it was the ending caption that stayed with me:-
>> I swear I will not dishonor my soul with hatred,
but offer myself humbly,
As a guardian of nature,
As a healer of misery,
As a messenger of wonder,
As an architect of peace.
“Desiderata” for teaching me humility
[R] wow, hebat. Anyway, yeah I agree, this question is too hard. I
don’t think I wanna answer is my answer
m) if you found a puppy at your doorstep and he didn’t have an owner’s
tag on.
[M] I’ll be thinking ‘Wah the fella quite pandai ambik lift huh’ not
bad. I adopt.
But got to hide him from the guards and tape his mouth so don’t whine
sampai dengar kat luar by security.
Plus I need to get my hands on some guidebook on ‘how to raise a silent
puppy’.
And feed him. Nanti feed nyiur dan air, the fella die then how?
[R] pick the fler up, ask him what his name is and ask how many cats
he chased that day. Then ask him what he’s doing at my house, where he
wants to go. Probably feed the fler a bit (definitely not nyiur and
air). Then put the fler in my car and take him to my sister’s house to
make friends with my sister’s dog. Then my sister’s dog can teach him
how to chase the cats in seremban and how to scare away the pigeons.
n) if there wasn’t a need to sleep anymore, so you have extra 8 hours to
spend on anything you like.
[M] Do everything I usually do for fun fun fun but now with
additional 8 hrs each day- this means fun fun fun. Carpe diem!! all 24 hrs of it!!
[R] I’d probably regroup my old band and start writing songs again.
Then maybe we can put out our cd and tour the world!
o) If you could stop time?
[R] I’d do it at night so I can sleep longer.
p) If you had to choose a single superpower?
[R] The ability to make people believe whatever you wish them to
believe (like the nightmare man in heroes)
q) If you could create clones?
[R] I’d create a clone of my dad.
r) if you were given the chance to watch your own funeral from afar?
s) if you had one question you could ask God?
t) if you were really caught between the devil and the deep sea?
My Dream Car March 6, 2009
My Precioussssss...
The Prius 2009 Model.
If there’s anyone out there clamoring to buy me one, I greet thee with open arms.
Features I particularly like, among a million others, are :-
1. Remote air conditioning – first in the world to operate solely on battery power and can be activated remotely (and hence the name ‘remote air conditioning’), giving me a chance to cool the interior from afar (before getting into the car). No more sweating like a pig as I try to crank up the engine. And I can do it in an eco-friendly way!
2.Cleanest aerodynamic profile – less wind drag means less engine power required. Prototypes were subjected to the most wind tunnel tests than any other Toyota in history.
3. Sliding glass moonroof – with SOLAR PANELS. Solar power is used for ventilation system and air circulation fan runs on electricity. So engine power is not required.
4. Intelligent Parking Assist – no more headaches on parking. And that stereotype comment on how women cannot do side parking is so untrue! I know at least TWO whole women who can do this without breaking a sweat. And I am one of them. Sometimes. Occasionally. When no one’s breathing down my neck and barking orders on how to do side parking properly like a MAN.
5. Lane Keep Assist – every car in Malaysia should be equipped with this. How can this be possibly eco-friendly, you might ask? Well, this will drastically help reduce noise pollution that arise from irate drivers honking away at idiots who can’t seem to decide which lane they wanted (or rather which lane seemed faster because they want to be on the FASTEST lane ala Malaysian kiasu style so they stay in the middle just in case…)
Above all, the Prius is the symbol of eco-consciousness. Celebrities like Leonardo di Caprio and Cameron Diaz who are famous for their green support, all have one. And snooty greenies like me would love to advertise that fact (ie. we’re snooty greenies) at every possible waking moment.
And the Prius is a stylish, practical and in-your-face way of doing so.
I can’t wait for the launch of this car in Malaysia this coming 3rd quarter.
Oops. Did I let the car out of the bag?
Cruising along in my Prius...
