Tuesday, August 31, 2004

Merdeka n stuff

First and foremost... it's Merdeka! I'm actually not a particularly patriotic guy... i don't go round waving flags n stuff liddat... but i DO throw my rubbish in the tong sampah, i DON'T spit in public... uhh, okay-lah.. sometimes i do... but i generally think i'm a law abiding citizen :)

anyway, back to mundane stuff :
i was thinking abt dirty jokes. heh, no.. not thinking OF dirty jokes... thinking ABOUT dirty jokes :P
i've realized dat as we move on in life, we get more exposed not only to dirty jokes but to "sins" of the world. u know, stuff dat used to be wat u thot was definitely a no-no... like sex b4 marraige, porn.. and dirty jokes. I suppose there really are only 2 responses a person can give to stuff like dis... one of course is the easier way... which is to just play along, "everybodys doing it", "it doesn't harm anyone", "don't take stuff like dis so seriously, it's all for fun"... and there's the other harder response.. which is to draw the line earlier rather then later and to raise the standard rather then 2 lower it...

i suppose after 8 months of only interacting wif "goody guys", there's a sort of a "culture" shock when u get back to the real world... and maybe its just a little thing... but i can't help thinking... that if our purpose in life is to bring pleasure n 2 glorify God, does this glorify God or does for my own pleasure...

uhh, contrary to wat it may seem... i'm actually enjoying orientation... it's just this part about the dirty jokes dat get 2 me.. :)

Sunday, August 29, 2004

first impressions are decieving

well... talk about how decieving first impressions can be...
after the first two days of listening to lecturers talking(presenting an ideal IMU)
last friday i finally got to listen to the students of IMU, namely my seniors... talk...
well, to say that it isn't exactly ideal would be an understatement...

haih.. and we wonder why doctors nowadays aren't that good.. orientation week is gonna be downright dirty... and i don't just mean physical filth...
aiyoh... come on-lah... so sexual innuendo's are to be the rite of passage from school life to uni life? and i thought that uni students were more matured... apparently not... i mean, if this was in secondary school it wouldn't be that bad... but University students... studying to be Doctors!!
hmm... and we wonder why things in the world get worse and worse...
sin really encroaches all around us... call me naive or whatever you want :, but i truly believe clean fun is better den dirty fun...

post update:heheh, its amazing what wonders a bath can do for you :)... i've discovered dat part of the difficulty i had in deciding to actually say: no i won't do it... was bcos' i was trying to please a bunch of ppl who quite frankly don't really care whether or not i please them and who hardly know me or are known by me... well, that's something off my mind :)

Thursday, August 26, 2004

in IMU

the past two days have been the quickest to pass by me in a long, long time...
i can't remember the last time i had to follow a schedule...

well, first impressions of IMU are that the lecturers are boring ;)(what lectures aren't) but the programme as a whole seems pretty interesting what with self learning and all...
one good news i just found out is that i'm potentially free to serve in VBS! but the bad side is that i won't be able to go for any camps this year... hmph... that's a real downer...

IMU does seem like a pretty fun place actually... there's a pool table, foosball, full Astro subsciption, sofas in the student lounge and other what nots :)...

oh yeah, my parents are out of town till Saturday.. YEAH!!

Tuesday, August 24, 2004

Closing Time

IMU starts tomorrow... hmm... i don't know if i should feel eager or worried... hmm...
i do know that the beginning of tomorrow is the end of my oh-so-long-and-never-ending holiday...

Closing Time by Semisonic from the album Feeling strangely fine

Closing time
Open all the doors and let you out into the world
Closing time
Turn all of the lights on over every boy and every girl
Closing time
One last call for alcohol so finish your whiskey or beer
Closing time
You don't have to go home but you can't stay here

Chorus:
I know who I want to take me home
I know who I want to take me home
I know who I want to take me home

Closing time
Time for you to go out to the places you will be from
Closing time
This room won't be open till your brothers or your sisters come
So gather up your jackets, move it to the exits
I hope you have found a friend
Closing time
Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end
*repeat chorus

Friday, August 20, 2004

Streamyx

yay!! i'm getting streamyx on monday.. yeah, it's the broadband age! :)
okay, i really hate that ad, but it's beside the point...

Wednesday, August 18, 2004

10 things i like about you

Some time ago i made a list of 10 things i liked about my sister... which i'm NOT going to put down here, cos' some things are only for family consumption :)

Anyway, it was partly out of having nothing to do and because every year at birthdays my sister always gets me something but i don't on hers... so i thot this year i'd do this 4 her on the occasion of my birthday, but... things didn't happen as planned... the list was a little bit too hard to mae and i didn't finish it in time, but anyway... yesterday i slipped it under her room door... and less than 12 hours later she had discovered it... i got a reply POEM back from her! which i'm NOT going to put out for viewing cos' some things are only for family consumption :)

I just LOVE my sister :)... heheh, its safe for me to put this up here cos' she'll never see it :P

Menj

Yesterday i stumbled upon a person called Menj.. it would seem he has something against Christianity..
i think he should be pretty proud of himself... b4 this i hadn't found anything on the internet that could pissme off or anything dat was worth getting pissed off at (including pop-up ads, internet chat and unhelpful toolbars) that is until now of course.
I never actually thot i'd feel so stongly about someone denouncing my religion... so anyway, i left my mark on his site... i wasn't the only one it seems, who feels strongly about a Muslim denouncing Christianity, i think mei also found out about him and left her mark there...

so, later that nite as i was thinking over Menj's site, i kinda felt in a wierd sort of way that God(if it really was Him) was telling me to uhh, not give the typical "i'm right you're wrong answer"... a verse from my devotion struck me too. "Do not repay evil with evil, but overcome evil with good."
So anyway i came up(or if you must..God gave) me this answer...

It seems strange that the 3 religions of our world, which have so much in common, should be so divided... you don't find Buddhists and Hindus or even Atheists argue as hotly over a personal belief as the Jews, Christians and Muslims do. Why should it be that we who have so much in common look for differences to divide?
I'm not a scholar and humbly beg forgiveness for my ignorance, but i doubt that in the Quran, Prophet Muhammad commands Muslims to denounce other religions, look of lousy followers of their faith &tc... i do know as a Christian that Jesus didn't...
I have heard that it is said Islam is "The Way of Peace"... shall we not then, brother have Peace?
A person will undoubtedly have questions upon reading of another's faith... but should not questions be put forward to people who have authority to answer them? rather than to put forth an accusatory opinion to the general public and thus raise up bad feelings and strife?

even later that nite i also wrote down an answer to his use of scripture, but i don't think i'll post it there...

Tuesday, August 17, 2004

hair cut

Today i cut my hair. Or rather, had my hair cut

Anyway, i went to the barber today. It seems that there's a change of worker again. Did i mention i go to an indian barber? The 1st time i went there, there was this indian guy who was quite old i think whom after about 5 or 6 months got changed to a bespectacled, kinda blurry indian guy.Today i found out its a young indian chap whom i think so far,uhh... gave me my 10bucks worth. I can't say whether its good or not cos' i can't really tell difference.

So, after cutting my hair, surprisingly he went on to do this neck thingy on me... i don't know what's it called... its not a massage, but the 1st time my indian fren in mbs did it on me, it felt really good. it's sort of like cracking the knuckles except that u do it with your head and neck? anyway, he then proceeded to continue to my back and give me a thumping... uhh, i think that would be what you call it. So anyway, for 10 bucks getting hair cut, sideburns shaved off, neck thingy and back thingy... i think i got my money's worth. Best of all its just 10 steps away from my house :)

Support malaysian.. go for indian barber :)

Monday, August 16, 2004

House of Flying Daggers

It was good!... i don't know why everybody keeps on telling me its bad, boring, inunderstandable for the average audience...
hmm... if you don't try thinking about the meaning of the colors and the "maksud tersirat" then i think its a rather enjoyable movie... sad-lah, but enjoyable...
well, at least it's better than "Hero"... Zhang Yimou's previous show which really was inunderstandable to the intellingence of the average Malaysian cinema-goer...
its not that i don't think there isn't any "maksud tersirat" but its just that you can just look at the "surface story" and enjoy it by itself...
the flying dagger scenes are REALLY GOOD... yeah, besides the scenery &tc... the bamboo scene is much more believable den the wan in "Crouching Tiger.."... and the fight in the flower fields is really good...:) i oso think Z.Ziyi did a good job at playing a blind girl in the beginning...

now all i'm waiting for is "Puteri Gunung Ledang" coming out on the 31st of August, our Independence Day... the clips & trailers seem pretty okay... M.Nasir as Hang Tuah looks good...

Sunday, August 15, 2004

kicked out

hehe.. yay... Fazly got kicked out :)... so i got 1 out of 2 correct.
The other girl to leave MI(M'sian Idol) was Sufiah...hmm... i actually have no recollection of what she sang :)..
hmm... everyone seems so emotional on the show... even Jien wasn't smiling at the end... lets see... i think most of the contestants were crying, Jee was crying... probably Roslan Aziz was too... i think only Paul Moss wouldn't cry... everybody's crying...
on the other hand... it does make the show interesting :) although i can't really explain why...
why DO we like watching ppl cry?

Saturday, August 14, 2004

12 finalists

well, finally after the long wait... the 12 finalists of Malaysian Idol(MI)...

and in the words of Paul Moss:"Average, just simply average.."yeah, last nite wasn't the greatest show on earth n not even the best episode of MI, hey... even the wildcard card show was better...

but it wasn't all that bad... Zamri & Dina stood out.. can i say more so then Jacbecause you kinda expect it of her...she still is the best performer of the lot even when she isn't trying hard(like last nite).. but to quote mr.moss again,"i really hope you don't win this just because everyone else isn't good enough...i hope someone comes along and pushes you so that your real abilities/potential is shown"...

anyway... last nite definitely wasn't a night for the chinese contestants.. the "Vicks"(both), Andrew and Nikki gave performances that ranged from average to boring to cringe-worthy~.. but i must say worst perf. of the nite and my vote for contestant to get out would have to be Fazly... ugh... what was he thinking... his rendition of Maroon 5's This Love was laughable! why one earth did he choose this song?

i really think the wildcard show had more quality then last nite's show...anyway, as of now, i'm actually hoping the winner is a Malay..preferable Dina: she undoubtedly has the ability, n i personally think she stands out wif her personality... oklah... the wierd finger thingy has to go... but ever since mr. caterpillar eyebrows didn't make it (although i found him irritating at first; in the end i was hoping he'd make it) i think she would be the best remaining option... i'm not really supporting Jac cos' she's kinda like the favorite... i DON'T support favorites.. give me the underdog anyday....

my choice for top 3: Jac, Zamri & Dina... yeah... anyway... the 1st MI has proved to be entertaining so far... quite-lah nyway.... i'm looking fwd to future seasons where hopefully the quality will improve :)

Friday, August 13, 2004

t.v. nite

Thursday is tv nite:)
Last nite was expecially good...
Normally after i come back from wherever i've been on thursday nite... if i'm out... there're two excellent shows on tv3 and 8tv...
every 11pm tv3: Monk, a series about an obssesive-compulsive detective(Tommy Shalhoub) who uhh... fights crime, sort of anyway...
followed thereafter by 12am 8tv:Latte at 8.. what i think is m'sia's best talk show, hosted by Jason Lo televised live(used to be, now they're showing repeats) from Sunway Starbucks..
well... yeah, concurrently showing on ntv7 12am is Fear Factor... so that advertisement times aren't a factor... but 8tv has relatively short ad breaks anyway... and well, if i'm up to it Latte at 8 continues with Late Show with David Letterman on ntv7 1am...
yeah, don't you just love tv :)
btw, i still think 8tv is now the best local free tv channel... hands down, no competition...
among other good shows now showing on 8tv are... Malaysian Idol!
they also broadcast live short "quickies" between shows on weekdays at nite which are really good... really good...no, really really good... okay so maybe its because i think Marion looks good...

Tuesday, August 10, 2004

Passing the time

Just passing the time on another tuesday afternoon,
I hope something happens soon,
Tuesdays used to be 'pasar malam' days,
hmm, nobody to go wif nowadays, since i stopped bee's.

Today's connection is really slow,
37.2 is the fastest the jaring line can flow,
Only 16 more days to starting IMU,
So from now till then i'm hoping for more to do.

haih,it's that boring,
nothing to do but lame poetry writing,
my mind is aching, my body is hurting,
from the amount of boredom i'm enduring.

Monday, August 09, 2004

Nostalgia

i did this some time ago... its kinda like a summary of my life up till now...

1984-1990:-memories of... growing up? hardly-lah...
-i do remember there was this one occasion on a family trip where i nearly drowned after being swept away by a river current... but i'm not sure how old i was.

1990 : memories of... kindergarten life
-i remember chasing chickens in some strangers house, the sg. besi army camp flat which was the BEST! place to stay.
-My grandfather's vege/fruit/plant garden complete wif well, fertilizer and stinky stuff, i remember also sleeping under christmas trees by the side of the road on the way back from kindy, frenly neighbours 2 play wif.
-yeah those were the days when i went to St. Gabriel's wif John and James Chan

1991-1994: memories of... primary school life in SK bandar baru seri petaling
-i remember playing bottle caps, football in corridors wif mineral bottle water caps, representing school in chess
-moving to the Wan Empok house(rented) in seri petaling, which was kinda a step down from the army flat but still better den my present house...
-yeah, this was when i started going to Canaan BC
-ppl i used to know: Kien Mun, Siew Boon, the chinese gang, the NCA gang(mainly girls), Salman & various others... when you're std6 everybody knows everybody...

1997-1999: memories of secondary school life in Sek. Aminuddin Baki
- lasting memories of going to CYBER CAFE!!(Starcraft and Halflife are still the best games i've ever played)
- a few scattered memories of scouts, acting, failed attempts at starting CF, reading Dragonball(only Manga i actually finished)
-ppl i used to know- Virata, Reagen, Singh, Debbie, Ayish, Jessica, Faye..haih, the whole SAB gang

2000-2003: memories of secondary school life in Methodist Boys' School
-lasting memories of CF!! & SU CAMPS!!... starting to learn what christianity is about...
*2000-2001:memories of getting to know MEI!!, literature classes, BK competitions and classes -ppl i used to know-Alex, KM, Tze Chao, Chew Liang, Bernard, Silas.. this group roughly still keeps in contact once in a while so i can't really say i "used" to know them...i still do..
*2002-2003:form 6, year of the ACCIDENT(2002), leading Chapel and mainly the RELIEF at being able to leave it...
-ppl i used to know- uhh, most are still in contact.. its only been a year surprisingly...
-an event of note...Mei's grandpa passing away which was the closest death has come to me, being the close relative of a close friend...
-life is not without a sense of irony it seems... b4 this time, i remember saying that i would be okay without learning how to drive... after learning how to drive i can't imagine living without driving.

2004 (Jan- ): memories of Bee's, getting to really know Daniel, Leena, Joyce... life's been good so far... looking forward to starting uni life in IMU
-events of note would be experiencing GRACE and getting my handphone (Samsung SGH-C100)

just for the sake of it, here are some of the ppl who know me and are known by me... and still remember who i am :)...outside of church- William KCH, Mei, Nicholas LKK, Sharon Khor, Reuben, Rowen, Ying Khai
ppl who still remember but will potentially 4get within a few more years...- Beh, Tze Chi, Emerson, Simon, Yean Yee, Jenn Jiang, Rajiv, Wei Leik, Kevin... other form6-ians and CF-ians...

church ppl close to me...- E1, Leena, Joyce, Daniel, bigMok
those a little further down the line...- Tim, Andrew, Jane, YiBing, Evon, William LZK, Jhow Weh, Guan Han, Noel, Joel, Ju Yuan, Ju Liang...

Wednesday, August 04, 2004

Go the distance

I have often dreamed, of a far off place
Where a hero's welcome, would be waiting for me
Where the crowds will cheer, when they see my face
And a voice keeps saying, this is where I'm meant to be
I'll be there someday, I can go the distance
I will find my way, if I can be strong
I know ev'ry mile, will be worth my while
When I go the distance, I'll be right where I belong

Down an unknown road, to embrace my fate
Though that road may wander, it will lead me to you
And a thousand years, would be worth the wait
It might take a lifetime, but somehow I'll see it through
And I won't look back, I can go the distance
And I'll stay on track, no, I won't accept defeat
It's an uphill slope, but I won't lose hope
Till I go the distance, and my journey is complete

But to look beyond the glory is the hardest part
For a hero's strength is measured by his heart

Like a shooting star, I will go the distance
I will search the world, I will face its' harms
I don't care how far, I can go the distance
Till I find my hero's welcome, waiting in your arms

I will search the world, I will face its harms
Till I find my hero's welcome, waiting in your arms

Disney- Hercules- Go The Distance- Micheal Bolton

don't know why, but today's a good day for this song... not that i went any distance today :\.. maybe its because i'm dreaming of a far of place called heaven where life doesn't suck..

Tuesday, August 03, 2004

The Egg Story

last nite i was supposed to be taking up my bio books n reading... but it just SO HARD to study while you're on holiday u know... SO HARD!!

anyway, out of boredom i came up wif this story cos' i didn't feel like studying :

Christmas Bulldog stared deep into zhiyong's eyes.
"When is he ever going to put up the shelf.. lazy bum?"
"There he goes again, digging his nose, what is it with human & nose digging?... we soft toys get along fine without digging OUR noses," said Birthday Bear as she turned up her nose at him.
"No this isn't the story i was talking about, so stop interrupting me," said zhiyong.

The egg snuggled closer to the wall.
"Mmm... the room seems to have shrunk a little since last week... but at least it's more cosy now."
Well, it certainly was comfortable... warm, snug... what more could Egg the egg ask from life? The sun was shining and life was treating him pretty well.

"Ooohh... limbs! I always wanted a pair.. Finally, some way of manoveuring myself."
Egg had awakened in the morning finding himself with hands and feet. Now he could finally turn himself to that upside down position & fell the rush of blood to his head he had often heard the neighboring eggs talk about. This was fun, he could do it all day to the beat of his heart. Deep inside though, he realized that the room had shrunk again... but he kept it to himself... & not that there was anyone to tell.

"Oh no, now i'm really in trouble."
Egg had turned himself upside down because the top of the room had seemed unnaturally hot & now he was stuck.. he seemed to have grown wider around the hips...
"I knew the room had shrunk."
The first spasms of pain shot through his body as he realized the room really was shrinking... and at an alarming rate! His face squashed against the wall.. Pain... Darkness... Suffering...
He closed his eyes and waited for the end to come. Darkness washed over him. There was a loud CRACK and he knew it... his bones were breaking. He felt numb all over. The pain was unbearable.
CRACK!! CRACK!!
then... relief finally, as a bright whiteness blinded his eyes. He tried opening his eyes and everything was white.. A seemingly darker shade of white approached..

"Am i dead?"
"No-lah, you're alive... in fact, your life has just started!"
"But i thought i dying... & how'll i go back to my egg now?"
"Hah, you call that a life? Being stuck in a shell?"
"But it was comfortable!"
"That's what you thought, but that's only because u're used to it.. NOW life really starts, you're FREE from the shell!"
"Will i be able to go back to it? I'll need somewhere to sleep.."
"Haha, is that a joke... Egg, when you've experienced life OUT OF THE SHELL, you'll never want to go back to it."

"You're pretty lazy yourself!" said zhiyong as he tried to sit Christmas Bulldog up after writing down the last words of "The Egg Story".
*blek* CB stuck his tongue out at zhiyong... or so he thought he did..

-The end-

okay, it's a lousy story, i know... but i had nothing to do... n i don't wanna study...

Monday, August 02, 2004

monday greens

today is monday... i'm not exactly blue, so i thought green would be a better colour to describe today... anyway, the weather in sripetaling is great, the wind keeps on blowing & it feels like it's going to rain... so, things can't go wrong :)
i actually was going to post yesterday's sunday lunch disaster, but after talking to mei, msging joyce, chatting wif jinqfeei n eyin... it isn't so bad alredi... for the most, i'm thinking it's on account of me being a little "small hearted"... so bcos' today started out so wonderfully :), i'm not going to spoil it by putting something unhappy on my blog :P... maybe some other time when my mood's not as good :\

Kiss The Rain- Billie Myers
Hello
Can you hear me?
Am I gettin' through to you?
Hello
Is it late there?
There's a laughter on the line
Are you sure you're there alone?
Cause I'mTryin' to explain
Somethin's wrong
Ya just don't sound the same
Why don't you
Why don't you
Go outside
Go outside

Kiss the rain
Whenever you need me
Kiss the rain
Whenever I'm gone, too long.
If your lips
Feel lonely and thirsty
Kiss the rain
And wait for the dawn.
Keep in mind
We're under the same sky
And the night's
As empty for me, as for you
If ya feel
You can't wait till morinin'
Kiss the rain x3

Hello
Do you miss me? I hear you say you do
But not the way I'm missin' you
What's new? How's the weather?
Is it stormy where you are?
Cause you sound so close but it feels like you're so far
Oh would it mean anything
If you knew, what I'm left imagining
In my mind In my mind
Would you go Would you go

Kiss the rain
And you'd fall over me
Think of me x3
Only me
Kiss the rain...
Whenever you need me
Kiss the rain
Whenever I'm gone too long
If your lips, feel hungry and tempted
Kiss the rain, and wait for the dawn
Keep in mind
We're under the same skies
And the night's
As empty for me, as for you
If you feel, you can't wait till morning
Kiss the rain...

heh, i like this song.. partly on account of it's sheer senselesness: How do you kiss the rain?

Sunday, August 01, 2004

Old Saturday

well, normally zhiyong doesn't blog on weekends, but i think he'll make an exception today..last saturday was a day for old times..as in really old times...

(Last time saturdays)wake up in the morning, go market, come back, have breakfast, help keep marketing stuff(peel prawn &tc.), sleep/do own stuff/ practice piano(yeah back in the days when he had to practice piano :), have lunch, afternoon nap, go TU, go grandmother's house..more or less that was how things used to be...

(Saturday 31/7) wake up in the morning, go out for breakfast at coffee shop, come back, help keep marketing stuff(peel prawn &tc., finished LOTR(last few chapters), practice piano (yeah, for some reason :), have lunch, tried to sleep but watch tv instead(this was oso something he used 2 do), go TU, watch movie, come back late... okay, so it wasn't a carbon copy but there were similarities :)

yeah... I, Robot is good