Behold: The Dog Year has arrived!

Yes. A new post on a new day of the new year. Isn't it great? I don't think so.

Friday was well-spent with a close-knit group of friends at Tocil on a steamboat dinner. Let's back-track before I start on how nice the dinner was. Like last week, the classes were stretched from 12pm to 5pm. As usual, I would skip Games and Decisions for obvious reasons, so I wasn't that tired after all that blaffering. Anyway, it was raining when we stepped out of the building. And so it happens that I have to go to Tesco with my future housemates (minus one). To make matters worse, it was raining heavier than the other days, though not as heavy as the weather back home. I was browsing through magazines in the supermarket while waiting for them to come from their classes. Then I went out to wait. They were walking with 3 other HK people, clueless who they were. We then set out to do our shopping. At the vege section, I was standing next to another HK guy who I used to think he was a Japanese guy, and while my (future) housemates talked to their HK friends, they started laughing uncontrollably. James then gave away the news that I looked a lot like the other HK guy, and it was just like a mirror image then. OH well... Anyway, we had things finished and paid for about 30 minutes later. It was alright.

Then came the cooking bit. Damn. Shan was really good at making the soup base. And guess what? It wasn't just one soup, there were 2 types of soup. One chicken stock soup, and the other prawn soup. Really nice. In total, we were 7 people, and we had fun chatting while eating. Well, the best part was when we were talking rubbish after we all finished the steamboat, and were working our way through our 'tang yuen' Ukeat got from Chinatown, some ready-made cakes from Tesco, and a honeydew and a pomelo, after such a filling serving of meat and vege selections in boiling soup. I was basically really happy then. Oh, I have to mention this part. My other (future) housemate did not turn up for the steamboat dinner, but we were so surprised and touched when she left us some of her 'infamous' popcorn that she made for us (which we also loved) with a small note wishing us "Happy New Year or Lunar New Year to you! =)". Too bad she was leaving for home that day.

After all that, I wasn't up for the washing up, so I was in Shan's room all the while (hehe). Some of them left early, especially James who was not feeling so good that night (and in fact, some nights before that. We really thank you for the curry chicken!), and some stayed on. Well, it was me and Sheryl who stayed on longer. We were chatting really well with Shan till the wee hours of about 2 in the morning (one of her flat mates joined our chitty chats sometime before we left).

I slept till 11am the next morning. (I don't know why I have a 'thing' for waking up at 5am every morning these days, sighs...). Since there were nothing that we could do, I stayed in my room, transferring some television series into my computer from a portable hard disk my friend lent me. Since it took so much space in my computer, I decided to watch something, so I could delete something off my computer's hard drive, and that was Desperate Housewives (desperate, ain't I?). Season One, episodes from 1 to 11, straight down till 10pm. Whoa. Phew. But the suspense was there. It wasn't that bad. I love doing that. Haha! Pity me, how boring can life get? Oh yeah, and tomorrow is the first day of New Year! A day wasted like that. Sighs. And I burnt my left thumb just because I was holding my micro lasagne dinner with my left hand, and holding the water filter on my right. Sheesh!

So now, it's the new day of a new year. In fact, the dog year. How fast years pass, how fast it flies by like that. In a matter of time, we'll already become old hags, who would look upon our young and innocent lives, how much happiness we've cherished, and how much sadness we've experienced. How fast our grandchildren grows, and how old our children had grown. Time. Oh well. That's life. So I awoke at 11am again, waking up at 5am, and not being able to sleep well (yes, rolling in my bed) till 11am. I ate brunch, and not long later, my family called. How happy I was! Just by the voices and the usual sounds that are usually heard in my grandmother's house, just brings back the memories. How I wished I was there in person to wish my whole family a Happy New Year. How depressing. Anyway, after all that, I had the urge to go out today. I can't be staying in my room, not doing anything for New Year?! So I contacted Shan and James right after my call on MSN. It wasn't promising, but at least tonight we're going to visit a food fest, just to see what kinds of food they're selling.

Missing home...

....eating his christmas pie, He put in his thumb, and pulled out a plum, and said "What a good boy am I!"

Haha... Nice title huh?

Just got back from my dikir practice. So proud of myself. Got to learn ONE WEEK'S worth of practice in just ONE DAY. Imagine: One song that I learnt was changed slightly. Instead of the 'egyptian' stance, it was the 'superman' stance. Then the new song, I had to learn the whole song anew; meaning I have to learn the lyrics, and the movements RIGHT ON THE SPOT! Luckily I had a friend to help me (thank you Brendon!).

It was so much fun. But just not that happy after they had to place us according to height, I mean, rearrange us. I was, obviously, quite tall, but not as tall as Sky (yes, that's a person's name) and Liang. In the end, I was placed as one of the shortest guys... How insulted I was! But, who cares anyway. I ain't that important. Just as long as we have fun right? But I did have fun. So much fun that I almost forgot what I am supposed to do after the practice.......

AND my 'friend' Fazura (haha... just kidding lar...) had to remind me that we are supposed to stay up the WHOLE night to try to finish off our final assignment for the week. This isn't at all a simple assignment! It is worth 80% of the whole module (SHIT!). Oh well, I think I have to burn the midnight oil soon... So worried that I might not be able to sleep after we finish our assignment. Haha!

"OI! Teraju tigo... Ala ewaa... Ewa buleh, Ewa buleh, Teraju tigo,Ala ewaa... Ewa buleh,Ewa buleh, Teraju tigo!....."

"Sende dua ende, Patendu patende, Dengar molek-molek, Kami berdikir.... OI!"

Isn't that fun! If only I could attach a voice file here... Haha!

Oh, yeah. Almost forgot. I woke up quite late today for my first class (at 8am, and my class starts at 9am). So I rushed over to class, without having my breakfast, and had to stay in the building till I finished rushing through all the assignments that were due today noon, were finished before the dateline. Damn. But it was a relief after passing up our answers, and came out of the maths building with a "phew".... Crazy huh? Anyway, gotta get back to my work soon... Now, it's a "SIGHS...."

Had fun!

Feelings

The sky is clearing up for me.
It was dark and scary. The clouds clustered up, and appeared to be raining, well, maybe drizzling. There weren't any linings seen on the clouds. They appeared like one; blur, secluded, dark. Flashes of light and sounds of thunderous rumblings came through them. It was indeed scary.
But it's brighter now. The clouds seem to scatter now. Light from the sun shone through the small cracks in the clouds. It's like God shining his heavenly light on me. I feel rejuvenated, free from darkness.
Clouds are clearing up now. The last of the rain has dropped, met it's own death. It's definitely brighter now.

Another year, more birthdays to come..

It's my best friend's birthday today. She kinda forced me to go to London with her housemates today with her, but partly, I wanted to go to.

So like I said in the previous post. I came here yesterday, so I woke up with the others, and went straight to the train station to take the next train to London. We got there at about 12pm. We had lunch as soon as we got there. But of course, we had to take the Tube to our desired choice of restaurant, and that would be at Chinatown in a chinese restaurant. We chose "London Chinatown" (in chinese, it was actually chui heng, so it was a surprise to see it here in London too). Dim sum was not that bad, and so was the noodles we ordered. It totalled up to about 33 pounds altogether, but shared among 5 of us.

Then we had time to shop. We went to Leicester Square, Oxford Circus, hmmm... Where else?? OMG. I just followed our 'leader' everywhere we went. Some of the train service was down, so we had to take other trains and switch like mad just to get to one station, which can easily accessible if the trains were working. I guess we wasted quite a lot of time switching trains, then to shop. In the end, I wasn't able to buy anything, due to the lack of time we had. I wasn't that upset about that anyway.

For dinner, we had to rush back to Chinatown again. We chose Japanese cuisine this time. And of course, they have quite a few Japanese restaurants there. We just picked one of them randomly, but the food we had was satisfying. It was nice indeed. Come to think of it, I didn't touch Japanese food when I was back in Malaysia. What a waste! Sighs... So many things happened, and so little time. Sighs....

That was at about 5.30pm. Yes. We were just there for, I dunno, 5 hours? Of course I know how to count. I deducted the waiting times during our travels. Seriously, I think it was such a waste. But, down to the point, I had fun today. I got to spend a bit more time with my best friend, and I felt happier.

You know, it's such a morbid place to live in the university, especially the times when there aren't any thing for you to do around, and no friends ask you out for any meet ups or so. Maybe I'm not that sociable. I want to have fun too, but it's just my inner voice which keeps on telling me that I'm really tired and lazy to go. Furthurmore, the places some go just disinterest me. I prefer meet ups where we get to sit down in a quiet place, and we chat the night away. That's my ideal hang out. Seriously. Now, don't you think I'm like an old man? Haha!

So, as the title suggests, it's another year, and we all get another year older. Time really does fly fast. A part of me wants time to pass as fast as it can, and another wanting to stay young... Aren't I asking for a lot? Don't anyone? Oh well...

Getting really tired. Guess I had better go. But before I do, I'd like to wish my best friend a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! Cheers!

In a nutshell

Friday the 13th. Interesting. And it falls on the 1st month of 2006. How interesting. It reminds me of my father's birthday. Well, it isn't appropriate to talk about his birthday, since he's not here anymore. But I used to relate Friday the 13th with my father. That too reminds me of my friend. Her birthday is also on the 13th, but in May, sometime near my birthday too.

Today is my best friend's housemate's birthday. I came over to their house again, and they had steamboat (no, not a boat which runs on steam, but a way of eating food, ie, putting raw food in a soup, and waiting for it to be cooked. I'm sure my fellow Malaysians know what I mean.) for dinner. Well, I had dinner before I left, so I wasn't that hungry when I arrived.

Back to my main point of writing this. You have to remember. My Fridays are the worst this term. FOUR hours of lectures STRAIGHT. Goodness! And guess what? 2 really boring and uninteresting lectures in between. Hahaha...

But this time, Linear Algebra (the 3rd lecture of the day) was by far the most interesting one since the start of term. My fellow classmates would know what I mean. Hahaha... Seriously. But my readers have to thank me for this. I took a picture of what I, no, not only me, WE all thought was REALLY REALLY funny! Have a look at this:





























See what's funny?? Remember my last post which I wrote about this lecturer? (Sorry, I editted the post again today, and now it does say more about other things. Pls do read it again!) HE'S WEARING SHORTS TODAY! OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

When he started talking, someone whistled at him, and we all laughed.... Seriously... Hahaha! I really can't get over it, man! It's a classic!

Soundtrack of the month

(Taken from the movie Perhaps Love)

Everybody's life is just like a movie. There are the main actors and actresses, and those who support them. Then there are some who just comes in unexpectedly for a while, and leaves the scene (better known as extras). Not to forget the director, the producer, etc. Without music and sound effects, they are nothing but plain works of art. Most importantly, it needs a title soundtrack.

Well, now, I see myself in a movie. I've already decided which is the best song that fits my movie perfectly. It's Stephanie Sun's "Tian Hei Hei". I was listening to it yesterday 'accidentally', and was humming to myself the lyrics in the bathroom. Suddenly, it struck me. It felt so much like my present self. The exact lyrics. I've never had such an experience like this, that a song could fit my feelings so much.

Thought of the day

The tar road, originally rough and bumpy, is smooth because of the rain yesterday. Walking down the pathway beside the road, also made of tar, and holding a duvet on my left with my friend helping me, and carrying another shopping bag on my right. They were walking on the pathway, easier to walk on and slippery but smooth. I chose to tread on muddy grass next to the pathway. It was hard to walk, which made my shoes muddy and dirty, and the mud sinks down everytime I move every step. Though I find it hard to walk, I continued walking...

Enter the mind of a thinker..

Two days have passed, and the first classes had been attended. Officially, the first week is over! Yippee! Seriously, it's as thought I'm counting down the days, even though the term has just started. It's more like mathematics now, I mean the modules this term. At least there're things that we're learning now that doesn't require us to prove so many things. Gosh! Well, except for the same old Analysis module, this time, Part 2. Haha! Boring! But wait.. There's more...

Well I was thinking of writing this on the day itself, and everything I write now are things that would happen to come across my head while listening to the lecture, and start to day dream, due to the massive boredom factor the lectures were emitting. This was Friday, 6th of January, my first ever day in Warwick which had 4 hours straight of lectures.

So first came the most boring class I've ever attended, well, just in Term 1, that's for sure. But here comes the really unexpected part. After I entered the lecture theatre, the room was really busy, as students from the previous class was seeking for help from their lecturer and students for this class were starting to fill the hall, and then I saw a guy fiddling with the OHP and checking the boards. At first I thought he was a student, but I was definitely wrong. When everybody settled down, he started talking. OMG. Someone so young teaching us this module this term?! It was so unbelievable. Someone wearing glasses, really good-looking (yes, as a guy, I think he really is good-looking), wearing really nice clothes, and someone who knows his stuff. He really knows how to teach! It really feels different with him teaching. I get to enjoy the module now, as his method of teaching is totally different from the geeky-looking spectacles-wearing professor who seems to talk to himself while he lectures. Argh, gets on my nerves.

Then comes Games and Decisions. We had to rush from the Maths building to the Arts Centre in 5-10 minutes to get there (and after this, we had to go back to the same lecture hall again for 2 more classes. what a waste of time!!). And guess what. It was an introduction to the module, and just a brief description of what we are going to learn. What the f***! Oh well. So I just sat there and started thinking, well, more like looking around the class. I realised there were a few prominant ones that I keep seeing in classes, but they just give me really weird impressions. Just like one who girl who's kinda short, but always (well, all the time I see her) wears a pink shirt/overall and a really big scarf. Then there's this one guy who I see is as bored as I was, but somehow was thinking about a lot of stuff, I guess. He was fidgetting with something while looking downwards towards his thighs. Whoa, he really knows how to look good in clothes. One tall guy too. He's Chinese. Hmm.. Then there was a bunch of girls from China who just can't separate themselves. They're so close with each other that, well, they can't sit somewhere else. Oh, they had a choice anyway. When one sits down in a seat of a row, the others just follow. Just like a mexican wave. And not to forget this guy, who I always see coming into a lecture (basically, ANY lecture) with a bottle of soft drinks, usually a 2-litre bottle of (Diet) Pepsi. I seriously think he hates water. Hello? Water isn't expensive?! Ah, and then there is the lecturer. One plump man who looks like he's talking to himself more than talking to the whole class. He looks at the ceiling while he talks, or looks at the presentation slides to see what he should be talking about. Just reminds me of my Maths teacher back in Senior High School. Hehe...

OK. So the class surprisingly started 10 mins later and ended 10 mins before. He's really funny, and furthurmore, he gave us a 5 minutes break in between his presentation. Haha...! Anyway, we rushed back for the remaining 2 lectures. This time, there was a test happening in the hall, so we had to wait for it to end before we could enter. But it took quite a while, and the lecturer could start at quarter pass 2, which is 10 mins after the time it should begin (classes should start 5 mins after time, and end 5 mins before time). The lecturer was quite angry for the delay, so was rushing through the whole section. Gosh. But I didn't even bother to copy down any notes, as he's basically teaching the same things as in the notes. No point. So I started to daze off again. I was looking how he was brushing to and fro on the ground, and trying to deliver some difficult concept or theorem to us. As I looked closely, he reminds me of someone. Of course! Leonardo da Vinci! Haha! Seriously. He has long hair, but a patch of baldness on top of his head. Alongside with the hair, he had a really long beard. Together with the things that come out of his mouth, he seriously looks like him. Haha! So now we have a Leonardo II teaching us. =P

Analysis again. It gets even more interesting. This time, I was thinking about something else the whole time, so I wasn't really paying full attention to the lecturer, but I managed to understand every single thing he taught. Not bad for a lecturer, aye?

Anyway, really tired now. I wanted to write this on the day itself, but I couldn't cuz I was really tired after 4 hours of lectures, and some stuff happened after that too. If it was written earlier, it would have been better, more expressive. =P Sorry! hehe.............

'Twas the night...

So here you have it. The pictures we took (If I'm not wrong, we took more than that..) on that night. Looks like we're really having fun right? Well, that wasn't considered fun. The aftermath of the party was fun, by the looks of it. I didn't go for it. If you wanna see the pics they took after the hang out, try linking to 'Eileen' to see what kinda fun I'm talking about. Too bad I didn't go..

Anyway, will update you with more pics next time. Nature's calling me now.. Tata!

Immunity

Have you ever had that time when someone tells you something, and suddenly, you just black out for a few seconds, making you feel insecure and maybe feel like breaking down and, worse, cry?

I've had that non-stop since last month. I hated it. Once in a while, it's ok. But not continuously as though I have not a single feeling for it anymore. Once again and again, it had never changed my point of view. I haven't gotten immuned to it. I don't know whether I will or not. Have I gone nuts? Not any chance. I want to, at least I won't have suffered so badly if I had gone nuts. But for those who knows me, I don't go insane that easily. I stay strong, no matter what happens. Or, do I? Well, considering all these times when I felt under the weather, I would just come to blogger, and start posting whatever is bothering me. So, is this my way of making myself feel better? As a matter of fact, it does help me feel better. One reason why I submitted so many posts these few days is because I have no one to talk to now, no one that I can express my feelings to.

I was wondering. If my friend comes back to UK, will everything be like how it used to be, or just like how it is now? I really feel like giving up. It's so weird. I'm quite confused. Remember I told you I went out for my friend's birthday hang out on the 30th? I felt so comfortable that day. I had so much fun talking to them; we were laughing, catching up on our lives, taking so many pictures like we're not gonna see each other for the rest of our life (haha!). But frankly speaking, even the things I didn't like about my friends long time ago, were all gone the other day. No grudges, no hatred, no nothing. I went with the flow. Felt much better after doing that.

On the other hand, someone who I just know for 2 years, and in such a short time, grown really close to each other, not in a sense of a relationship, but a friendship, to be exact. Someone I know I can trust, someone I know I can confide in, someone I know I can be comfortable with, is now someone who is totally the opposite of all the above. So my question is, does time really matter? Does anything else, no matter what they are, matter?

I admit, I am one complicated person, a fool. At one point in time, my friend who I knew in Warwick, said something about me. I quote: "u r indeed complicated. but at some pt, u r quite shallow. u r pessimistic. u think a lot. ur afraid. afraid of things. but u always tell urself to be brave and go ahead." Then I asked,"how did u notice?" She replied,"im a good observant. i dun say, but i observe and study a lot.... i conceal my true self very well...."

At one certain period, I have never thought about this conversation me and my friend had. But later on, which was just about a month ago, I started thinking about it. So does it mean to seal up all my feelings, and not care about my well-being, I can live a better life? Does it mean I have to put on a false façade everywhere I go, so that nobody can see through me? So that I won't let anyone see when I'm happy or sad? One thing's for sure, I can't do that. This is who I am. Didn't they say, "Be yourself"?

PS: Well, my friend did say somethings good about me. I quote,"u think of the future. u make plans. u care about other people. friends are important to u. and u care loads bout them, and u really feel for them." Just tells me that no matter what, I can carry these points with me wherever I go, and carry on with my life. =)

The last few days in Malaysia

So everything was a misunderstanding. I didn't expect the whole problem to end this way, although this is a happier ending. So guys, don't worry. I'm fine now. We've cleared up all our misunderstandings, and now still best of friends.

That happened on the 29th.

On the 30th, I was 'invited' to a birthday party. Sort of like a hang out. I attended it. I got there at about 5.10pm, and since it was still quite early, I walked around a bit. At 5.30pm, I called my friend, asking him where he was. Only then I met up with them. They were playing snooker, and I was there to chat with my friends, who I've never seen for such a long time. It felt.. nice. I mean, sometimes, it was quite difficult to talk to them, but then, I felt so much more relaxed when I was with them. We had dinner at Chili's. Damn, it was like a photo-taking session. 2 of my friends brought cameras, and some of us had a camera on our phone.

My best friend and I had a 'date' on that day again, so I rushed back by train so that I could make it on time. We went to have some desserts, which are impossible to find in UK. She had to leave at 10pm, but while she was sending me back home, she said she actually wanted me to follow her to a meet up later. Since I had not anything to do even if I went back, I agreed to follow her. It was a rendesvous at the 'mamak' with her high school friends. Well, since I knew all of her friends previously, I wasn't really left out, although I thought I would be. The events on the day, overall, were fun.

Then comes 31st. New Year's Eve. Due to somethings, I went out with my best friend for the whole day since 11am. We were out in BB: to the karaoke, to get my webcams (yes, now you can see me while I'm in UK =P), to countdown. At night, it was really crowded. We were trying to get out of Sungai Wang to Maybank which is nearby. It was horrible. People shoving and pushing. To make things worse, they were spraying party sprays and, worse, 'snow' sprays. We had to stick together. She told me that this happened on Christmas eve too, and if they see a couple, they wouldn't dare to spray on them. So we did the same. We had to hold hands 'visibly' so that they could leave us alone. Funny huh?

We couldn't stand the environment, so we decided to go to a cafe cum bar place in Starhill. The place was lovely. We had chats the whole night. I was being adventurous, so I wanted to try drinking tequila. Luckily, I didn't get drunk. Well, something happened at 12am, so I was left alone at my table to countdown by myself. It was depressing, but considering the atmosphere and the place, it wasn't that bad afterall. Well, it's ok.

Sorry if this post isn't at all that interesting. I just wanted to write down all these things so that I won't forget anything that happened these days. Sorry if my english isn't that good today, because I'm not really in a good mood (which was created by my mom). But, please to do leave comments! =)