Goodbye 2007! Hello 2008!

And the last day of 2007 is finally here, and here we are, welcoming in the new year at midnight tonight. It's been absolute ages since my last blogpost, mostly due to the fact that I was on holiday with my family and when I came back to Kuching, I was just too lazy to blog. Too lazy to sit down with my trusty sidekick El Laptop and type type type. But I'm back, at least for today, and it's time to get back to the normal blogging routine. I've got so much to say, some pictures from the vacation, but for today, I'll just focus on reviewing the past 12 months. I remember doing something like this last year too, so let's try to make it into an end-of-year tradition or something.

Esther's Significant Events of 2007:

January to April - This was the second semester of my sophomore year in Unimas, and it was also during this time that I started getting caught up with the Heroes craze.

May and June - A period of total bliss! The 2-month holidays for all Malaysian public universities started, thus marking the end of my sophomore year. I was quite busy, going for church events, having slumber parties with my buddies, catching movies at the local cinema, and overall having a good time.

July to October - I entered my third year of TESL studies in Unimas. This semester was probably the most hectic and busy semester I've ever had. But we managed to pull it all off - crazy assignments, so-hard-you-can-cry exams, and the play production. The play was especially important, as I wrote the script and directed a group of 45 coursemates. This semester was also a special one for my debating experience. I was part of the Unimas A team that won the Yayasan Sarawak World Style English Debate Competition 2007, and it was a thrilling and memorable journey. We helped create history by becoming the first institution to win the championship trophy three years in a row. In the finals of the debate competition, our team was the Closing Opposition, and I spoke in the position of the Opposition Whip. I also won the Public Speaking Competition, also organised by Yayasan Sarawak. We made the news in 6 local newspapers, and to this day the memory of winning still makes me smile. Heroes Season 2 also aired in the USA, and I spent a lot of time and energy (not to mention disc space!) on each precious episode.

November - Holidays again! Went to Hornbill Steamboat twice, the first with some coursemates to celebrate the end of exams, and secondly with triSh and Vivian.

December - The best family vacation ever! 8 crazy days of shopping and walking and eating and laughing and touring the fabulous night lights of KL! I also turned one year older (horror of horrors, I'm 22!), and of course, beautiful Christmas! A new shopping mall called Boulevard opened, and for the first week of its opening it seemed like the whole of Kuching was concentrated into that one building! Traffic jams all over!

And there you have it. Memories of another year fading into a few pages of diary paper. In a matter of hours it'll be 2008, and the entire cycle begins again. It's funny how time flies by so quickly. Almost like blinking and realising the traffic light has turned green and all the cars are zooming past you. But anyway, below is another list to add to my blog!

In 2007, I discovered...

• Heroes
• Adrian Pasdar
• Bleach
• Cecelia Ahern
• that flowers can make me smile
• that I am a 'romantic sentimentalist'
• that dried roses are still very beautiful
• that I still can't finish reading Tolkien's LOTR
• there's nothing like a cup of hot tea on a cold rainy day
• an icy cold can of Coca-Cola is also really good
• I still like instant noodles
• spicy Korean noodles
• KimGary restaurant in Midvalley Megamall
• Shakey's Pizza serve pretty good pasta
• I never get bored of pasta
• I cook really good creamy mushroom soup
• DoTa
• the digital camera is a blogger's best friend
• you can debate in your T-shirt and jeans and still win
• "On The Street Where You Live"
• Facebook
• sloths are beautiful creatures
• kedondong juice
• belachan goes very well with kedondong slices
• that if you talk/eat too fast, you might bite yourself and get a terrible ulcer at the very spot in your left cheek where your upper and lower molars meet
• that if you smile suddenly in an air-conditioned room, your lips might crack
• cracked lips are painful
• that the colours pink and purple are really pretty
• that I get a headache at night if I don't take a nap in the afternoon
• too much sleep will kill me
• too much shopping will kill me
• too much Cola still hasn't killed me
• the words "empath", "cryokinesis", and "yatta"... all thanks to the Heroes obsession
• you always feels safer when you're holding a torchlight
• I still like little stuffed toys
• sometimes the simplest things are the ones that make you happy

And this is it, people! The end of 2007, the beginning of 2008! I can't believe this past year has flown by so fast! Too fast, almost. But then again, there's always tomorrow to look forward to! See you next year! Cheers!

I don't get it!

Very serious WARNING: Big time Heroes Season 2 spoilers ahead! Skip this blog entry (seriously!) if you don't want to have your fun spoiled by knowing what happens next.


"Why does Nathan always die at the end of each volume?"

Not that I'm saying he's dead yet. But I've just finished the entire Volume 2 of Heroes fame, and I'm left devastated and heartbroken... again. Those of you who've been reading my blog long enough know how crazy I am over the entire Heroes franchise. And that my favourite character (the ultimate favourite over the other favourites) is Nathan Petrelli, aka the Flying Politician. What happened at the end of Season 1 (and thus Volume 1) was this: Peter, unable to control his powers, was about to destroy the New York city, and everyone saw only one way to save New York - kill Peter by planting a bullet through his head. So Claire raised that gun, crying and shivering (Peter was her darling uncle after all), and Peter closed his eyes, ready to die... Until his brother Nathan came swooping down from the skies above and promptly rescued the entire population of NY by flying Peter up into the skies, to explode in 'safety'. Of course, the only way this would end was with Nathan's death too, but he flew Peter up, and as the other heroes watched, the sky lit up with a nuclear explosion. And I was left heartbroken, because the writers of Heroes had killed off my two favourite characters, just like that. I remember staring at the black screen of my laptop for a few moments after that, completely shocked, and entirely devastated, almost to the point of hysterics. That was it. The end. No more Peter, and more importantly, no more Nathan. No more Nathan, no more fun. The end. Finito. Vamoose. Nada. Adieu, Nathan.

Or so I thought.

Season 2 opened in a mess. Everyone was everywhere, except Nathan. Nathan was nowhere to be seen. Until several moments later, when they revealed how he had escaped imminent death. After the explosion, Nathan was left to fall like a duck that had just been shot out of the skies, with the only exception that the duck didn't have half his body burned and blistered from the explosion. Then Peter came to the rescue, flying to catch Nathan before he hit the ground (Peter the Empath, remember?) and carrying him to a hospital. Many many many many episodes later, Nathan recovered (with a little help from Adam Monroe aka Takezo Kensei), and Esther was a very very happy girl.

And then Episode 11 Volume 2 had to happen. Nathan had to come and rescue his little brother (again!) from a big mess, succeeded in making Peter realize the errors of his ways (with a little help from Matt Parkman aka Telepathic Cop), Hiro Nakamura (aka Teleporter Extraordinaire) tackled the problem that was Adam Monroe, and all seemed well. Nathan, Peter, and Matt decided that the only way the could destroy the Company totally was to go public with their superpowers. And this is the part I don't understand. Nathan received two bullets in his chest just when he was about to say "I have the abil -- BANG BANG!" and we'll never know what he was about to say (although we can make a good guess) because Nathan crumpled into the arms of Peter, gasping for what seems to be his last few breaths on planet Earth.

And again, I am left thinking: "Oh NO! They can't do this! Not again! Not Nathan!"

Why? Why did it have to be him? Of course, I'm pretty certain the writers will think up some really cool way to make sure he survives, but can't they take some pity on a poor nearly-22-year old girl stuck in the pathetic island of Borneo? Can't they consider that maybe it's time Nathan was given a break? That maybe too many near-death experiences aren't really very healthy? That maybe Nathan has suffered a little too much already? So, to borrow and modify a few lines from the ancient Greek play Oedipus Rex (and the script to the same play), here's what I have to say:

"Spare Nathan! Let him live!"

And thus endeth Volume 2. Let Volume 3 begin!

A night out with my buddies!

So I finally managed to go to Hornbill Steamboat with my buddies tonight! Man, I've been wanting to go with triSh and Vivian for the longest of times, but somehow we never did go together... But tonight the three of us did manage to go! Our schedules were right (no exams, no uni, no work!), and our moolah reserves were quite alright too ($$!), so at about 7 pm we reached the place. It's a good thing we arrived when we did, because it was only a matter of minutes before the whole place got crawling with people. So we got a table situated a little further from the bustling crowd (somewhere near the exit), and we turned on the gas... I must say I've never gorged this much or this fast before. Heehee. We finally finished eating at about 8.45 pm, but no, the night was still, and definitely not over yet.

So we zoomed down to Everrise in town to browse a bit, then went to pick up Jenny (a good friend of ours from church) at about 9.30 pm. We then had our second dinner at one of the coffee shops at the Choice Daily area. Or rather, triSh and Vivian had their second dinners. I was just too bloated from all the fried sausages, nuggets, lamb, and soup (which triSh force-fed me with). We had a good chat, my friends had a good makan, and then we went on a little ride around Kuching to pick up some stuff and to pump some petrol. Then triSh and Vivian kindly sent me home at about 11 pm.

As usual, I didn't forget my trusty sidekick, Le Camera, and so here are some snaps of the night:

Evidence we're not alone - that's Vivian's hand on the left and trishie's hand on the right.

See the steam? Burn baby, burn! You can see what I'm cooking: nuggets and lamb!

Seafood galore! Crabs, prawns, and clams!

Some of the usual condiments that can be found in any usual steamboat eatery: crabsticks, fish cakes, fishballs, and more fishballs.

See Esther's plate. See Esther's food.

You know, all this while I thought I was a 'great' eater. And then tonight, my buddies snatched the title away from me. Part of their second dinner - some noodles in thick gravy or something.

Also part of their second dinner, barbequed chicken wings with chilli sauce. My friends can really eat.

It was definitely a great night spent hanging with my buddies, and yes, I would recommend doing it again, although I think my friends are quite sick of steamboat. Oh well. I'm sure I can convince them into a second round... Right?

Cheers!

Starbucks and Heroes

You know what it's like during the holidays, when everyday is the same cycle of events, and sometimes the only thing you look forward to in a week is that one day when you get to meet your friends and hang out. Well, last night was one of those. I hung out with some church friends at Starbucks. That's right - we hung out at the airport.

When I visit this kinda 'posh coffee' places, I do the unthinkable thing and order a non-coffee drink. Last night I ordered something called a chocolate chip cream, and man! It was fantastic! Delicious, with chunky bits of nuts, real chocolatey, with just the right amount of cream too! Just the way I like it. I realize sometimes that when I order a venti (re: the largest cup), I end up not being able to finish it, cos like sometimes you've had too much it just gets disgusting. But last night, my drink was tasty down to the very last drop... Ah. That's the sign of a good drink. The baristas serving us were a really friendly, funny bunch as well. Generous too. One of my friends walked off with a free pack of chips, and at the end of it all the same friend walked out with some exclusive Starbucks stickers. Really generous people, these Starbucks baristas.

Anyway, I ended last night by watching Heroes S02E09*, and I must say that this has been the best episode I've watched so far of Season 2. It was really intense from one moment to the next, and I found myself wishing that the episode wouldn't end. But of course it did. And here I am now, left impatiently waiting for Episode 10. The thing is it's quite hard to watch Heroes here. They're just beginning to air Season 1 this very week on tv3, but really it's quite pointless seeing how I've got the entire Season 1 anyway. What I want is Season 2, but even if they did air it, I don't think I'd watch it. Just too many things distracting from the actual storyline when it's on TV - sound quality, video quality, and worst of all, advertisements (the bane of all TV shows)! So yes, I end up downloading my Heroes intake, sometimes waiting up to a few hours for it to complete downloading. No pain, no gain.

And yes, I think that's it from me this time. Not good to have my blog readers pass out from pain.

Cheers!

*S02E09 = Season 2 Episode 9

101 Ways To Cook Instant Noodles

So like, most of you already know that I live a rather unhealthy lifestyle. Too much Coke, too little water, not enough vegies, too little exercise. Add to that equation a strange affinity for instant noodles, and you've got a recipe for disaster. Yes, instant noodles. Arguably the most unhealthy food on the planet, yet all of us have at one time or another resorted to swallowing down the junk. I have several friends who shudder at the thought of having to eat instant noodles, but mention "Maggi mee" and prepare to see my face light up with delight. Yes, I do seriously enjoy my Maggi mee, which is precisely what I had for lunch today. So anyway, since I'm quite 'known' for my ability to whip up a pretty decent Maggi mee meal, I'm gonna be a really nice person and share some of my cooking techniques with the whole wide world.

I think I hear triSh screaming.

I like the new Maggi mee, you know the Kari Letup version or something like that. It's supposed to be extra pedas, and yes, I do admit that it's a couple of notches tastier than the original curry flavour (the non-explosive one). Most people cook their Maggi mee the traditional way, as in they follow the directions on the back of the packet and measure out the correct amount of water needed. Some people even bring out their stopwatches. When you do this, you'll most obviously end up with the usual soupy noodles.

Like, wow. How fun. Soupy noodles.

I, on the other hand, am a connoiseur. I prefer to vent a little of my creative energy into the preparation of my Maggi mee. First off, I don't even use a lot of water to cook the noodles, so what happens is by the time the noodles are edible, there's really no soup whatsoever. I use 2 sachets of the soup flavouring, and yes, it does get a little salty, but hey, I like it that way. So where am I? Oh yes. Pop in an egg or two, but do what I do, and separate the yolk from the white. This next part is the most important part in producing that perfect Maggi mee: Do NOT cook the yolk. Yeah, that's right. I only cook the white, and I usually leave the yolk sitting comfortably at the bottom of an empty bowl. So you see, now you've got your noodles (not too soggy please, I like it al dente), your soup's all evaporated (what little of it, boiled to nothingness), and your little egg white floating in the pot, looking oh-so-tempting and tasty. Pour the whole mess into aforesaid bowl (remember, the one with the yolk floating at the bottom?), and the 'magic' of the whole thing is that the heat of the compressed noodles against the egg yolk will warm it, and the exterior will solidy, but the innards will be gooey and oozy and just nice. My parents have warned, scolded, and reprimanded me for eating the yolk 'raw' (dangers of salmonella poisoning), but I like to eat them this way. And yes, I usually spend a good couple of minutes in the toilet after one of these Maggi mee-raw egg combinations. Don't say I haven't warned you.

But today I cooked my lunch a little differently. Instead of putting in the entire contents of the 2 sachets of soup flavouring, I only put in 1 and a half, and poured the remaining half over the noodles after I'd transferred them from the pot to the bowl. And I cooked the yolk too. So it's a little more substantial, a little extra to savour. I remember though, a couple of years back, I used to shake some soy sauce over the noodles, which resulted in a dark, salty gravy. Yummy. And one of the reasons I enjoy going to KL is because you can have Maggi mee goreng, mamak-style! Fantastic stuff, really.

Well, I guess I better stop now. Not that I want to, but because I have to. All this talk of Maggi mee and raw salmonella-inflicting eggs is giving me a really bad stomach ache.

Cheers.

Cleaning up my table

Why is messing up so fun and easy to do, but cleaning up such a hassle and a chore? Yesterday, at about 4.30 pm, I finally decided to clean up my table. My table. Yeah right. Well, at least it's a start to cleaning up my entire room. So I started off by clearing up all the junk on my table (re: study notes that are now not needed), then I re-arranged all my pencils and pens into their respective jars/glasses. Then I decided, why not take it a little further, so I decided to wipe my table clean of grime and dust. But how? I had no rag on hand for it to be convenient. So I did the next best thing. I took my towel (the one I use when my current towel is in the wash), I splashed it with some water from some bottle, and cleaned. Gross eh? Well, I thought that wasn't good enough either, so I went to the bathroom and poured out some shampoo and facial wash onto the towel, and used that to clean the table. Then I spent quite a bit of time putting back all the items I'd removed (to make way for the cleaning and wiping), and when I'd finished the time read approximately 6.30 pm. And there you have it. More or less 2 hours to tidy up a small table. How long is it gonna take me to clean up my entire room? 2 weeks? And yes, for your entertainment, here are some before and after pictures of my table:

Before

During

After

You've gotta admit my table really looks quite good after the cleaning... So have I inspired you to do some winter cleaning yet? Cheers!

Life as sushi

These few days have been rather mundane, with only the food I eat to spice up my life (pun intended). These 3 or 4 days have been a food fest of sorts at my home, and I've been eating like mad. Like on Monday, we had home-made sushi! You guys should know, sushi is one of my favourite foods. Everytime we go to KL, we make it a point to buy lots (or loads if you prefer) of sushi. You can say that I was the one who introduced sushi-eating into the family. I went through a Japanese food craze (before my current Italian food craze) several years ago, and I remember buying sushi in KL, and literally force-feeding my family. At first, they weren't too keen on it, but the following year they were the ones hunting out sushi.

Talking about sushi, I can't help but look forward to my family trip to KL. It used to be an annual thing, but last year we couldn't make it. Which makes this year's all the more something to look forward to. Some of me dear blog readers probably come from West Malaysia, and they're prolly thinking right now: "Esther has gone nuts! What's there to see in KL?" I'll tell you what's there to see, and in a quick and convenient list! Which brings me to:

Esther's Top Reasons For Going To KL

staying in hotels - the life of luxury
Alor Street - great food in every stall
Midvalley Megamall - I can still get lost!
Nando's - the best chicken I've ever tasted
Marks & Spencer, especially the beauty section
MPH, Borders, Kinokuniya - books, books, books!
sitting in taxis with shopping bags blocking my sight
great mamak food (maggi mee goreng, extra pedas!)
hunting high and low for my Slam Dunk comic books
the fun of flying - takeoff, food (love it!), touchdown
specialty pasta shops (planning to try it this time)
the superb buffet breakfasts of aforesaid hotels
Chinatown - great bargains, food, and drinks
Ikea, for the shopping, the food, and fun
the bright lights of Bukit Bintang

Such a lot of things for me to look forward to, as you can see (or read). For me, it's looking forward your whole year to one spectacular holiday with your family.

It's saving up money, and not spending a dime (or a cent, in our case) on clothes and books and other frivolous stuff throughout the entire year, only to go on a spending spree and blow all your savings on the same clothes and books and other frivolous stuff in the span of a week.

It's about the food, all sorts of food that you really can't find here in Kuching, and even if you did find it, it just doesn't measure up, KL-style. Like mamak food, and sushi, and Penang char kuay teow, and roadsite porridge, and wantan noodles, and Nando's, and air mata kucing, and really I think I could go on for quite some time...

It's about not cleaning up your room, and leaving it in a complete tornado of a mess, only to arrive a few hours later at your very own hotel room, complete with complimentary welcome drink, and buffet breakfast, and having new bath towels each day, and messing up your room but having it magically cleaned up the next day.

It's about spending time with your family, searching for food, taxis, loose change, and the missing hotel room key, and queuing up in lines for food, and getting lost in the middle of a shopping complex. It's about making a list of items you wanna bring, and packing all these up into a suitcase, only to realise you've forgotten something so you mess up your already-packed suitcase only to find that missing something lying tranquilly at the bottom of your now messed up suitcase, and to begin the whole process all over again, before finally realising you can't get it out of your room cos the suitcase is wider than your door.

But mostly, it's about the memories.

Funny how a little sushi can spur the imagination. Onwards into the future! And with all that, I bid you adieu!

On pasta and double cheeseburgers

The long-and-eagerly-awaited holidays are finally here, and ironically enough, I think I might be more stressed out now than when I was in uni. There's just so many things to do, and I don't have enough time to do them all! I think Calvin (or Hobbes) summed it up best: "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want." Seriously, I have so many nothings to do! There's the late-night television programs, the Internet, I still need to clean up my room, play computer games, pack for the family trip, hang out with my buddies, read 19 more books... Argh! I just don't have enough time to do all these. I'm so stressed out.

I was really happy on Saturday night. I finally managed to have my double cheese carbonara for dinner, although it was a take-away dinner consumed only at 10 pm. But still, good stuff. I always pester (yes, I do believe that's the right word) my family and friends to go to this one stall in Peach Garden just so I can savour the culinary delights they have to offer. So far, the last three attempts to eat there have failed miserably. The first attempt was made together with my buddies triSh and Vivian, and they wanted to introduce me to this new stall also serving pasta, but I was determined to stick to my guns. I wanted my pasta from my stall, and I wanted it badly.

They weren't open.

The second attempt was made with my family. We frequent the area quite a bit, and I always have the same thing. So there I went, almost floating a few inches off the ground in anticipation of the delicious pasta dinner I was about to have.

They weren't open.

Saturday was my third attempt, and they were open. Only thing was, I wasn't there! Talk about situational irony... But I did tell my dad my dinner specifications, so I did manage to enjoy my double cheese carbonara (RM6, single cheese is RM5), although it was cold by the time I finally got to it. Sigh. Am currently impatiently counting down the days to my fourth (hopefully successful) attempt. Wanna wanna, triSh and Vivian?

Then last night, another of my culinary daydreams was fulfilled! I went to McDonald's! Weeeeeeee... Funny thing was last night was supposed to be my fourth attempt at having my pasta at Peach Garden, but we (triSh, Vivian, and I) ended up making a last minute detour to the welcoming arms of the Golden Arches... I ordered the double cheeseburger McValue Meal, which also came with a large Coke and large fries (upgrade!), and I succumbed to the temptations of TV advertisements and ordered a chocolate sundae. No chocolate though, so it was just plain ice-cream. So there we were, the three of us, sitting in the coldest corner of the restaurant, when I eagerly opened the wrappings of my double cheeseburger... Only to be rather disappointed. It was smaller and looked less appetizing than I remembered it. But oh well, it's still a double cheeseburger, and it's still from McDonald's, so yes I was quite contented. Chocolate for my ice-cream sundae would have made me happier I suppose. But yes, here are the pictures from my previous two dinners:

Double cheese carbonara... Slurp slurp.

Double cheeseburger looks good... When it's still in its wrapper.

Er... Yummy?

My chocolate sundae, sans chocolate.

Nothing like a large Coke to end dinner!

So there you have it... The lovely dinners I've had in the past two nights. Okay, that's it. Now I'm going back to Facebook-ing.

Cheers!

The horrors of holidays...

It is now precisely 9:19 a.m., and I haven't slept yet. Yup, I stayed up the whole night reading Wikipedia articles, and clicking the "Refresh" button on Facebook. Basically, I did nothing. My fingers are freezing up, my typing speed slowing down... Need sleep. Need rest. Good night everybody... Or rather, good morning.

Yaaaawn...

Off to a great start!

What a great way to start the holidays! I celebrated the end of exams for my third year, first semester by going to this really cool place in town called Hornbill Steamboat, which obviously is a steamboat restaurant. It's kinda something of a 'tradition' of sorts for my so-called gang in university (re: the circle of friends I hang out the most with in uni), and we kinda go into this sort of maniacal frenzy near the end of each semester. Like this semester, it was during class when one of us suddenly brought up the subject of celebrating the end of the semester, and this was followed by a rather animated discussion (more like drawing of lots) on where we should go to celebrate. Of course, we ended up settling for a steamboat feast, like the 2 semesters before this.

So I left for this steamboat place at approximately 6.50 p.m., and this time I didn't forget to bring my trusty sidekick - the digital camera! So yes, there are pictures to chronicle the evening!

First thing in a steamboat is making sure you have water. And to make sure that water is boiling. Like no fire means no boiling water. No boiling water means cannot cook anything. Cannot cook anything means no food. No food means not good. And yes, also make sure you have some ice cold drinks (with plenty of ice). Especially useful when scorching oil splashes onto your skin. Trust me.



My friends seem to have really interesting ways of making sure the water is hot. This is what they call "first hand experience" and "hands-on training". This is where the aforementioned ice comes in handy, too.



One of the reasons why my friends and I always return to the same steamboat place is because they really do have a wide variety of food items. In the picture below is just part of what we had to choose from. Personally, I always aim for the marinated lamb and the prawns (bottom left). I like to grill the prawns with butter, salt and pepper - my very own version of butter prawns, ala steamboat! And of course, there's always the usual condiments of vege, nuggets, sausages, crab sticks, fish, chicken, cuttlefish, fishballs, meat rolls, and even ice-cream! No pics of the ice-cream though. As you can see, I have two pairs of chopsticks. Why? Because a friend of mine once told me that you shouldn't use the same chopsticks you use for cooking (re: poking at the fire) for eating.



Part of the fun of steamboat outings is the squealing and yelling when the hot oil sizzles and pops. Here you can see how we cook our food. I'm cooking the nuggets and the clams. Slurp slurp. Feeling hungry yet?



And yes, the main purpose of going for a steamboat dinner is of course the steamboat itself, though I tend to focus my energy on the grilling part (can you call that grilling?)... I usually leave the soup part to my friends. They're much better cooks than I am. Especially when the food is supposed to be eaten. Teehee!



A close-up of my nuggets and clams... Sizzling, frying, the aroma of frying butter wafting up your nostrils and sticking to your clothes, hair, skin, blah blah blah... You can also see what my friends were cooking - some juicy morsels of meat (left) and a dim sum (that's what the green thing is) peeking out on the right.



So there you have it, one of the best ways to kickstart the holidays, and a tradition that has been observed for the past two years or so. Me and my friends split the bill four ways, so each of us paid RM21.50, which is really not bad for a great night out with friends! Nothing better than coming away with a little souvenir or two - burns and blisters!

Cheers!

Freedom, after a week and a half!

Finally! Freedom after 8 gruelling days of facing books, lecture notes, and exam papers. I know 8 days don't seem like much, but seriously, it's hampering to a slacker like myself. And in this age of technology, where all assignments and miscellaneous works are completed by laptop, it really is very strange to have to hold a pen again, and 2 hours straight some more... Waaaah. I'm so glad my holidays (the official one, not the self-declared study break one) are finally here. Now I can literally sleep the whole day and not bother a whit about exams and stuff.

The first thing I did when I came home was switch on the idiot box. Then hunt out lunch, which was pizza! Muahahahaha! What a great way to kickstart the holidays. Then I took a nap (if 3 hours of dead-log sleep can be considered that), and started surfing the 'Net! Ah... The wonders of the Internet (especially if you haven't been online in 1 week)...

So what am I going to do these holidays? Although, really, I'm quite disappointed that it's so short - just a mere 45 days! That's not enough for the average undergraduate! Anyway, my holiday plans are as follows: blog, sleep, eat, watch TV, go crazy online, prepare for family trip, go on holiday trip, have Christmas celebrations, catch up on Bleach and Slam Dunk episodes on Youtube, blog + eat + sleep some more, etc. And yes, I have to finish reading 20 books by Dec 31, just so I can proudly say I read 50 books this year. And maybe I better clean my room up a bit too. It was actually really clean pre-exams (I had nothing to do one day during study break so I went on a 2-hour cleaning frenzy), but during the 8 days of exams I kinda went wild, flinging books and lecture notes here and there. So yeah, that means some spring cleaning for me, although really I think it's closer to winter than spring.

Anyway, that's it from me this time around. Cheers you all, and happy holidays!

Clock is tickin' but I'm still playin'!

The time for exams is drawing near, it's just next week (horror of horrors!), and I know I should be studying, or at least trying to study, or at the very least of the very least trying to try to study, but somehow I just can't bring myself to do it. I've learnt from past mistakes that it really doesn't do to cram one night or even two before the paper - it wreaks havoc on your brain and body - but knowing this, I still can't force myself to study. I just can't help it. It's just too much fun lazing around. Too much fun doing nothing. It's what I do best, y'know... Doing nothing. But then again, come to think of it, at least I'm doing something... I mean, thinking about studying is something, isn't it?

Muahahahaha!

And yes, I suppose while I'm at it, I might as well explain some relatively new 'features' on my blog. If you were to look at the top of this page, you'd see the words "Currently Obsessed With" on the upper left hand corner, followed by a list of things. These are the TV programmes, websites, comics, cartoons, things, objects, books, etc that I'm currently obsessed with, i.e. I spend the most time on currently. Will be updated really regularly. My interest in stuff shifts almost as fast as the weather. Then scroll down some more, and you'd probably see the word "Links", which really is self-explanatory. Just links to miscellaneous sites that you should surf only if you have nothing left to do, or you're dying from boredom, or just out of plain curiosity.

And I suppose that's it this time. If you don't hear from me after this, don't worry, I'm fine. I'll just be in the midst of thinking about studying... And maybe I might even start studying. But that's just maybe.

Cheers!

Blergh!

So last night started out great. I spent my evening watching this new Korean drama on tv2 called Spring Waltz, and then continued that with Wars of In-Laws. Then I switched stations, from the TV to the Internet, and I spent more or less the entire night doing my usual round: Facebook, Friendster, Multiply, my email account, Yahoo! and MSN messengers, and of course, Youtube (strictly for Bleach).

And then it hit me.

At about 2 in the morning, my stomache started to burn. It felt like acid was being poured into my intestines. Okay, so that's apparently what gastric is. Yes, I had gastric, or so I thought. So I did nothing, thinking it'll go away on its own. It didn't. I switched on the TV, watched some Malaysian Mandarin drama, and ate a bun, thinking maybe that would help alleviate my gastric. It didn't. So about 5 minutes after wolloping off the bun, I took 2 Actal tablets. It supposedly helps to relieve gastric, heartburn, blah blah blah. Instead of feeling better, I felt worse. I started feeling faint. And then the thought struck me. I wasn't suffering from gastric...

It was food poisoning!

This might sound strange, but I actually consider myself an expert on food poisoning. Now don't get me wrong, it's not like I go around town poisoning people with my food. No. When I claim expertise on food poisoning, it's because I've personally suffered more than enough food poisonings to recognise the sign and symptoms of it. In fact, I've gotten so used to food poisoning that I can usually recognise it within a few minutes of eating the 'poisoned' food. So last night was really a shocker for me. I had food poisoning like, 8 hours after dinner! That's why I didn't recognise it as food poisoning.

And that's why I ended up vomiting the contents of my dinner into the toilet bowl at 2.30 a.m. I ended up feeling like I was gonna drop down in a dead faint at any moment. Ended up going to sleep at 3 a.m., curled up like some injured animal about to puke out its own innards.

But yes, I'm fine now. After 11 hours of sleep, fine as any food poisoning survivor can be. And now I've learnt my lesson:

My stomache takes 8 hours to process whatever food I've eaten, good or bad.

Interesting...

And cheers!

Hmmmm...

Well, it's officially into the second week (or is it the third?) of my study break, and no, I haven't started studying yet. In fact, I know this is gonna shock some of you guys reading this, but I don't even know what my first exam is supposed to be, neither when it's supposed to take place. Yeah yeah, I know it makes me sound really careless and lazy, but really, there's still time to worry about exams. Like, I'll start worrying the night before or something. But for now, it's a life of leisure!

So what exactly have I been doing lately?

Well, it's the same old same old every study break. Sleep late, wake up late, blah blah blah... Like today, for instance. Okay, let's start from yesterday evening. Yesterday, at about 7 p.m., I came online and blogged and surfed the Net. The usual sites I visit are Facebook, Friendster, and Youtube. What do I watch on Youtube? Well, I seem to have developed a sudden liking to this certain anime called Bleach. Okay, so maybe it's not that sudden, but you see, it's been airing on tv3 on Sunday nights, like about midnight, and usually I have classes early the next day, so really I couldn't afford to watch it on TV. I tried to watch some, but you know the story lar... Once you miss one episode, you really struggle to understand what's going on in the subsequent episodes. So with all this free time on my hands, I decided to 'catch up' with Bleach through Youtube. And yes, I admit I'm quite addicted to the anime. It's pretty good, really. My fave character is Chad, aka Yasutora Sado! You can see a pic of Chad on the left! And yes, Kurosaki Ichigo is really a fun character to watch as well. But anyway, enough about Bleach. You guys can check it out on your own... I usually stay online until about 2 or 3 in the morning, and what I do is this: I open up, like, 12 Internet Explorer windows, and all of them are loading Bleach episodes. I don't watch it immediately, mind you, rather I wait until they're all loaded, then I go offline and watch it at my own leisure, in the comforts of my own room. This video-watching session usually lasts until the wee hours of the morning, say around 4 to 5 a.m. The latest (or earliest, depends how you see it) I've ever gone is pass 6 a.m. Then after all that, I go to sleep. Of course, when the Heroes episodes come out, I download and watch that.

So anyway, this morning I woke up at about 1 p.m. I watched a little TV, ate some lunch, and went back to my room. There, I spent 4 hours straight reading The Barbed Coil, this great fantasy cum adventure-set-in-a-strange-world novel written by J.V. Jones. Then at about 6 p.m., I came down to watch more TV and yes, dinner too. These days, I eagerly wait for the clock to reach 7 p.m., cos this is when Wars of In-Laws comes on, and I watch this till 8 p.m. every day. Then since it's Monday, I watched CSI:NY at 8.30 p.m. I even cooked myself some creamy potato soup to accompany my couch potato ways. No pun intended. Then at 9.30 p.m., I brought down my laptop, and yes, the entire circle starts again.

That's how my life is these days. It might sound boring to you, maybe even monotonous, but you know what?

I'm enjoying every single minute.

Cheers!

100th Blog Entry!

Would you believe it? I've finally reached my one hundredth blog entry! Hurrah! And to 'celebrate' this momentous occasion, I'm gonna blog about something that I like... A lot.

Heroes Season 2!

For those of you who don't already know, the first episode of Season 2 aired in the US on September the 24th. For us stuck here, it's really a sad story. Personally, I've to wait hours and sometimes days just to download, bit by bit, each episode as it comes out. So yeah, it's really a journey each week, to have to wait patiently just to watch an hour's worth of good stuff. But really, in the end it's worth all the wait...

So what do we have in this season? (Warning: Spoilers ahead!) Well, let's have a brief recap of Season 1 first. Last season, we saw different people around the globe suddenly developing super powers. Last season's focus were on characters like Peter Petrelli, Nathan Petrelli, Hiro Nakamura, Isaac Mendez, Matt Parkman, Mohinder, Claire Bennett, a whole bunch of other heroes, and the villain Sylar. Basically, everyone's trying to save the world from an explosion, which they thought would be set off by Sylar, but gave a twist when we discovered that Peter was the one who was gonna blow up New York. So then Nathan swoops in from the skies and flies Peter off into the sky and bang! Explosion. End of Season 1.

Now Season 2, so far there's been 4 episodes, and I finally caught up with all of them a few days ago. So what's going on? What's the new news? The scene opens with the Bennetts' relocation to Costa Verde - new home, new school, new job, new identity. Sylar has apparently lost all his powers, and Peter has lost his memory of who and what he is. And both of them are stuck in remote areas of the globe. Peter's in Ireland, and Sylar's somewhere in Mexico. Hiro, meanwhile, is stuck in 17th century Japan, trying to make the legendary Takezo Kensei the legend that he's supposed to be. Most of the heroes are somewhat estranged from their families and their old lives, and we also get to meet a whole bunch of new heroes. Can I say that they've also increased the number of good looking guys on the series? *grin* But on a more serious note, I must admit that I feel slightly disappointed with Season 2. I guess it's unavoidable, especially when a preceding season has been so fantastic, and the way I see it, that's how it is with Heroes. Because Season 1 was so good, Season 2 has so much to live up to, and somehow I feel Season 2 has kinda lost some of the explosion and that certain something that Season 1 really had. I just can't describe it, really. It's just something about Season 1 that kinda keeps you rooted to your seat, with bated breath, wondering what's gonna happen next. Not quite so with Season 2. At times I found it a little draggy... But I don't know, maybe it's just me. I admit I was kinda expecting something a little more breath-taking, and I guess that's why I'm somewhat disappointed. But I still really do love the show. It's simply the best show there is right now. And may I say that I just can't wait for Episode 5 to come out tomorrow? Teehee!

So like, anyway, here are some pics I took off the official Heroes website. And just some comments I thought I'd add to 'spice up' the pictures. LoL!






Poor Hiro got stuck in 17th century Japan... Funny how they didn't just shoot him on the spot. Wearing jeans was considered a crime in ancient Japan.









And they decided to do a few makeovers too. Mohinder got a haircut...













While Nathan grew a beard. I was really relieved when he shaved it all off an episode later...










Then, of course, they gave Claire a love interest in the form of her new classmate, West. I'm sure his ability to fly has absolutely nothing to do with their chemistry.





And here are two other new heroes introduced in Season 2, twins Maya and Alejandro. Don't worry. He actually looks much better after he cleans the mud off his face.


And that marks the end of this blog entry... It's been a long and fun journey blogging all this while, and here's hoping my readers don't die from Premature Boredom Syndrome...

Happy 100th Blog Entry to me!

Cheers!

Music to my ears...

So like, I was wondering what to blog about today... Not that I don't have any ideas, I'm just keeping the best for tomorrow, teehee! So for today's blog entry, I'm gonna write about something that's very close to my heart - MUSIC! Yeah, I know it's something that's close to everyone's heart, but seriously I do love it. I like playing it, studying it, listening to it... But today, I'm just gonna talk about the singers who make my heart jump. It could be that certain something in their voices, or a certain word or phrase in the song, or just a lovely riff or chord... Just anything that makes me love that song or singer! Enjoy!

This here is Patrizio Buanne. What can I say about him? I like his voice, I really do. It's one of those deep, classical types. You know, the macho types, not the girly voices that some male singers have these days. Patrizio Buanne reminds me of the good ole days of music, when men still dressed in tuxes and knew the art of chivalry and charm. Oh he has a lot of charm alright. His songs are all love songs, and since he's Italian, most of his songs are Italian songs, and yes, Italian really sounds good on song. My favourite songs include Credi In Te, Only You, Forever Begins Tonight, On An Evening In Roma, Alta Marea, and seriously I think I could list down all his songs here. But I'll stop. And hopefully you'll try listening to his songs and see what I see (and hear) in his songs.

The Goo Goo Dolls have some really great songs too. I like their sound, the same way I like songs by Lifehouse and The Calling. One big factor is definitely the voice. I like the rough and gruff sound, I find it strangely... Heart-wrenching. Especially when it comes to slow, sentimental songs. Like, if you don't know what I mean, take a listen to The Calling's Wherever You Will Go and Lifehouse's You And Me. And when it comes to the Goo Goo Dolls, who can leave out such hits like I'll Be and Iris? And have you guys listened to Name? Man, those are really some great songs. Stay With You is a really sweet song too. And yes, I think it's really ironic that all this tough-looking men - the type who look like they could beat you to a bloody pulp if you look at them the wrong way - can actually come up with some of the most romantic and sentimental songs on the market. Ironic indeed, but I'm not complaining. Not one bit.

And this is Teitur. I know most of you are probably going "Who?" right now, but that's okay, I kinda expected that. Okay, just a quick intro. RealPlayer says that he specializes in "dreamy, slightly sad songs" and that he "spent the first 17 years of his life on the Faroe Islands (between Britain and Scandinavia)". Right. Well, I remember the first time I heard one of his songs, One And Only, was when I was watching this movie called Aquamarine with my friends, and there was this scene where the mermaid girl was dancing with the guy, and it was all really sweet and all, and then this song came on and I was literally blown away. Seriously, that song is really sweet. One of the lines in the chorus goes "Do you want to be my one and only love?" and like come on, with a line like that you're bound to melt the hearts of like a million girls (and maybe some guys too). If you like folk music, you might like Teitur. His guitar is the anchor of most of his songs, and yeah RealPlayer's right. His songs do sound rather sad, but I think that just adds to its beauty.

And who doesn't know Ronan Keating,the ex-Boyzone member who successfully launched his own solo career. I like his songs mainly for their feel-good factor, and really, some of his songs are quite good. They were times when I couldn't get Lovin' Each Day and I Love It When We Do out of my head, they're that catchy. And some of his ballads are some of the best I've heard, like To Be Loved and It's So Easy Lovin' You. Always pleasant to the ears, and with some pretty good lyrics, yeah Ronan Keating's songs are quite good.

And then there's Daniel Bedingfield. Now I can't help but feel that Daniel Bedingfield has one of the most heart-wrenching voices in the music industry. And have you listened carefully to his lyrics? Man, his songs are positively sentimental! My favourite songs of his are Never Gonna Leave Your Side, If You're Not The One, Without The Girl, and Girlfriend, just to name a few. It's just something about his songs. He has some of the most creative rhythms I've heard in quite a long time, and his use of sound effects is just simply superb. Take a listen to Never Gonna Leave Your Side... I can almost hear the wind blowing and the seagulls calling! It's simply beautiful!

And how could I leave out Howie Day? I like his song Collide so much that I actually put a video of it onto my Friendster site. And yes, it's the song that you hear everytime you enter my blog! I just don't know how to describe it. I know you guys are probably really sick and bored of the song now, but hey, I still remember the first time I heard it on the radio. And it still makes me smile everytime I listen to it, even to this very day. What can I say? I think it's his voice. There's so much emotion in his voice. Remember what I said earlier about macho voices? Yeah, Howie Day has a great voice! His lyrics are really something too - some of my favourite lines are "Even the best fall down sometime... Even the stars refuse to shine..." - it's so beautiful. I've listened to a few of his other songs, and they're great too, but I must say that Collide still remains my personal favourite. I just can't describe it here... You'll prolly have to ask me in person, and yes, be prepared to hear me talk for about an hour or so. That's how much I like this song.

I think you guys know the feeling. The way the opening chords of a song can put a smile on your face, or when you're looking out into the rain and a certain song comes on, and your heart just aches. Many people call it the magic of music, but I like to think that we somehow weave our lives and memories around music. It's kinda like, when you suddenly hear a song out of the blue, and suddenly you are taken backwards through time, back into the days when you were still a child. So call it what you want, but I'm sure you all agree that music is definitely just one of those things in live that you learn to love and appreciate.

Cheers!

Updates!

So finally it's the study break (yippee!) and finally, I got my lazy self to finally sit down in front of the laptop and start typing. I find it really ironic. You would think with the holidays (read: study break) around and all, I'd actually have more time to spend on blogging. The irony of the situation is I find myself even more busy than usual, spending my time on other things (read: the idiot box). Which is why I find it so difficult to come online. Just... Got distracted. That's all.

So anyway, I know some of you are waiting to read about what happened during the night of the play production. I really don't have to say much, I'm sure you've heard some news or other. Anyway, to cut a long story short, all went well, we pulled it off, we're all happy it's over, but rather sad at the same time I guess. I did feel a little wee bit sad that it was all over, y'know, that this was more or less the end of this really 'major' play production. Like, how many people actually get the chance to be part of something like this, right? And the job of screaming and directing other people sure has its kicks. Teehee! So right, onwards with the story. On that Friday morning almost two weeks ago (for those of you who didn't know, the actual staging of the play was on Friday the 5th of October), we had our final rehearsal, and at about 12.30 p.m. we stopped for some rest. I returned to uni at about 6.30 p.m., and from there on out it was really a mad race against the clock. I didn't even have time for dinner! Mostly, we were all running around like headless chickens, trying to put makeup on everyone. At about, oh I think it was around 9 p.m., I gave my group a peptalk of sorts, telling them the usual things you tell to a bunch of really nervous people. After that, we waited for a while, and then at about 9.30 p.m. our actual play started. Man, was I nervous sitting there with the audience. My group did well, I was really proud of all of them for really pulling it off. Here are some pics to actually help with your visual imagination and all:

The picture above was taken during one of the earlier practices. You can tell it was one of the earlier practices because everyone's still holding their scripts... Teehee! The picture below was taken on the actual day of the play production, that is, on Friday morning itself while we were all rushing to do lotsa things like props and costumes. This is the group of really talented people who were doing all those things. Everything from decorating the backdrop to sewing, to making signs and making a really cool 'throne' out of a normal chair.

The two pictures below are evidences of what happens when you need trees that can walk and talk... You get people to become trees! Complete with 'howling wind' and 'choking' sound effects...

Now this pic below with all the red light is a pic taken of our last rehearsal. You can see the Sphinx, pretending to die on the floor after her Riddle is answered. You can see Oedipus, agreeing to be the King of Thebes after he sees the beautiful Queen Iocasta. And yes, you can see the wild and barbaric Tribal Thebans too... They sure look vicious with all those sticks and branches in their hands... Run, Forest, run! Ahem. Pun intended.

This picture below is of Oedipus and the ever-popular Creon (some people call him Theban Idol)... A scene where they show their brotherly love, complete with secret handshake. You can also see Iocasta sitting on the throne, and her Maid too.

This pic below is one of those dramatic scenes from the play. Oedipus tries to get to the bottom of the mystery of Laius' death by threatening - Ahem. No no, I mean questioning Teiresias the Seer. We gave it a little Malaysian taste by making him a bomoh though... Complete with smoking bowl and all...

Was really proud of my Chorus, who you can see in the picture below. Look at them! That was a dramatic scene alright! We dressed them up in black cloaks, and that night they wore black pants and tops too, so it was really interesting. Here you can see them pleading for the life of Creon.

Ah... Here in the sepia-coloured picture below, you can see my pride and joy... The Octet! Of course, I know octet means eight, but what started as eight soon bloomed to include eleven people. Who, are rather what are they? They're the a capella group created to fill in the er, intermission while our Props Team changed the deco, backdrop, stage, etc. They sung two songs, Stand By Me and Beautiful Girls. First got the idea when I realised the two songs share the same bass riff. LoL! One of my fondest memories of the play was when the audience literally roared when the Octet switched from Stand By Me to Beautiful Girls... So proud of them!

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take any pictures of the actual play production that night itself. Sad but true. But that's not the end of the story. The biggest shock for me came at the very end of the play, after the actors got up and formed a line on the stage. I kinda expected they were gonna take a bow, and I admit I was ready to join them, until they suddenly called me up and presented me with a bouquet of flowers... Flowers! With real roses in them! I was so touched... I don't think I've received a bouquet of flowers from anyone before, and for it to come from not just one person, but 63 (or 64, I can't remember) people! Now that, my friends, is indeed a beautiful memory to hold on to... Until my golden years. Sniff!

To any of my groupmates from Group II Oed Rex 2007, if you're reading this:

"Thanks for the memories!"

It's been a great journey, a great mission, but it was all worth it in the end! Cheers!

Two more weeks to go...

... to study break! Am so looking forward to the study break this time. Yeah, I know study breaks were meant for us to study, but we've got one whole freakin' month off! Like, you really can't expect us to swot at our desks for the entire month? Definitely not! I know I am gonna slack off the first 3 weeks and a half, spend 2 days telling myself I need to start studying, spend another day searching for all my notes, and spend the night before the exam in a mad panic scramble to try to cram everything into my brain. That's the pattern that's been repeating for the past 4 semesters. It's even become somewhat like a semesterly tradition of sorts... Teehee!

Any of you out there go on Facebook? If you do, go and add me as your friend lar... If you don't, go sign up for an account and look for me! I've been addicted to Facebook for the past two days!

Tomorrow is Monday (well, duh!) and I have to hand in 3 assignments, one of which also requires us to give a presentation. I just managed to print out everything just now at about 6 p.m. which is really quite worrying. Why? Cos my printer suddenly spat out this notification on my computer screen saying that the black ink was low... Wah! My heart almost stopped! So frightened that it'll totally run out of ink before I'd finished all the printing. But it didn't stop... Phew! Managed to print everything out. But I still haven't stapled it together... It's just too thick. So I'll just wait till tomorrow. Quite worried about the presentation tomorrow. None of us really know what to do... So I guess we'll just play it by ear tomorrow...

It's also the last 5 days leading up to the staging of the play... It'll be on this Friday night, at the Experimental Theatre, East (Old) Campus, UNIMAS. I think it'll start at about 8 p.m., but be there by 7.30 p.m. if you wanna catch it.

So am I glad that the lectures are almost over? Am I glad that the play production is drawing to a close? Am I glad that study break is almost here? Am I glad that I don't have to stay up in college next sem?

DEFINITELY!

Cheers!

Facebook!

And all this while I thought Friendster was like the best when it came to social networking on the Internet... Until today, that is, when I finally decided to satisfy my curiosity and find out what this Facebook thingy is all about. Am pleasantly surprised to find that it's actually more convenient than Friendster. Well in certain aspects lar... Not really gonna blog much today, just a short one this time. Just too busy to blog these days...

Cheers!