Behind Being Hot & Cold

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!! (SNAKE YEAR!!!)

Considering that it's currently Chinese New Year, you would expect me to be sweating right now, what with all the sunlight and all the firecrackers and "bai-nian"ing and mahjonging and stuff.

Well, no. In fact, quite the opposite. Why, just two days ago I was so cold, there was snow on my coat, which I wore outside my hoodie, which I wore outside my long sleeved T-shirt, which I wore outside my singlet.

That's right, folks. The Jian is NOT in Malaysia, and it's winter where he is.

And even through all these layers, the chill still manages to slip in and stab its cold blade between my ribs. BRRRR!

Why am I in cold cold London, you may ask, when my family is enjoying Chinese New Year festivities back home? (Which I must say gets quieter and quieter each year. Hey, even my cousin in London sez that!)

Two words:

UNIVERSITY INTERVIEWS

Yep. I'm spending my time here for the sake of my future. The things I do to get into med school...

Apparently the med schools I'm applying to do not conduct Skype interviews or have representatives in Malaysia, only personal, real, face-to-face interviews. So 14 hours of sitting in an airplane later, and after 20 minutes per interview, here I am, looking forward for another 14 hours of flight time.

Which is ridonkulous. Simple calculation: 28 hours of useless flight time two ways for a "productive" 20 minute interview. That's like expecting me to have an efficiency of 1/84 (a little over 1%). Really? You expect us to use our time like that and somehow manage to research the cure for cancer/Parkinson's/the next big thingmajig? I expected better of you!!

Well, all of us do take time for granted. Going about with our business, praying for money/fame/love (which I still am), watching the seasons go by. Next thing you know....

Everyone's looking to the past, half of them's looking to the future, but no one's living in the now, and they're wasting my presents! C'mon, people! You Only Live Once:

Flying so often is scary.....

So, Imma hoard my time. Probably bury it underground if possible. If not, I'll spend it the best I can. I resolve not to waste the time of others too. Its not up to me what they would do with their 86,400 seconds a day, but it'll be evil to rob them of it.

Running thru time

Okay, I think that's 5 minutes of your time and an hour of mine wasted. Imma go and do something productive and prepare for college. It's starting soon, y'know. Cya!

P.S. Everyone knows that we have dastardly little time for doing the things we wanna do, but couldn't afford the time. So I officially announce the coming of....

work  in progress

For all your unfinished posts' needs!

work no longer in progress

Behind 2013... so far

2013.... What's new, eh? Only thing great about this year is that the world didn't end last year. Other than that, I guess everything is pretty normal.

Right about now I guess everyone in Malaysia is talking about the upcoming elections, probably in March/April. But why are they making such a big fuss over it? I mean, c'mon. The world's being slowly baked in an oven. UV radiation's hitting everyone because they can. Children are poofing everywhere. The dolphins are probably gonna poof themselves, along with some other fishes.

And everyone in the world is generally getting unhappy over the movement of pieces of paper, and over whomever who gets to control the movements of the pieces of paper. It's kinda funny since it's not the pieces of paper that are unhappy. 

Anyway, the big hoo-ha in Malaysia now is that PSY is coming to Malaysia. I can hear it now, people around the world saying either: "Okay, that's cool" or "Meh. So what?" But right now, right here, you won't believe the noise. Word on the street is that the current guv invited him over with a huge fee of RM 2 mil to perform his Gangnam Style. So skeptics all around me are saying: 

So, yeah. To properly understand why people are saying this, you would probably need to understand how "democracy" works, esp. in Malaysia. But I won't bother explaining it for two reasons.

1) It's too much to explain in a post, or even in 7 books/8 movies.

2) Its probably the same in any part of the world that practices democracy. (No offense, Middle East.)

And everyone else is just ranting around, and posting stuff on Facebook and Twitter and blogs, saying how bad this problem is gonna be and how it'll affect the country and how it shouldn't be and calling the guv unproductive and generally not doing anything productive.

Sometimes I just don't wanna live on this planet anymore and hitchhike a ride to outer space.

Hint hint: highly related to my next post ;)

But then I look around, and I realised something.

Life, in general, sucks.

(Death sucks too, so don't get the wrong idea.)

SO, I decided that I won't let life get the satisfaction of knocking me down, or so help me I'll go on a diet!

To tackle life, first I'm gonna tackle my own problems, like my interviews and applications woes. (Oh, the horror of pre-university work!!) And I've got my crush to worry about, but that's a post for another day. I WILL tackle my own problems myself, thank you very much. I know that ranting around, and posting stuff on Facebook and Twitter and blogs, saying how bad this problem is gonna be and how it'll affect the country and how it shouldn't be and calling the world unproductive and generally not doing anything productive won't solve anything, so I won't. I hope. I'm kinda unpredictable.

And then I'll face life.

But until then, Imma keep a song in my heart and just keep swimming. Because I'm bulletproof and I'll think to myself: What a wonderful world.

These songs are kinda sad, I think. So I'll put Gangnam Style on my heart's playlist, for kicks. What? That song is awesome!



Maybe all I need is a glass of soda and perspective and listen to what little pieces of paper are thinking about right now. I think I'll go and get one now. Cya later.

Behind the Manglish Vocabulary

A list of wild Manglish words you may encounter while in Malaysia:

lah                   -  The act of finishing your sentence the Malaysian way.
tapau               -  To package up food for later consumption.
macha              -  Indian for 'brother', or 'bro'. Subtle meaning depends on tone.
dey                  -  Used to call out. Most commonly used with 'Macha'.
aiyoyo              -  To describe an indescribable disappointing event. Increase number
                           of 'yo's after word with increasing indescribable-ness.
abuden             -  You don't say?
itellyuah            -  I'm telling you.
uncle                -  Any male who is significantly older than you.
auntie               -  Female of Uncle.
bos                  -  To describe the driver/mamak/hawker/etc whom you are currently
                           in service to. May be used interchangably with 'Bang'.
nego                -  Negotiate.
gostan              -  Reverse vehicle.
lu                     -  You.
yumcha            -  To get a drink at a nearby kopitiam.
terror(tera)       -  Great, awesome, highly able.
giler                 -  Used as adverb to signify extreme. E.g. "Walau, expensive giler!"
walau               -  Sound made by Malaysians before a sentece to signify
                           astonishment. May be followed up with "A".
outstation         -  Out of town.
-wan                -  Used after a pronoun, e.g. mai-wan, your-wan. Signifies possession.
osoken             -  Can also be done.
watudu             -  What should be done?
shiok                -  Immense pleasure.
shiok-sendiri     -  To give immense pleasure to oneself, usually at own expense.
yalah                -  Yes.
nolah                -  Used sarcastically. In truth means yes.

Behind The Games We Play

So I heard everyone is talking about Slender and Amnesia.

Apparently everyone likes a good scare, though why, I don't know.

Maybe its just the way that life gets gets to boring for them, with jobs and studying and chores getting into a regular cycle, and they would do anything to get a kick out of life, even scaring themselves half to death, preferably twice.

Me? I have higher tastes. I don't need scares to keep me entertained. All I need is just a virtual sword/gun/magical power/god-like acrobatic skill and the ability to mow through legions of enemies and I'm a happy chappy.

Okay... Maybe I have crappy tastes.

But IMO, scary games should stay scary, and action games should stay action-y. Remember Resident Evil? Used to be a proper survival horror, now just another shoot-em-up.

The classics were the best though. Who could forget Mario and his never-ending quest to rescue Princess Peach?

All done.

But sometimes, people play games in their real lives. In college most of the games played by us revolves around love. A flirt here, a gift there. Suddenly making out, suddenly breaking up. It's a game, and one that is often played by the human race for a goal called survival. It's a game of winning the other person's heart, one I admit I play, but not so often.

What really irks me is that some choose to play games with other people's lives.

The game of love can very suddenly turn into this sort of game of control, where one controls the other, no matter if both or one or neither realises it.

Sadly, governments absolutely LOVE to play this game. To them, we are just pawns (some being bigger than others, apparently), prepared to be moved around according to their plans at a whim. We are soldiers, prepared to step into a war. And if we do stuff they don't like, BAM! They come out with, if not laws, then at the very least, guidelines, to make sure we become "ideal" citizens.

Next thing you know, V-necks, tight shirts and big bags will be banned from being sold in malls, and no one would be sure if guys and girls should be seated apart, seated together, or if everyone gets their own table in the future.

It used to be so simple before 2000. Games were just UNO, Scrabble, Batu Serembans and chasing each other down the hallway. At the very best, Pokemon Red & Blue on my cousin's Nintendo Colour.


Maybe that's cause I was still kid, and now I'm bigger, I'll hafta play the game of life.

*sigh* Maybe true games are, after all, another form of escape from reality.

Well, cya soon then. Time to hit the X-Box. Assassin's Creed and Final Fantasy FTW!!!

Not forgetting other games too:

Behind Healing Hands

Shameless promotion time!!!

CLICK THE IMAGE!!

Its for a good cause!

All proceeds will go to the little kiddies, and it will only cost a little money and time!

Okay, you've probably heard these lines a kazillion times, asking for a donation here or a helping hand there. (Pun Intended.) It is, indeed, a good thing to extend a, I don't want to repeat myself here, generous limb (CLICK THE IMAGE!), but sometimes it just doesn't bring about the helpful feel. You don't get to personally really see where the help is going to.

To me, an act of kindness and helpfulness is only real when you are there, physically lending a hand to someone in need. Like a volunteer in a soup kitchen, feeding those who cannot afford a lump of bread. Or like doctors, for example. They spend half of their lives saving other lives. I could probably testify to this, as I spent a week or so stalking doctors with a couple of others from Taylor's at a medical center which for the sake of anonymity I will refer to as SJMC. Not sure if lucky or unlucky, as I ended up visiting SJMC on a quiet week. Nothing much to be seen but a fitness test here and a CT scan there. But even so, the doctors and nurses rush from one end to another, making sure that everything is sailing smooth for the healing of everyone who seeks treatment.

Which hand shineth the greatest, the one which handeth out money for other's healing, or the one who useth the money to heal others?

Like when I talk about Msia, I
always end up talking about
something else....

Whoops, forgot I was supposed to promote the run. I am a horrible promoter. T^T

I guess Vy does it better. http://coffeeortea-smile.blogspot.com/2012/08/lend-helping-hand.html

Maybe its because I don't know the kiddies, so I don't feel a real connection, a real motivation to help through material ways.

I just I should start visiting the orphanages for a change.

But then again, until I have the time and/or ability to physically heal, I would have to heal through other ways. One does not simply ignore a chance to help a fellow being. Is it not said that good karma would bring about? From what I've heard, these kids have great potential, and some day in the future, it might be THEM helping you.

Besides, the run is organised by my college. Of course I trust that this run will no doubt make the lives of the orphans much much better.

Anyways, here's another poster!

 For further information, you can personally contact anyone below,

Vy Vyan - 0176237823
Timothy  - 0102202375
Darren    - 0122128478

Hope to cya all at the run! Show that your hands can do some sort of healing, and not just type onna keyboard!

Behind Oppa Raya Style

Hey everyone!

Am I the only one here who thinks that the raya breaks my college gives me (3 weeks) is too damn long?!
[Haha, that's two memes right there.]

Once again, with the end of the raya breaks approaching, I get the feeling that most of my holidays are wasted on unimportant matters, such as reading novels, 9gagging, napping, and watching Youtube videos, when what I should be doing is writing my personal statement, applying for unis, hunting for scholarships, registering for exams, getting work experience......

I'm pretty sure that everyone has that feeling, but that doesn't make it any better, does it?

But I'll get to that feeling right after I write about this particular Youtube video I watched while procrastinating from my real duties:

No further explanation needed.

Seriously, what's there not to like about Gangnam Style? Stick-in-your-head tunes, simple yet beautiful choreography, and it obeys the key rule to all popular pop songs nowadays worldwide:

REPETITION IS CATCHY.

But seriously, the best part of the video was, in fact, PSY himself, the uncommon idol. A ...erm... ''larger than life'' body, being in stark contrast of all the six-packs of K-Pop male artists, brings a fresh look to K-Pop in the same way that Adele brought a different view to the stereotypes of US music industries. PLUS he has a suit sense that rivals even Neil Patrick Harris himself, and that's saying something.

Speaking of Neil:

RIP Neil Armstrong, one of the first humans on the moon.

See how I used the phrase 'one of the first'? That's because one cannot forget that the first moon landing was not a solo mission, but a team mission consisting of Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins. I could once again rant about how people only focus on one person in a whole team, essentially giving one person all the limelight, but I already did that in my last post, and although repetition IS catchy, I really don't wanna repeat myself.

Not unlike PSY, Neil Armstrong is also an idol, albeit for far longer than PSY. Sure, some of you might argue that they represent totally different things, and should not be mentioned in the same sentence.

But what is an idol, anyway? According to dictionary.com, an idol is any person or thing regarded with blind admiration,adoration, or devotion. Since there are people who do admire and adore both of them ( Okay.... Maybe not devote themselves to tehm, but still. ), they can be considered idols. What's more, they can be a source of inspiration for the people of today. Through Neil, we learn that what we thought cannot be reached can be done. Through PSY, we learn that stereotypes are no barrier for success (and Internet stardom). If everyone followed in the footsteps of these two people, everybody will have a lot more courage to live their dreams. 

We could all do with a few more good idols.

Well, that's it for today. Cya. I'm off to find my idol, one who doesn't waste time on unimportant matters, such as reading novels, 9gagging, napping, and watching Youtube videos, and instead focuses on the real issues, such as writing my personal statement, applying for unis, hunting for scholarships, registering for exams, getting work experience......

One more thing:

             

                                         HAPPY MERDEKA DAY!!! ^.^

Behind Two Medals

Okay, I know its a bit too late for this, but...

BRITISH PEOPLE HAVE FINALLY SET FIRE TO THE RAIN!!!

Yeah, you guessed it. This Slowpoke is finally gonna rant about the London Olympics. (Ranting at home, of course. I can practically smell the haze now.)

This year, we expected, and got, the usual set. Expensive opening ceremony, Malaysian contingent's heavily criticized tiger outfit, Phelps and Usain bagging some gold, USA and China bagging ALL the gold, funny diving pictures, and our own Dato' Lee Chong Wei once again meeting Lin Dan in the badminton finals. (And lost... WHYYYYYYYYY [its okay, we still have faith in you])

What was new this year was a whole bunch of new Olympic-inspired memes (Dissatisfied Queen, Unimpressed Mckayla, Scary Synchronized Swimmers etc... I'm still unsatisfied, disimpressed, and somewhat scares), scandals in the filed of badminton doubles (If you lose to win, you win to lose), and of course the unexpected but well-deserved, first-ever diving bronze medal win by the amazing PANDALELA RINONG!

Now, before you think that I'm getting my priorities wrong for putting her name in a bigger font than Dato' Lee Chong Wei, let me just say a few things.

1) Why in the world are we only showering our attentions on the medal winners in the first place? Sure, they did the nation proud, but you'll notice that no one is singing any praises for the non-medal participants, even if they did quite well. Did you hear any compliments or encouragement for our national badminton doubles players Koo Kien Kiat-Tan Boon Heong? Nooooo, its always Lee Chong Wei, Lee Chong Wei, Lee Chong Wei. (No offence, Dato'. I still think you're da bomb.) Listen, the KKK-TBH duo made it to the bronze-medal match, so technically they are the fourth best in the world. That's extremely good, but apparently, not good enough for national hero status.

2) Our Dato' isn't getting any younger. Soon, everyone has to hang their suit up. But when that happens, who's going to fill up his shoes? In China, everyone can see that current badminton champion Lin Dan will be  succeeded by current bronze medalist Chen Long. But who is worthy of the title "Lee Chong Wei's Successor"? Not me, I can barely do a smash. Even LCW himself says that there isn't one player in the national team that is good enough. When he leaves, a huge vacuum in the badminton arena of Malaysia will arise, and our pride and glory may diminish into a memory, unless something is done. Here's hoping that Pandalela can maintain and improve on her skills, so Malaysia's name can remain on the Olympic medal scoreboard.


Why am I so mad today? I don't know, maybe it's the haze, maybe it's the crazy memes, maybe it's the fact that we have yet to get a gold, maybe it's the shared pain of Malaysians for Dato' LCW. I don't know.

What I do know is that I do not give an expletive over the Evidence Act 114A. (Google it.) Read the URL above if you haven't noticed.

There, that's everything out of my system. I'm happy again, nice to meet you, and cya in Rio 2016. (If the world hasn't ended yet.)

Some final memories:

Until then....