Pic says it all

Stay safe tonight, all! Party smart, don't party hard. ;)

Tomorrow is New Year's Eve.

Wow, where did 2005 go? Time flies by real quickly when you're all stressed out and concentrated on finishing a final year project. I am so glad it's done and over with.

Let's see what happened to me (that I can remember off the top of my head) in 2005.
1. won a bunch of online and mail-in contests.
2. stopped winning those contests in July.
3. acquired three blogs (Friendster, Yahoo 360 and this one)
4. had mini-mental breakdowns when beset by numerous setbacks in final year project. But I pulled through in the end! :) It helped that I don't live in a high-rise apartment, and if I managed to squeeze through the louvred windows, I'd hit the ground real quick. No upstairs here! Well, there is the roof, but I'm afraid of climbing that unsteady ladder to get there. hahahaha...
5. went to the PC Fair in August, met some of the forummers who frequent The Chip forum. Got a goodie bag. :) Not that I expected anything, mind you!
6. was offered to be one of the moderators at the Lounge section of the forum. I'm glad it's in the Lounge, as I don't think I'm that technically informed. Erm, that's about it. Nothing much happens in my small town.

Okay, time for pet peeves. If there's one thing I do not like, it's people who suddenly stop in their tracks, oblivious to the fact that there are people behind them. This includes stopping in front of the escalators, shopping aisles, and busy paths (think PC Fair). My mother is one of these people who stop abruptly. Drives me nuts and it drives her nuts when I tell her there are people behind her.

Followed Mum to town yesterday. First we went to Kamdar because Mum needed to replace the upholstery on our older sofa. And here's another pet peeve of mine. The guy who attended to us had already stated that a certain material was not suitable because sharp objects would snag and warp it. What does Mum do? The guy is off to look for other suitable options, and Mum rubs her diamond ring across the material. Tsk! The guy already said it would happen! And then she starts snagging her ring on the other materials. For one thing, it's not fair to the shopkeeper, and it's not fair to the people who plan to buy that material. You can't say that she's checking the quality. She was already told that it was not suitable and that it would snag. If I had a shop, I'd ban my Mum.

Then we went across the road to a supermarket. Spent about 15 mins and didn't buy anything. Checked out this semi-new 'supermarket' just next to the TM building. Mostly imported from China. Then I suggested we go to the shop that sells biscuits (just across the road and behind the TNB office). So we walked across the road and Mum bought biscuits for Dad. I looked around while Mum met the girl (now a woman) who used to work at Glutton Square with her parents. She's a mother of five now. Had four girls and she was determined to have a son.

I settled on a RM2.00 packet of 'biskut kapal terbang' (airplane biscuits). They are reddish, a hint of spicy and shaped like little airplanes. Not quite a true biscuit. More like a crispy snack.

Then we walked back to the car and headed for Astaka, another supermarket across town. Looked around at the grocery section. Lingered over the fruit juices and jelly section. Noticed a 'special offer' on the almost expired jellies (best by 5th January 2006). According to the sign strung over the said jellies, RM0.89 (and at the bottom, [paper square covering something] x 120gm). The jellies were in packs of two. One packet was 120gm. There were two individual packets among the packs. Now, obviously the sign means RM0.89 for one packet, right? I tell Mum about this special offer and she asks the salesperson. Salesperson says the price is for a packet only, not for the pack.

Mum figures that this is not a cheap price. Tries to convince the salesperson that it's more logical if the pack was priced at RM0.89. Anyways, the salesperson starts opening the packs and pricing them. Had she not done that, I think she would have gone into a debate over why it should cost RM0.89 for a pack.

Tsk...

* Added 'Articles/Journals' section to sidebar. Noticed some accidental visitors looking for information related to 'Do Not Resuscitate' orders. How did I find them? First I Googled for "science journals" and "articles", then clicked on the links to the sites and then inserted "Do Not Resuscitate" into the Search boxes provided on these sites.

Gecko carnage

Sorry, no photos of the said carnage. It happened a few days ago and I totally forgot about it. One night, I decided to go to the kitchen and apparently, when I shut the door to the kitchen, one gecko had been squished.

I didn't know anything until the next morning, when my mother said, "Who was the last person to go into the kitchen last night? There was a dead gecko and there was blood everywhere! The ants came too and I had to clean it all up!"

Ewww...

Well, I apologised and I was kinda relieved that I didn't see all that mess, actually.

I might update later. I just woke up. =)

Photo above for the people who clicked my profile from the comment I left about guinea pigs. L-R: Latte, Mocha. I miss my piggies! *sigh*

Flip-floppy weather

Strange weather we are having here. Today it didn't rain at all. It rained heavily yesterday. I guess it'll rain again tomorrow. We shall see. Hmm, this is the first time I am using Photobucket to update DNR. Finally I find an option to use the strikethrough font. =)

Before I forget, Geography Olympics is now The Geography Zone. You can represent your country and show the rest of the world that your country isn't that backward when it comes to knowing what is where. Now, you can also register (for free) and pit your geography knowledge against other members too. I've only played three times and my first two tries had me getting 40/100. It pays to study those countries (and small island nations in the Pacific/Micronesia. Islands like Tuvalu, Nauru, The Marshall Islands, etc).

Let's see...what else? Can't think straight right now. I'll end here then.

Take care, all!

The pix I promised

Connection was crappy early this morning (1am) after I came back from the Christmas dinner at my parents' godparents' place . It was plenty frustrating and I gave up after five to six attempts to get back online again.


THE PIX SHOULD BE HERE, BUT BLOGGER'S HAVING PROBS WITH THEM! I think I'll try Photobucket.

zzzz...I'll post this first and then add the photos (like what I said in the other entry. hahaha...)







Anyways, I thoroughly enjoyed the dinner. We sang a few Christmas carols such as 'Joy To The World', 'Deck The Halls', 'The Little Drummer Boy', 'Ding Dong' (never heard of that one before), and a few more which I can't remember the titles of. I had lamb chops, a few sticks of satay (beef and chicken), Pepsi Twist, Mirinda Orange and a gulpful of home-made beer (the bottles were unlabelled and I had the impression they were Orangina!). If it wasn't for the fact that the 3/4 empty bottles were refrigerated, I don't think I would have touched them. Anyways, it tasted much better than the beer I have sipped in the past. When I say sip, I mean the moment the awful liquid hits my tongue. Yuck! This home-made beer was less potent and slightly bearable. Anyways, I just had that one gulpful. When I have a choice, I prefer not to imbibe. Especially not beer of all drinks.

I am happy to say that I have not had a hangover ever and I don't want to ever experience one. My brain cells need as much help as they can get without the use of substances. And I doubt if gingko biloba is going to help (which is why I don't take them). Come to think of it, I don't take anything. I usually just complain to Mum about my aches and pains and she'll massage those til I'm squirming and screaming. And then she'll tall me to take a Ponstan to relieve the pain. I never take it on my own initiative. Usually, I just bear with it.

However, I doubt if I could bear the pain of childbirth. I say this because I just chatted with someone who told me that she and her boyfriend were expecting a baby. Three months in. I'd hate to be in her shoes during the ninth month. Then again, I suppose I might change my mind if I met the right kind of guy. And I might have. We shall just have to wait and see.

Oh yes, it's my sister's birthday today. Wished her on the phone this morning. I even said, "Happy Tsunami Day!" I know, it wasn't very respectful. To the victims and their families. I remember the day very clearly. I awoke suddenly around 8:30am, perhaps. I just know that it wasn't the time I usually woke up and I was wondering for a few mins before I went back to sleep. Didn't know anything until around noon, when my friend Simon SMSed/texted me from Austria asking me how I was. I thought, "Eh?" I was at the uni library (at the magazines section). And he replied that there was a huge tidal wave that killed thousands in South-east Asia. I think we in the East Coast were blissfully unaware of the situation on the other side of the country. Those that didn't have close access to a tv or radio, that is.

Offline for three days

Four days ago, it was raining with a vengeance. Really cold, and the water in the drains rose. I took some pix of that, unfortunately, with my xD picture card non-functional, it'll take a little more hassle to upload the pix. Think cables.

A day later, well...more like after 2:30am, I suddenly had probs getting online. The next morning, the reason was clear. One or more individuals had cut off a length of telephone cable (yes, the one strung between the telephone poles). Stolen. Most probably by drug addicts.

That said, one can only imagine that drug addicts prowl the neighbourhood after 2am, looking for stuff to steal and sell. What happened to that pack of stray dogs? If they were around, nobody would be stealing stuff (like my dad's sandals!!) in the middle of the night.

Here's a shoutout to David, who says he'll try to be regular reader #2. ;) I'll try not to disappoint.

Take care and here's a little something from me.

Merry Christmas/God Jul/Buon Natale/Happy Hanukkah/Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!!

No Rain

Woke up to a sunny morning, and Mum 'delivering' mail to me. Got a lovely Christmas card from the Willanders. They are so nice to me, I am unworthy. Then again, I WAS fixated on that final year project of mine. Thoughts of everything else were discarded.

An e-card will have to do this year. I am so not worthy. Well, I'll go photoshop one for them. Takes more time and effort that way, and they deserve that.

They were guests at the hotel I was working at so many years ago. They learnt to scuba-dive in the hotel pool and then went to the islands to scuba-dive. One of their poor sons had an ear infection and couldn't dive after that. They are more than guests to me, but friends.

The fact is, I used to treat the guests as respected friends. Tried my best to remember their names and room numbers. And there was this one time my memory decided to play tricks on me. I remember the guest's room number but not his name. I said, "Good evening, Mr Tan! Here's your key." Handed him the key and watched him walk towards the lobby lift. As he was waiting for the lift, he looked at his key. He seemed to be contemplating. He walked back towards the reception counter and said, "My name is Lim."

I think I tried to retain my composure (barely) and apologized profusely. "I'm sorry, Mr Lim!" *cue nervous laughter* He seemed okay about it. Hehehe...

Best thing about Site Meter, you can tell how some people get here. Apparently, when you type "thesis about do not resuscitate in the philippines" in Yahoo Search, this site comes out tops. If it's any consolation, at least I added that definition under 'Dr. Ross'. So sorrylah. Plan B went to the Philippines, I talked about my thesis and this site is called 'Do Not Resuscitate'.

I so want to change the template of this blog. The templates at some of the sites out there just don't fit what I have in mind. And I am reluctant to start something that might take too long. First of all, I don't really know anything about building a template. It's got to be related to a heart monitor. A Flatline across the heart monitor to be precise.

Loving Pandora.com by the day. Hearing all those songs I used to hear and new ones that I wouldn't hear on local radio. And NO ads between songs. I hope it stays this way for a long, long time.

Most of the evacuees in the temporary flood relief centers have returned home. In the newspaper today was an item about a family's dilemma when their husband/father/grandfather who was 90 years old passed away. They couldn't bury him because the cemetery was flooded. They couldn't get help from neighbours to bury him because they had all left the village when the water rose. Nobody could go help them because the roads were closed and impassable. Poor family.

Well, that's it for now. Sorry for the not so regular updates. In fact, if it wasn't for the single regular visitor of mine, I wouldn't be updating very often. =)

Take care all!

Here comes the rain again

Rained this morning, it was so nice and cosy, and gloomy. Unfortunately for several hundred people in Terengganu, Kedah, Kelantah and Perlis, the rain was not welcomed. They had to evacuate when the water level rose and stay at schools which became temporary evacuation centres.

While surfing sites, I came across www.Pandora.com. It's something like Launchcast (you have your own station and you can opt to like or loathe a track being played). The best thing about this is that you can
fill in the name of the artist or track and they will select songs that are similar in structure, melodies, genre. I chose Dido and got selections from Amy Grant, Annie, Morcheeba, etc. They give you a four - five song sample and then ask you to register. It's free, and the ads are on the site. You don't hear the ads like you do on Launchcast (between songs). So many new bands I never would have listened to before. And for each song or artiste that you look up, they become stations. I have a Dido station, a James Blunt Station. Going to look up Duran Duran now. Starting with Duran Duran's "I Don't Want Your Love". Hmmm, now it's "Weird Science" by Oingo Boingo. Next is "Desire" by Gene Loves Jezebel. Maybe I'll try Nik Kershaw. No such luck. Strange, it said it couldn't find Nik Kershaw and now there's a Nik Kershaw Station. Not that I'm complaining. Hmmm, who's Matthew Sweet?

I also like Free Video Codes. You can search for your fav. videos and add the code to your website, blog, friendster page, etc. I had fun watching Weird Al Yankovic's mad videos. I love "You Don't Love Me Anymore". I have a video on Friendster. Not putting one up here because I don't want to bore any one who visits more than once. *grin*

Take care, all!

Lovely cloudy days

It was drizzling and I thought, why not take a few pix? I know, the powerlines spoil the shot. What can I do?

Here's one of my Dad's orchids. They have been blooming for days, so there are spots in the flowers. Hence the reason I didn't take a close-up pic of them. Didn't want the imperfections to show up.


I took two pix of the whole pot. I'll save you the boredom of looking at those. Then there's the raindrop shot. =)

I think I'll go take some more pix. =) I hope the mosquitoes aren't biting.

Update!
Got bitten by a mosquito. Found some bees hovering over some flowers (don't know what kind of flowers).

Took a pic of orchid roots. Those roots really crawl all over the place. I wanted to sound witty, but I don't think I could say, "These roots were made for walking."


I've been looking at those stats and so far (ha, a pun!), the farthest visitor lives 14,930km away. Wonder how far Fargo is (incidentally, the airport code for Fargo is FAR!)? I am SO hungry. It'll be a few hours yet til Simon IMs me about what he had for dinner. Wait, he already told me yesterday. He planned ahead. Simon has got to be the only person I talk food with. It's funny we haven't swapped recipes yet. Oh yeah, I know why. I don't cook. Tee hee hee...

Must find food....

BTW, shoulder/back feels better now. Ponstan kicked in about 30mins later. The ointment mum used is that deep heating rub thingy that makes the area warm, then cool. Or is it the other way around? I don't remember. Pain is gone and so is the cool/warm sensation.

Ouch!

Just tried to get out of my jacket in an awkward position and I think I overstretched my shoulder. It hurts like heck now. I bet it'll be worse tomorrow.

Been raining all day and night and according to the weather report, it'll be like this until Friday. Wooo...I am glad we have a water heater. I remember the earlier years when I insisted it was too cold for the usual cold showers, so we'd boil half a pail of scalding hot water, carry it gingerly to the bathroom and then add the cold water til it got to be the right temperature. Most times, I'd be too lazy to boil the water and just have the quickest shower ever. Besides, it was too cold to sweat any way. And I hadn't fallen into any pools of mud/dirt.

Dad said my hair was too long today. Hmmph.

Still looking at the stats. I find that thanks to the "Next Blog" link at the upper right hand corner, people just get here by accident. Phew. Am wondering if the regular visitor from Sweden is a family friend. Birgitta? Bjorn? Is that you? If it is, thank you for visiting. If it isn't, thank you for visiting all the same. =)

I'd also like to take this opportunity to wish Azura a happy engagement! I'm sorry I couldn't make it.

I used to enjoy reading books, but now with my laptop on my bed, I'm always online. I am so addicted to playing those games on pogo.com. If it's not Pool, it's Bingo, if it's not that, then Spider Solitaire or Sweet Tooth. It's so fun! And I don't even care about winning any money either.

Chip Malaysia/chip-asean.com is still down. I kinda miss the people there. We really spam the lounge, we do...what fun.

I can't believe it's going to be 2006 in a matter of weeks. In my stress and haste to get my project done, 2005 just zipped by! I'll be 32 next year! Ack... Oh well, at least I survived uni at my advanced age. hehehe...

Take care, all!

Lovely rainy day and I'm feeling blah

Hair still looks Jennifer Aniston-y. I guess I'm fine as long as I don't pass any mirrors. Just kidding! It's not that bad. I just don't like being tricked like that. She practically did it behind my back! The hairstylist asked her for the preferred length of the hair that was behind my back. How could I see? Sneaky, sneaky, sneaky!!

Did this nerdy quiz thingy. Glad to see that I'm just a Mid-rank Nerd. I always knew I wasn't a full-fledged one. Just because I look like one doesn't mean that I am, so there!

21% scored higher (more nerdy), and
79% scored lower (less nerdy).

What does this mean? Your nerdiness is:

Mid-Level Nerd. Wow, it takes a lot of hard nerdy practice to reach this level.

The neighbours' chickens are crowing and it's almost 3pm. Stupid roosters, just because it's their year, they think they can crow whenever they like. Just they wait. It's less than two months before the start of the Year of the Dog. Hmmm, a whole year of dogs barking. Don't mind me right now, I'm just rambling.

I'm wondering when my friends, Dora and Bob a.k.a Plan_B are going to make their first post. It'll be great when they do. I just want them to know that they're always welcome to post if/when the inclination hits them. Work has a way of killing the mood.

That's it from me. Take care, all!

Thought I'd take another quiz:

===============================================================

Overall, you scored as follows:

31% scored higher (more computer geeky),
0% scored the same, and
69% scored lower (less geeky).

Compared to those in the same age group as you:

44% scored higher (more computer geeky),
1% scored the same, and
55% scored lower (less geeky).

What does this mean? Your computer geekiness is:

Low Ranking Computer Geek. Definitely a Computer Geek, but low in the computer geek social structure.

The average score for the gals is 38, while the guy average is 56.

==============================================================
I KNEW I wasn't much of one. =) But look, the average score for females is 38! And I scored higher that the male average as well...hmm.

I was tricked!

For the past year, I had been growing my hair. It had never been as long as it was (until this evening). I had a thrill seeing it grow past my shoulders, reaching my armpits.

Mum was never happy with the length of my hair. Today, she planned to have her hair cut and asked if I wanted to go along with her. I thought I'd just have it trimmed or layered a little. I even chose a nice little hairstyle and printed it out.

I was SO not prepared for what was about to transpire. The hairstylist is Chinese. She doesn't speak English. I told Mum to tell her what I wanted and well...

Mum was talking too much Chinese and I realized my mistake. I was at the mercy of Mum! I caught enough to know that she wanted something done. I asked my mum what she told to the hairstylist. She didn't reply. When I saw that the length was twice what I had initially wanted to cut off... oh man, I was so MAD! What do I do during times when I get mad? No, I don't turn green and grimace like I was trying to pass a kidney stone the size of a boulder. I cried! It helped that I had my hair covering my face, and I had a good cry behind that curtain of hair. Mum noticed after I blew my nose. I told her that I didn't want it this short. I told her that I had asked her what she told the hairstylist and she didn't tell me. She swore that she didn't hear my question. Tsk. I bet she knew all along that she was going to get my hair cut off the way she wanted it. Serves me right for not learning Chinese and not learning to drive on my own. ;o(

She tried to justify her deception by saying that I needed to look neater if I had to go for a job interview. Ugh!

And yesterday, I endured 5 hours of her throwing away my stuff (she says it's 'cleaning up'). I decided to cut all ties to my old college/uni notes, bits of stuff I wrote/jotted down, magazines... JUST so I could cut down on the torture session. I turned a blind eye to everything. Can I help it if I am a pack rat? I wish I had a place of my own. I wish I had money! I wish I had a rich relative who has suddenly passed away and decided to leave me a huge inheritance. I wish I didn't have to wish. ;o)

I am ending my post here. It's time for dinner. Take care, all!

By the way, I recently decided to get Site Meter to see who actually is visiting this blog. Just as I suspected. They're mostly accidental visits. If it's not a direct link I've given to a friend, it's somebody who got here looking for 'Do Not Resuscitate' (sorry, visitor from the US), or 'Which Lost Character Are You?' (sorry, Aussie visitor).

Anyways, I am glad I finally got to the bottom of the mystery. I don't really have a 'readership'. Phew! I thought I'd have to actually write something informative and important for once. ;o)

A burden has lifted

I'm not quite sure if I am completely done, but I submitted the stuff pertaining to my final year project yesterday. I'm standing by just in case I get an e-mail or a call asking me to redo anything. This means I'm going nowhere for a week (and then after that, to heck with it!). This nixes any plans I had of attending my friend's engagement ceremony in Bangi on Sunday. Sorry Azura!

I was so fixated on the presentation date (Nov 24th) that I completely forgot about the proposal, thesis, technical report and the CD copies. You might be wondering, 'Proposal? Isn't that supposed to have been submitted way before I did the system?' Well, for other people, that's the routine. I have always been a special case. Things don't always run smoothly with me. I should be immune by now. *grin*

Had that title change 6 weeks before the final presentation. Was struggling with Visual Basic 6 (yes, I did try .NET -- and having three books on VB6 helped not one bit), and looking for people who might give me some help with bits of the coding that I had trouble with. I gave e-mail updates to my supervisor and 6 weeks before the initial presentation date, the programming language was changed to PHP.

Cue mini-breakdown. Enter saviour from the UK. To cut a long story short, I managed to squeeze through the final presentation with just elevated levels of stress caused by a certain 'lecturer'. *cough*En Zailani*cough* He was unrelentless in his critiques (what you optimists might call 'constructive criticism') and I was on the verge of crying out of frustration. I so wanted to strangle him, and I think it showed. Anyway, I did state that I only had six weeks to write the proposal, thesis and develop the system. That shut him up for a bit.

Yeah, I know that pic is totally out of 'nature' with this blog. I haven't really taken any raindrop laden leaf pix in awhile. It's been rainy off and on. I still can't hear the pounding waves from the beach (my house is a 5-min drive to the beach).

Oh, I found an interesting site yesterday (got it from Chris Wheatley's site) and it's The Warning Label Generator. It's real fun! Here's a sample of what I made.

I know, it's not very imaginative. You're limited to just six lines. Go check it out.

There's been a lot of talk about a certain blogger and his site that had posts of his past drug use. He had video clips of him shooting up, photos, detailed descriptions of the effects he felt, tips on enhancing the experience, experimenting with other drugs he could get from the pharmacy and OD-ing on them to see if they could be used as recreational drugs. Many bloggers out there were outraged that a 'concerned citizen' had written in to complain about his site, citing 'freedom of speech', etc, etc. Sure, the educated, well-traveled lot of them WOULDN'T experiment on drugs based on his posts. They expect that everyone with the means to get online has sense to not want to do it. I tell you, there are kids out there who are just willing to try anything. These are the impressionable kids, the ones without parental guidance (heck, they might even try it out just so they'll get the attention they want).

It just irks me that the few blogs I've visited (or comments left on these blogs) all say, "I've read all his posts and never once did I ever have the urge to try them out or be a drug addict. In fact, it's just deterred me from trying it out." I'm willing to bet that these people are well educated, English-speaking and more aware of the dangers. Try to think like a kid for once. Even a kampung kid with internet access in the school lab.

Sure, sure, they can always surf to the international sites out there. But he is Malaysian, he even related how he managed to get some drugs on the street. I doubt if there's info like on American, British or wherever sites. I very much welcome the action taken by the authorities on his site. I do recall a post where he plainly boasts that he is Malaysia's first drug blogger.

Well, I'm off my soapbox. It's been eating at me for sometime now. Take care, all!

Hmmm

Wife: Honey, I think I forgot to shut off the gas when we left home.
Hubby: I'm sure you didn't, dear.
Wife: But honeyyy, I don't remember shutting it off! I don't want our home to blow up. We need to turn back, dear.
Hubby: Are you sure about this?
Wife: Absolutely! Please? Turn back?
Hubby: *mumble grumble*


What you see in the pic above is the contrail of an airliner. The plane is at the end of the contrail, just before the cloud. I noticed the plane making a U turn while dad was driving me to campus. Thought it looked peculiar. Dad suggested I take a pic, which I did. Unfortunately, I was in the car and the plane was disappearing quickly. And my xD card is busted, so I couldn't take a nice 5MP-sized photo.

No reports of any accidents involving planes last Sunday, so if it was an engine malfunction...they made it back safely.

After seeing my supervisor about my thesis, I went to pay my semester fees. Had to get the form from the Treasurer's office (and the amount I had to pay) and then back to the bank. Since the clinic was opposite the bank, I decided to go get some medication for my elbow. I had peeled some skin away two weeks before and it got infected. Pure torture. Never realized how often I used my elbows to prop myself in front of the laptop. It was sore and ... well, I won't get into details as I don't want you to lose your lunch/dinner. I did try using Burnol and plaster, but it turned into a boil anyway. I got a cream, a course of antibiotics (the pus went away after one day!), Denzo to bring down the swelling and panadol. Not taking the panadol as I don't have a fever.

Oh, while I was waiting for my turn at the clinic, the cafeteria lady dropped by to see the doc too. She mentioned a student passing away. She revealed that the student was female, a first year from FASM (fakulti agroteknologi & sains makanan - the agrotechnology and food science faculty). I thought she died in an accident, but apparently, it was a suicide. She ate 35 Panadols because she did badly in her recent exams. The girl was in hospital for a week before she met her demise. I can't help but feel for her family.

A warm welcome to Dora Bora!

A warm welcome to Dora Bora to team DNR. I've known Dora since high school and she's the bestest buddy I could ever wish for. :)

Happy Deepavali/Diwali and Selamat Hari Raya

If there's anybody reading this blog right now who celebrates one of these two festivals, I hope you have a joyous and satisfying time. See, I have no skills to make it as a Hallmark card message writer. I don't write stuff that make people go, "Awww..." as they wipe away a careless tear from their eye.

Anyways, I've been having a little Quantum Leap marathon. Season Three. 1990-1991. I never saw any episodes in that season. And I was a diehard fan then. I remember one time, after a tiring 8-hour journey back from Kluang after the Chinese New Year break, I burst into the house to turn on the TV. Just to catch the last 20mins of the episode. I think Sam was a woman in that episode.

How could I have missed an entire season? Tuition classes!! Those classes were in preparation for my SPM exams. I took Additional Math, Physics, Chemistry. Sacrificed a season of Quantum Leap and I failed my Add. Math, got a C6 for Physics and a C4 for Chemistry. And look at me now. No use for Add. Math, Physics or Chemistry in my life.

Anyways, I can understand why I had such a crush on Scott Bakula. He was 36 - 37 then and he sang, he danced, he acted his way into my heart. *swoon* He was goofy in an endearing way. I haven't seen a full episode of Enterprise, even though I know he's the Captain. I did a little research and he's Capt. Jonathan Archer in there. I IMDB-ed him (think this word will follow the footsteps of Google and be turned into a verb?) and found out that he's been active in the theater and musicals. Both his parents are musical. His little patch of white hair appeared when he was four. At the time, he was also at a neighbour's house that was undergoing painting and his mother thought the patch of white was a result of the paint. Hope she didn't try to turpentine the white out of his hair. *g*

I had forgotten the close rapport the character he plays (Dr. Sam Beckett) had with Al. The writing is just superb: witty, intelligent and thought-provoking. What makes this series so much better than Tru Calling and Sliders is that he gets to be somebody entirely different (yet still be him) every week, and there's always that hope that he finally gets to leap home in the end. And then there are times when he gives ideas to people who eventually end up being famous. He told a guy in one episode that he saw/heard that someone had used slabs of beef as punching bags when that guy told the priest ("Leap of Faith") that he couldn't make it to boxing practice. The guy closes his locker and the name on the locker was 'S. Stallone'. Brilliant! I love this show.

Met my super today. She tells me that my presentation will be sooner than later. And that I'll be presenting with the juniors. I told my mum this and she said I must be embarrassed. I told her I shouldn't be ashamed, because the mess I am in is not my fault. I wasn't the one who changed my title 6 weeks before the final presentation. Okay, I admit, I am feeling a little nervous about the thought of presenting. But I'm usually nervous presenting in front of people. Anyways, I've done this three times before (but in front of my coursemates) and all I did was focus on my lecturers. I ignored everybody else. I spoke English (everybody else in my course spoke in Malay) and that does intimidate some of the lecturers and the ones who usually bombard the others with questions are strangely silent. I shouldn't assume thing will be the same way this year though. Hope for the best and be prepared for the worst.

That's it from me then. Kinda missing someone I know. By the time he gets back home, I'll have to prepare my proposal and powerpoint presentations. Arrghhh...

I wish I could leap like Sam into the future and end up being in KT Nov 29th, watching and experiencing the Monsoon Cup '05. Datuk Michelle Yeoh, her fiance Jean Todt (Ferrari racing team boss), Michael Schumacher, Jackie Chan and a host of others are expected to be here too. Now I wish I was back to working at the hotel. It's so easy to talk to VIP guests like that. I remember Sheila Majid was the best. I sent her a note and she came down to the lobby with a poster and asked for a marker pen. She handed the poster to me personally. How humble is that? She's the greatest. As for Ning Baizura... errr, no comment. ;-)

Take care!

Snap-happy at the beach

My sis decided to drag me to the beach a few days ago to keep an eye on the kids, but I found out soon enough that my Dad and sis' maid were tagging along too. Anyways, I needed some fresh salty air after being cooped indoors for ... ages, and I brought along my trusty camera. The Chip Online Malaysia forum had recently opened their Photo Gallery and I needed some fresh shots of anything.

Dad drove to the usual spot behind the religious school (near the old government quarters) and there was hardly anyone around. Then again, it was after 5:30pm, during Ramadhan. There was a group of boys crowding around three other boys on ponies. As the beach had recently been reclaimed (much farther to walk towards the beach), I told my sis that perhaps it would be a better idea to rent the ponies to get to the edge of the water. It was tough walking on uneven sand. Halfway there, one of the ponies got free. Trotted towards freedom, with one boy running after it. He managed to catch the pony soon enough.



The kids got down to business and started making sand castles. So did Dad. I admired a big cloud in the sky (the bit where the sun's rays shone through created a spectrum of colours). As Nephew #1 was building his tower of sand ...


Can you detect some evil intent in that little fellow's brain? No? Well, guess what happens after this shot?


Funnily enough, he didn't crush that tower of sand. Instead, he threw the spade somewhere else. And his attention was taken elsewhere. And so was mine.

Looking towards my left, I spotted a blue plastic basket and a frondless coconut leaf. Nothing of note on the basket (a lightbulb and three seashells). So I took pix of the frondless palm leaf. I don't know how photographers do it. Do they wait for the waves to come close or just snap away? I think I took more than 5 shots.

Further away, I noticed a makeshift shelter made out of bamboo poles and coconut palm fronds. As I walked towards it, I noticed an adult and child further away in the center of this makeshift shelter. I tried to be arty, but my camera is only 5MP and has no powerful telephoto lens. I gave up that idea.

Took several shots of the shelter.

Then I noticed the ships.

And then I realized that I could use the makeshift shelter as the frame! Refer to first photo. Well, I was happily snapping away.

As it was getting dark, I started walking back towards the others. I saw the horses' tracks in the sand and I took pix of those too. I told you I was snap-happy! We heard the fireworks go off, indicating the breaking of fast. We walked back towards the car. Fast-forward the other bits and we got home by 7pm. It's less than 10 mins drive to home. The advantages of living in a small town, everywhere is considered 'close'.

I must apologize to the dial-up users (if any) who realized too late that this post was image-laden. Well, at least be happy I haven't used another shot of a raindrop-encrusted anona leaf.

Bye!

** Thanks go to Simon W for providing the thought-bubbles. ;-)

Which Lost Character am I?

While checking out Doubleout.com's site, I found the link to a Lost Quiz. The spelling of 'mysterious' became 'mysteries', so beware of that. The last question was a decoy. I wanted to be Kate, but I got:

Take the quiz: "Which LOST character are you?"

Jack
You are Jack. You are fighting your inner demons, but deep down inside you know you're doing what you think is right.

Oh well, better Jack than Claire or Locke.

My sister's family will be driving up tomorrow. They will be around til Sunday (sis, hubby and the maid), and then the kids will be staying til mid-Nov. Mum lamented that the church was organizing a trip to northwest Malaysia (Perak, Kedah...) during Raya; five days, RM200, all food and lodging provided for. Arrghhh...I wish I could go! But I need to finish my final year project and writing my thesis. Grrr...

That James Blunt tune keeps ringing in my head, especially that last line, "But it's time to face the truth, I will never be with you." The story of my life. People I like, I can't be with due to:

1. Age/Religious differences
2. Distance

To be realistic though, I like the first guy as a friend. I know I can't give anything more. So it's not really about him, is it? Okay, maybe it's about guys in general. Am I in denial? Nooo, I can't be. ;-)

Wonder how Plan_B is doing in the Philippines. He'll be there for two weeks. 6 + 14...hmm, he should be back by the 21st. Maybe he got enthralled by the experience, a new country, finally being with his lady-love and using the Tagalog he learnt from a ex-co-worker.

Why do some people have to be so sensitive?

This happened to me yesterday. I was chatting with this guy I had played online Pool with and he had the impression that I no longer wanted to chat with him. If I didn't, would I have said 'Hi' to him while I was invisible?

Perhaps I made the mistake of telling him that I had been chatting with another online Pool partner the night before, because he started asking me to explain myself. I'm thinking, "I played a handful of games with him and he's asking me to explain why I didn't send him messages?" Huh? I don't know why I actually tried to explain to him that I did reply to his messages, but he wanted me to send him messages first. He was usually idle and I would rather send him a message if he was online, but that didn't pacify him. He seemed convinced that I wasn't planning on chatting with him any more and he asked if he could delete me from his contact list. After all the explaining I had to do, I agreed. I think my answer surprised him a little. Maybe he expected me to apologize profusely or something. But as I saw it, I don't have to explain anything to anybody, much less someone I only knew for a few days.

I closed the window and thought he would delete me, but later I still saw his handle there. So I did him a favour and deleted him. If he was so set on deleting me, why didn't he do it immediately?

Am I wrong in wanting friends on YM I can just say 'Hi' to? Or perhaps vent to once in a while? I don't expect people to message me all the time (okay, so I'm invisible and they wouldn't know I am online, but that's besides the point) and I don't message my friends that often. Why? I figure they're busy. I'm invisible because sometimes I have a lot of things to handle and having an IM chat would be frustrating to somebody who has to wait for my replies. When I do have a decent IM chat, I get antsy. I need to do something else besides chat. It developed during my dial-up per-minute charges stage. I feel guilty spending time chatting.

I saw the guy I wrote about in my previous post (the one who used his grandfather's name) online on YM. I made myself visible and there was no response. So I deleted him too. It these kinds of situations, I'm not the one who goes running to people who say they don't want to chat with me anymore.

I decided to update today because I realized (from the counter) that there is more than one person reading this. All this while, I thought the counter was logging my own presence. I'm sure there are no repeat visitors though. It would help if you left a comment and I know there are repeat visitors such as yourself.

*yawn* I should sleep. Good night/day wherever you may be.

It rains

It's been raining after 10pm these few nights. Thunder and lightning. Don't like the lightning much because when I sleep, I like everything to be dark and quiet. Oh yeah...I could always use those eye covers they give out in the airplanes.

Was a little snap happy this afternoon. Took a shot of the wasp/insect on a leaf, that you see in this post. It was quite by accident that I saw that little fellow buzzing around the leaf. For a few seconds, it was under the leaf. I waited (thank goodness there were no mosquitoes biting) and soon caught this pic before it decided that the leaf had nothing to offer.

Plan_B is off to the Philippines to meet his *cough* friend for two weeks. Maybe after this he'll have something to write about in this blog.

Off to sleep, it's past 2am and I have to see my super tomorrow about my final year project. I have to present next month, on the 20-21st of Nov. *sniff* I want to be done with this once and for all!

Take care, reader of this blog.

How did they know??

Darn it! How did they know? There was no question that asked, "What was your birth order?"

You Are Likely a Third Born

At your darkest moments, you feel vulnerable. At work and school, you do best when you're comparing things. When you love someone, you tend to like to please them. In friendship, you are loyal to one person. Your ideal careers are: sales, police officer, newspaper reporter, inventor, poet, and animal trainer. You will leave your mark on the world with inventions, poetry, and inspiration.

The Birth Order Predictor

This one is SO true! My personal motto is "Friend to all, lover to none". =)

Your Ideal Relationship is Friends Only

Honestly, you're not really ready for a relationship right now. And you prefer to keep things platonic, for now. That's not to say that one of your friends could be dating material. You're just taking a break for now.

What's Your Ideal Relationship?

Okay, for this one, I'll need to believe with a fistful of salt.

Your Seduction Style: Fantasy Lover

You know that ideal love that each of us dreams of from childhood? That's you! Not because you possess all of the ideal characteristics, but because you are a savvy shape shifter. You have the uncanny ability to detect someone's particular fantasy... and make it you. You inspire each person to be an idealist and passionate, and you make each moment memorable Even a simple coffee date with you can be the most romantic moment of someone's life By giving your date exactly what he or she desires, you quickly become the ideal lover. Your abilities to make dreams come true is so strong, that you are often the love of many people's lives. Your ex's (and even people you have simply met or been friends with) long to be yours. No doubt you are the one others have dreamed of... your biggest challenge is finding *your* dream lover.

What Kind of Seducer Are You?

Inner Thoughts

A certain somebody in a forum I frequent requested for posts about my inner thoughts. Sorry, I don't answer requests!


5 reasons why I don't do inner thoughts:

1. I usually try to keep my mind off things.
2. Dwelling on things I cannot change is just pointless (forgotten about that fellow I posted about earlier).
3. If I worried, it'll just add more lines to my forehead. I already have two.
4. If I wrote about my inner thoughts, I'd be mortified to realize that I'm opinionated, childish, pampered, egotistical (I've got the pride of a lion and the temper of a Tiger), etc. I prefer to keep quiet and let people guess.
5. I don't have much to think about.

Hmmm, does the list count as an inner thought? Darn, I guess I did fulfill that request after all!

It's late. I'm off to bed. But first, I need to rant a little. The results of the Star Merdeka Contest are out. It's not so bad that I didn't get anything, but to lose to entries with atrocious English is just disappointing, to say the least. Ugh... I've been told that organisers don't look at the quality of English, but the message conveyed. So typos and bad grammar are allowed. It makes me cringe though.

And in yesterday's paper, this local girl won a Mercedes Benz in the monthly Premium Savings certificate draw. From my town...with the name, "Sharleen". She's only 16 and she can't drive yet! I don't drive myself, but at least I have a driver's license!

*yawn* Okay, off to bed now. Good night.

Lost, Season 2 Episode 1

Figured I'd update since I got sick of looking at 'Dead Gecko In The Bathroom'. Heh. Where's that Plan_B fellow? I was hoping somebody else would keep this alive.

Anyways, Lost premiered on US tv on the 21st. I suddenly remembered and managed to d/l it just now. All I can say is 'Whoa!' My goosepimples were up 80% of the time. It's so nice not having to watch another repeat on Astro. Gosh knows when it'll finally arrive here. My Dad noticed me watching on my laptop (dubbed Keanu), and said, "Not fair!"

It didn't help when I kept exclaiming, "Ooohh...!" and "Oh!" while he was watching TV nearby.

Jack's flashback episode, this one. We see how he first met Sara, the woman he was marrying in the first season. Did he marry her in that episode? I forget. I remember him giving an impromptu wedding vow.

Should I give out a spoiler? I'm good, I'll just confirm that everytime something is revealed, more mysteries abound. They descend into the hatch, meet somebody that Jack met in his flashback (that fellow told Jack that he was going to participate in a race around the world). How did he end up there? The inside of the hatch door was emblazoned with the word, 'Quarantine'. Woooo....

Oops, just revealed more than I was supposed to! My bad. *eg* Can't wait til next week. :)

* Ran out of nice 'raindrops on leaves' shots, so don't blame me for using a lousy pic with TOO many raindrops. No time/too lazy to crop.

Dead Gecko In The Bathroom

Two mornings ago, I saw what I thought was a dead gecko just under the sink. I tore off some toilet paper, slightly dreading the thought of holding it between my fingers. If there's one thing I do not like, it's creatures that can stick to walls (and your body). Geckos and tree frogs fall into this category.

As I was gently positioning the TP over the body, letting the edge caress it, the gecko sprung back to life! It scurried slowly across the green tiles, close to death. I recoiled in horror/disgust. It wasn't dead yet, despite a tear that exposed its flesh and a stain that ran from the site until the middle of it's body. I took an old contest entry form (the paper is really thick and sturdy), trying to scoop it up, and it moved again! I dropped the piece of paper, which now shielded the gecko from sight.

I left the bathroom. Left the paper and the TP and the gecko in there. I figured that I would wait til it died.

Several hours later ...

The gecko had moved towards the loo. It wasn't moving. As I tried to scoop it back into the piece of paper, it indicated that there was still some life left in it. I gave up, and left the bathroom once more.

Fast-forward to 11pm. I entered the bathroom and stared at the motionless body. I hoped that it had finally given up the ghost. I saw a couple of ants near the body. I gave it a few nudges with the contest entry form, and it lay there with unblinking eyes. Mustering the courage that had left me twice before, I scooped up the gecko and threw it into the bin.

Mission accomplished! There's no way I could be a contestant in Fear Factor.

In other news, I figure that the person whom I was wondering about in the previous posts is as good as yesterday's dead gecko. People who don't appreciate the way that I think/am, well, they don't know what they're missing, especially after having some enjoyable conversations.

Time to concentrate on my Final Year Project.

Plan_B, where are you?

Update on previous post

I did a little background check on the grandfather's name. There is a listing for that name and the location is where he said it would be. I had asked for his grandfather's age in an earlier conversation (just small talk, I wasn't writing anything down) and it matched the info. Could it be possible that he could still be lying about the pic and the rest is true?

I am at a loss. I do enjoy the friendly, flirty conversation and if I was wrong to jump to conclusions...I'd hate to be the one to crawl back and apologize. I know, pride shouldn't come before a friendship. But I don't want to do that on the basis of one photo. I want more pix. Then I'll apologize.

I'll see if he leaves a message tonight. But if he does, what should I say? "Thanks"? I know not to ask for another pic. Heh.

Only time will tell.

Update at 9:48pm - He was online for a few seconds (or he could have just gone 'invisible'). I guess that's the end of it then. The pic is here*. So, what do you think? I have to admit that seeing it a few times increases the sleaze factor. Maybe it's just me. Maybe I'm just paranoid. I usually take everything I read with a fistful of salt. Do you think I overreacted? I was just floored that he'd actually say he'd stop chatting with me.

* Update (25th April 2006): Since losing my Yahoo ID to a phishing scam, some links and photos are no longer accessible. Sorry for the inconvenience.

A Matter of Trust

I've been online since November 1996. I'd like to think that I know much better now compared to the early days when I got duped by that e-mail purportedly sent from TMnet asking me for my login details.

I've made many a friend (and foe) online, via Skype, IMs and chatrooms/forums/online games. A few months ago, I even met a Vietnamese online who tried impressing me with a shot of him in a silver Ferrari and another with him standing next to Dustin Nguyen (known most of all for his role in 21 Jump Street, beside Johnny Depp and Peter DeLuise). His story was that he owned a company selling souped-up fast cars, and that Dustin was working for HIM. After a little chat session on MSN, I decided to check out Dustin's bio on IMDB.

Read about tragic car crash that involved his wife, which resulted in her being a quadriplegic the same year they were wed. The bio never mentioned him working for any company that involved cars.

So the next time I met that fellow again, I asked him what his company name was. He ignored that question and so I said that it was a pity about Dustin's wife, being involved in an accident and all. I added that there was no information about him being employed in a car company. Suddenly, he seemed very interested about how I knew this. I told him about the bio on IMDB. He wanted the link, which I gave with this query, "You want to read about your employee?"

Well, I think all blood vanished from his face when he read it, because as soon as he returned, he high-tailed it out of the chat window. Looks like he underestimated me and needed to change his M.O for meeting and impressing women. I hope Dustin practises his martial arts skills on that loser one day.

Cut to several days ago. I met this fellow while playing against him in the Yahoo Games Pool room. Since I enjoyed the games, I added him to my 'Pool Partners' contact list. We chatted and he seemed nice enough. He sent me a photo of himself and well...he seemed like one of those catalogue models.

I'm thinking to myself, "Phoooarrr... this can't be true. Cute fellow like that chatting with me." So I asked for another pic. He said he didn't have one with him. Fine, he did say he was on leave from the navy (stationed in Japan) and was using his grandfather's PC. The handle he used on YM was not his, he explained. It was his grandfather's. But he also said that his grandfather never chatted online, just knowing how to e-mail family members.

Little sirens were starting to blare. Why use his grandfather's name for a handle? Why couldn't he use his own name or handle?

I kept asking him a photo and said that I was just being cautious. But he apparently felt 'offended' that I would mistrust him. So he said he didn't want to chat with me. This was two nights ago. Last night, I got a 'Have a nice night' from him. I replied with a 'Thank you'. Tonight, I got another 'Have a nice night', which I then responded with a 'Thanks, you have a nice day then'. Figured that would be the end of it, but he replied again with a 'Will try'.

No, I didn't reply back. He said he didn't want to chat with me because of my trust issues. Why should I be the one to crumble and start chatting like nothing changed?

Sure, I enjoyed chatting with him. But surely somebody who easily feels offended (and doesn't buy the fact that we girls have to stay on our toes to avoid being played for a fool) has something to hide and is playing some mind game? I don't know about you, but when somebody's game is up...they tend to pretend that it's really us who's done a crime. A reverse psychology kind of thing. You know what I mean?

Anybody reading this have any comments? I'm tempted to give him a link to this just so he sees my side of the story.

But what's the use, right? As if he's really in the navy and flies fighter planes in Japan. Darn, too bad the www.navy.mil site is chock full of stuff and I don't know where to start.

Hmmm... and on second thought, it wouldn't be a great idea to give him this link. What if I was wrong?

Horrible long hair

Woke up this morning and was getting ready to have my shower. A certain member of the family was getting ready to go out (as usual).

Family Member (FM): "You should cut your hair. It's horrible."

Me: "I'm the one 'wearing' it (I just got up, okay? My speech skills need time to warm up). I like it!"

FM: "But it's other people who are the ones looking at you"

Me: "I've had people see me and they say they like it."

FM goes off and I go have my shower. Hmmph. I've never let my hair grow this long before. And it's quite short compared to those models who hawk shampoo on TV. My hair is just a little more than shoulder-length. Some people don't know what to say, and so they say something mean. Some people need to watch that Bambi movie ("If you can't say nothing nice, don't say nothing at all.") a few times.

Then I go to the kitchen ... and am told to sweep the floor. You can call me lazy, you can call me anything...but the truth is, I HATE sweating! The only sport I don't mind doing is swimming. And if you think I abhor housework, it's really the sweating I hate. When I was on a month-long holiday in Seattle, I learnt with glee that I could vacuum a whole house without breaking into a sweat! It helped that it was in Springtime (17th April - 15th May 1999) and the thermostat was somewhere around 72F.

What was I doing vacuuming a house on a holiday? I was bored to death. The person I was visiting had to go to work. I had NO TV (person's housemate kept the TV in his room), and just the radio...which kept playing Tal Bachman's "She's So High" every five minutes. No kidding! Now you know why I decided to forego the bedrest (I had a whiplash-type injury on the 2nd day that I was there) and vacuum instead.

But back to the present, I'm still trying to solve my VB6 coding problems. Yes, yes...I know there's a VB.NET and it's starting to get ancient. And I did try using it. Problem was, I had bought 4 books on VB6. Which hasn't really helped much.

What I need is a VB6 expert. Most people I've contacted are too busy with work. What to do?

What? Another blog?

Ack!

I didn't sign up to get the fourth blog in my blog collection. I wanted to be able to leave comments in my friends' blogs. Please stand by while I figure out what to do and what section of my life this blog needs to cover.

Innermost thoughts: part of my name is there, some people might know me (if you don't, just google "Sharlini"-lah, my surname is not Sankaran), so maybe not.

Wild escapades: Eh? What wild escapades? This is "me" we're talking about. I live in a small town, just about everywhere is five minutes away from my house. The cemetary is a 20-second walk from my front gate. And this State is part of the Malay Heartlands (boy, do I feel country right now), just escaped the clutches of the opposition government in the last elections and still no real nightspots to go to. Not that I care to go to these places anyway.

Acts of crime: Yeah, sure...whose? The closest I've been to crime is Kajang Prison. I was doing my practical training in the HQ (IT Dept) and the pre-release prisoners were cleaning the office. Let's see...have I committed any crimes? I'm so good, I used to write grafitti (very small) using a pencil (just so they could rub it off with an eraser if they wanted to). Oh, wait...there was one time I used 'Liquid Paper'/'Pentel Correction Fluid' to write something about a guy I detested. XXX is an MCP. Unfortunately, nobody knew what an MCP was. If I had written it in full:
a) people would recognize my handwriting
b) people would know it was one of two or three people (and that included me) whose English was far advanced than the rest of them.

I wonder if I can change the title of the blog. Thinking on my feet was never one of my better qualities. But it's short and sweet. No drama, unlike "Friend to all, lover to none".

I hope people won't think I simply jumped into the blogging bandwagon. My first blog was started early last year, so there! Other blogs are on Friendster, Yahoo 360 and... umm, oh yeah... that's a secret. The last one (which I started early last year) is a secret. Let's just say that it's Numb. If you can find that, then you are one clever fellow/person. Word of caution though: plenty of rambling, venting, boasting and gushing over this particular person that I know. So don't go there.

I am not going to whine, moan or be pathetic on this blog. No pitiful attempts at poetry, or fiction-writing (I save all that for the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest). I will try updating this as frequently as I can, but I'd rather not post if it's just a half-assed "Really didn't do anything today. I feel so sleepy. Bye!" entry.

That's it from me for now. Ta!