What's to come

Having enjoyed the privilege of going straight back to home after school for the past 2 years, I might soon have to rediscover what it's like to have to study at the office like I used to back when my parents owned a hardware shop in Kuantan before I shifted here. If you didn't already know, my dad is supposedly going to run a book store business in Pyramid and he'll need people to help him, obviously I'm included in the list :D So depending on how things turn out, the next time you visit Sunway Pyramid you would most probably see me at the counter of the book store scanning barcodes for the magazines....

~Sigh~....I really don't know how things would turn out in the near future but I suppose I'll surely miss all the free time and comfort of staying at home that I currently still enjoy. And running the bookstore means that I effectively have no more free time to myself (8 hours a day + transport + misc = pretty much the whole day), something that I realize I had taken for granted all this while..Not to mention that the bookstore is located outside the mall, meaning that it's semi-open air and if the work doesn't tire me out, the vehicle exhaust mixed with the deadly second-hand smoke from the nearby cafes would toast my lungs crisp by the end of next year. And my December holidays. Ruined. Not that planned anything but I won't be able to anymore, and even Christmas wouldn't be a day off I think. Driving license? Forget it ler..I'll have to continue leeching from other people's rides for another year until my STPM's over I guess.

But it's not all doom and gloom, I guess..with 500+ titles in the magazine store (kononnya), I'm sure I'd be able to find something interesting to read every now and then while working there. There's even Justice League in the magazine list but I dunno if it's a comic or what. And what better opportunity to go ice-skating more often :D There's no internet access cause there's no phone line I think, but with a wireless receiver I think can curi Starbuck's connection cause we're just opposite each other anyway. Bittorrent at the workplace? Let's hope the police doesn't raid,haha xD

What's to come,what's to come...I haven't the remotest idea to be honest but whatever happens, however things turn out to be, I can only continue to hope and trust in the LORD. Yea (^_^)

Just when you think that it wouldn't happen to you..

So that's how it goes..just when you think that the chances of it happening is next to nil, it jumps out at you and wham! You're left stunned, shocked, bruised, above all frustrated and disappointed at how things turned out to be such. I find it inconceivable that death strikes so suddenly, and again I know now how it can strike terror in some people, especially those who fears for their afterlife.

Then again, before you come and console me for whoever that I've just lost, let me just make it clear that none of relatives or friends kicked the bucket(Choi!!), just that my fellow companion that saw me through many rounds of Warcraft, Counter-Strike, Civilisations and a whole lot of other games, that stayed with me till the latest of nights, faithfully serving it's duty without any signs of stopping whatsoever, that I LEAST worried about : My Mouse

Yes, and what a time too it decided to fail on me, just when I was rushing into the enemies' base in a heated match of Dota my cursor suddenly went haywire, jumped around, scrolled up and zoomed in before dropping dead..silent..stiff. Motionless, it lay by the corner of the screen while my character was butchered by the AI opponents at their base. The glimpse of hope that came with restarting my PC faded as quickly as and before I knew it, I gave up all hope and thought about getting a new one as quickly as I possibly could instead.. (anyone with a spare mouse out there? really tight on the wallet this week :D)

Note that I'm typing this without my mouse which explains the different font used, so yeah, I had to use lots of keyboard shortcuts but unfortunately just using these shortcuts to replace the functions of the mouse is like trying to dig out of a prison with a tiny spoon : it gets the job done but sure is also ridiculously difficult at the same time..

Talking about deaths, real deaths this time, my friend Chia Wen's aunt just passed away..and just before her birthday which is today too..hope that her aunt's a Christian, that's all that I can say. I wonder though, should someone close and dear to me ever cross over to the spiritual plane, just what would I do? Just what can I do? I wonder..

Why the long delay in posts?

Allow me to just apologise to those of you who have wasted many precious minutes checking for updates to my blog as it's been sitting idly most of the time...why the slow and long delay in updating my blog? Again, rest assured that I'm not abandoning my blog, but it's just that I don't seem to be able to take the initiative to blog lately..but since Simon did a very nice post on his to-do list, I decided that I ought to come out with ..... a not-to-do list! Okay, not exactly original here but what the heck, I'll just give it a shot :D

Not-to-do List of Nov-Dec '06

1.Do Nothing
Ah yes, if there's one thing that I'll try not to do this holidays is to do absolutely nothing..nothing in this sense means to let the holidays fly by without keeping track of what exactly happened at the very end of it..it's too cliched to go "Aiyo, whatever happened to the holidays man? So fast over liao?" year after year after year after year, wishing that the holidays were just only starting when school's about to start again......

2.Leave Justice League Alone
Heck no! I must find a way to finish that whole 12 GB of 50+ episodes by this holiday the very latest..then I can back it up to DVDs cause it's occupying precious fresh estate on my hard disk drive. I must say that it's an enjoyable watch in more ways than one..sure, it's nowhere near modern -day animes in terms of storyline development or art quality (think HD-quality hits like Gundam or Appleseed..or even Vandread) nor does it exude the immediate charm and coolness of recently popular animes like Bleach or The Melancholies of Suzumiya Haruhi, not to mention its opening soundtrack is rather bland and the dull 3D-2D intro sequence doesn't really help to discard the notion that it's a kiddy Sunday morning cartoon..but it does make for a surprisingly relaxing watch and I've always liked the way how Superman can punch his enemies with enough brute strength to launch them crashing into walls and pillars. And Green Lantern is cool!! It's definitely interesting to see him bond with Hawkgirl after squabbling through the first dozen episodes. I'll find a way to finish it one way or another..

3.Leave my drawings alone
Another area that I hope to improve on actually.this holiday I must really find a way to brush up my drawing skills as it's been stagnant for more than a year I believe...not to mention learning how to use Photoshop to its full potential as I'm in the school editorial board next year. I've always been hugely impressed by those people who can come up with brilliant works of art using just Photoshop and a scanner..take the example that this pic below that I really like :D I'd give almost anything to be able to draw like this.......

4.Be content with my grand-daddy printer
I so definitely must get my hands on a new all-in-one printer/scanner/copier by this year-end...my current printer serves as nothing more than an annoying printer with lousy prints other than being the occasional footstool. I'm hoping to land a good deal in the coming PC Fair or maybe poke around at auction sites like eBay or Lelong for bargains..anyone with a scanner or printer to spare? :D

5.Keep textbooks tucked in a dark corner of the cabinet
Sad to say, I've got lots of bucking-up to do cause Form Six just isn't as easy as what I thought it would be..I figure I'll need to do truckloads of exercises if I really want to go for flying colours for my STPM's result. Already, I can think of a hundred and one things to do and studying ranks way, way down there at the bottom in my task hierarchy. Chemistry is a killer and it doesn't help when our country's education system is so stuck-up and inefficient. I mean, is passing exams really the whole point of education? It does seem to me that that's the case, more so fortified by my teacher's remark this morning during extra class that "you don't have know how the formula is derived, you just have to know how to use the formula to answer questions". So what, all we do is just processing the data then? If everyone did that, how could the formulas possibly be discovered in the first place then? Is it any wonder then that our graduates are always deemed pariahs when compared to overseas graduates like those from the UK for example...

6.Keep out of touch with my friends
Many of the friends that I made while in national service have probably long since forgotten my name I suppose, seeing that I did not really make much effort to contact them after we parted ways at the end of the camp. To make things harder, they either live of study far away from my place (Subang) so it's next to impossible to visit them for say yumcha or something for someone like me who can't even drive yet..

Oh such fun..

Hello to everyone who's reading this. I know I'm way overdue in my updates, so do forgive me for that (I blame daphne for the late posts). I had wanted to blog about some stuff but everytime I end up not doing so for one reason for another. But I just today was very fun, so I just thought that I should not let go of such a nice topic to blog about :D

TRU TRU TRU...for the uninitiated, TRU is Teens R Us (no relationship whatsoever to Toys R Us mind you) and like the name implies involves teenagers. Today was the last day of TRU for this year and looking back, I am more than surprised by how much things have changed. Still fresh in my mind are those lonely TRU sessions, where going to TRU meant sticking around with Justin and having to bear being with so many strangers in the church. Of course, in Christina How's case, she's a social butterfly. She adapted in like what, 2 months (or maybe less) felt right at home after one year. For me, it was really dreadful..I have the most terrible communication skills on earth and after 9 years of being with roughly the same circle of friends, I found it an immense challenge to move on and start anew my social life. I'm just like that, an introvert most of the time and never the kind of person to reach out to strangers and make friends (which explains why the "Adeline" incident (for those of you who know it) was such an unforgettable experience from God).

I still fondly remember how I used to struggle with just memorizing everyone's name in the beginning. I mean, I'm just one person so it's easy for them to remember my name but I had to remember like 30+ TRUers and helpers' names. What a challenge it was indeed for an introvert like me..those were the days and if not for TRU, I would still probably be a sore introvert who sits at home and plays computer games everyday until I rot and die a painful death with no friends to mourn for me at my funeral . It really means a lot when you have TRU as your "backup" network of friends, so to speak. Friends whom you know are a better lot, who gives you support, who shares problems with you..not everyone would have special friends in TRU I suppose but chances are you would be able to find at least one, if not more...

And I could also see how other people have changed throughout my three years in TRU..take Hannah for example (hope you don't mind Hannah :D). When I first knew Hannah, she was really..cold. Yes,cold. I mean it in an honest way Hannah if you're reading this, strictly no offense intended. You weren't exactly the friendliest of the TRUers and I must say it took very long before I got acquainted to you, even that as "Crissy's sister" only and not knowing you personally. But this year, I saw the brighter, clearer sides of your personality: Firm, Friendly, Doesn't Like To Procrastinate, Caring, Warm and..well, you get the idea.

I also appreciate the fact that since I moved here and joined TRU, I gained an extra cousin. That "new" cousin of mine is Justina Lee Su Yen (hope I spelled correctly) :D I had always been very close with Justin since young (very young) but I just never got to know Justina at all. To me, she was just this weird, emo cousin of mine whom I didn't like to mix around with. Besides, I only see Justin and his family like twice a year so there's hardly time for get-to-know-each-other chit-chats.. But after I shifted here, I began seeing her more and more often because I'm always visiting Justin to play games with him. Initially, it took a lot of endurance to even engage her in conversation, and I meant it literally xD It wasn't easy but I'd say it was well worth it because I witnessed how she changed from being unfriendly to the crazy, creative and wacky guitar-playing, cheeseburger-loving and Joey Gilbert-supporting Justina that she is today (^_^) I don't know what was the catalyst that drove her change, maybe it's TRU, maybe it's not but my money's on TRU and it's amazing when we see that God's plans are way beyond our comprehension and more often than not leaves us awestruck and just plain stunned.

Next year, I'll be in college group..I'm not sure how it's going to be (although I heard that it involves a lot of fishballs and laughing on a full stomach) but I'm sure God has His own plans in store for me. Goodbye TRU, it's certainly been wonderful. Like someone said today, the three years that I spent in TRU are far better than all the other years of my life before it put together :D Three cheers for TRU!!!

Back Again

Ah, it sure feels great to have taken an entire week's break from blogging :D Not that blogging's a chore of course, don't get me wrong. But as with doing any other form of writing, I find that my creative lines of thought are not exactly as free-flowing as I would like them to be. I should be posting again soon and (I mean, this doesn't count as an actual blog right?) hopefully I'll have interesting topics to write about. Right now, I know that everyone's gone out of their minds trying to beat the high-scores of Justin's Irritating Game :D Sure feels nice to have the top spot,haha. Hope Chuen doesn't beat it too soon..if you haven't an inkling as to what I'm saying, or haven't tried the game, head on to www.the-noodle-shop.blogspot.com and give it a go!