1

The World is Such a Sad Place

The incident in Southern Thailand really upsets me. That's why I don't like reading newspaper in the morning. It makes me realizes that the world is such a sad place. However, I learn something valuable today. I learn that Malaysia is such a great and beautiful country to live in. Let us all pray that peace in our country will always remain. But let us all not just hope and pray, we must also thrive to maintain the harmony among us.

Hmm..I'm preaching...

Penipu

Tadi ada org datang rumah, suruh bagi nama dan alamat sebab dia org nak buat fogging denggi. Cara dia cakap seolah2 dia ni pihak berkuasa dan fogging tu wajib. Aku dah syak sesuatu, aku tanyala berapa ringgit kena. Bila aku tanya, dia pun tersipu2. Memang betul dia ni dari kompeni swasta, nak buat duit janganlah berlagak macam pihak berkuasa. Bodoh!

Statistics

My site hit is pathetic. What to do? It's not like I have many friends. Hmm...I am thinking of quitting this blogging thing. I can't even persuade my friends (who are very few in numbers) to start blogging!

Gunung Macincang, Langkawi

Just got home from Langkawi. Thanks to Mon for making the trip available. The last time I went to Langkawi was way back in 1993. We went for a ride on the cable car at Gunung Macincang. It was such an awsome experience. The world looked spectacular from the top of Gunung Macincang even though it was such a foggy day and not much could be seen. Maybe it is better to say that the world "feel" spectacular from up there. For some, the ride on Gunung Macincang cable car can be horryfying since the cable climbs at a very steep angle.

But something mysterious happened while we were halfway to the top. Out of nowhere, we heard the sound of malay tradisional music, with gamelan and serunai. We searched if there was any speakers inside the cable car, but couldn't find any. Then the music suddenly stopped. When we got down, I tried to find out where the music came from. The woman at the ticket counter said that they don't play any music to the passengers, the cable cars don't even have stereo systems! Hmm...

The Headlines Translator

Finally, my IELST test is over. Hope my band score is higher than 6.5.

While waiting to take my test this morning, my mom and I took a seat on a levee by the roadside near Plaza Pulau Tikus. We came a little bit too early. There was a newspaper stand nearby and next to me, sat an old Indian man reading a Tamil newspaper. I couldn't help it but to look at the photos printed on the paper, of course I couldn't understand the words. The Indian man noticed that I was looking, and all of a sudden he started to translate the headlines to me. At times, I could see that he was struggling to find the right Malay words. Then he and my mom started this little friendly chat, concerning the headlines that he had translated. The chat and translation of headlines went on for several minutes. He pointed to a photo of a politician in India, I don't know who she is, but the Indian man really looked up to her. From then onwards, he started talking about how grateful he is to be in Malaysia. He said we are lucky to be here , the poverty level in India is very high and lots of people die out of poverty everyday there. I think he had lived in India once, and maybe he still go back to India to visit relatives. The chat had to end when it was time for me to take my test, so my mom and I went to IDP's office, only to find out that the test started way later than I thought!

The old Indian man made me think, am I grateful to be a Malaysian?

Happily Ever After

I read an article about happiness in my IELTS test practice book. According to the article, a survey had been done to study the factors that make people happy. The fact that money is not the main factor for happiness didn't surprise me. What surprised me was, if a person stated that he or she was happy in one survey, the probability for the person to state that he or she is happy in another survey conducted years later is high. This means that people who are happy stay happy throughout their lives, even though their incomes remain static or facing adversities in life.

Now I know what it means by "Happily Ever After"

I wake up this morning I make myself a mug of coffee. See anything wrong with the picture? Can you imagine the consequences?

Hmm...two entries in a day. The Internet has become my new escapism. I have no more funds for new books. Besides, I'm so tired of Hans Christian Andersen's preaching, thus his Complete Fairy Tales (ISBN 1-85326-899-2) is now becoming an ancient artifact on my shelf. I want to start reading The Brothers Grimm Complete Fairy Tales (ISBN 1-85326-898-4) but I just can't read a new book without finishing the one that I currently read. I can, on the other hand, buy a new book without even start to read the books I already bought. The fact that currently I am practicing for my IELTS test may also contribute to the reason why the Internet has become a new way of escaping reality for me lately. The IELTS practice set book has an aura that makes me want to stay away from books for a while...

I'm very nervous about my TPM scholarship. What should I do if...I couldn't even write it down. When I finished my IT project in my last semester at the university, I was thinking of selling my car, buying a van, and go traveling while doing odd jobs for money. But after giving it some consideration, I realized that a van as a home is like a baking oven with wheels when the weather gets really hot. Besides, I don't know whether I can survive being a nomad. Thus the idea of traveling and living in a van was ruled out. Then I got this job offer from DRB-Hicom but I turned it down. Some of you might think that I, as a fresh graduate, was crazy to turn down such an offer from a high-profile company. Well, if I am so sensible, the idea of living in a van wouldn't even come into my head!

Just now, as my mother was talking to a neighbor, a bird came walking near her and opened its mouth as if it was begging for food. It is a common mynah (Acridotheres Tristis). The mynah wouldn't move away and my mom didn't really know what to do. So we decided to catch the mynah but it managed to escape by flying very low. Then it landed on the car roof and stayed there. I offered it some rice and it pecked the rice straight out of my palm. What a cute creature! I believe that the bird was raised since hatchling by human thus it doesn't know how to find food. I caught the bird at last and gave it to my neighbor. She took the bird to another neighbor who has a bird aviary. I hope that he will adopt the tame bird. If he doesn't want the bird, I would be very please to keep it as a pet, though I know that it would not be appropriate cause I already have a cat!

Wishes do come true. The night before my graduation day, I made a wish. It went like this:

"If only I can have but one wish, I wish that ____ would come to my convocation."

And my wish did come true. It was so amazing. Thank you ____, you're the best and will always be! May you also have what you wish for in life! Now I have another wish...

"If only I can have but one wish, I wish that I'll get the TPM sponsorship"

May this wish come true too...

procrastination - put of taking action, delay...

dalam bahasa melayu, maksudnya melengah-lengah...

Today, I receive an e-mail from my best friend, urging me to update my blog. I am like, wow, someone is really reading my blog. I should put counters on my blog so I'd know how many people have visited it. But, I can't do it now, i have something else to do (See! I am procrastinating again).

Because of this bad habit of mine, I haven't pack a thing yet for my travel to Shah Alam for my convocation. I should prepare now since the long drive to Shah Alam starts tomorrow in the early morning and I need enough sleep tonight. But still, I have to put off packing until tonite, now my cat need her belly-rub.(See! I am procrastinating again).

Maybe I should stop this bad habit...starting tomorrow...(See! I am procrastinating again)

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by the uncertainties in life. But when I come to think of it, why worry? It's just a waste of my time and energy. But, alas, I still do. I'm still worrying over things that are out of my control. I'm still worrying if things will not go just as I plan.

I do, from time to time, make a promise to myself to stop worrying. Tonight is another night when I say to myself that I should not worry. I should, however, be grateful with what I have and rejoice the blessing of the present and the oppurtunities it provides. I will not always get what I want, but hey, I'm lucky that I also do not get what I do not want. So buzz off worries, here I come to enjoy the present (I hope I still have this attitude tomorrow!)

I open my blog today and it looks lonely. I don't know why I feel that way. Sometimes when I drive at night and past by houses with lights on I feel lonely. I wonder what people inside are doing. What are their thoughts? Do they have plans for tomorrow? These thoughts make me feel lonely...

I start a new project today. It's not new actually, but I renew my commitment to it. Yesterday, I fast as to give myself a jumpstart, or maybe as a sort of motivation. But I've been busy today and none of my time is commited to fulfill the goals of my project. I only set long-term goals to this project and maybe it's time for me to rethink my strategy...I need to have a five-year plan...

Anyway, my blog looks ugly...

Hmm...yesterday the Undergarment Snatcher came. He reminds me of an incident that happened when I was in standard 2. I was playing with my brother, cousin, and a friend after we came home from 'mengaji' when suddenly, out of nowhere came a mentally-ill person waving a hatchet came running towards us. I was the last to know that we are in danger, thus I was the last to run for my safety and that was, of course, after my brother, cousin and friend yell at the top of thier lungs at me to run. I was so terrified, words cannot describe the intensity of my fear. We ran to my friend's house, but his mother already locked the gate, since she already got the news about a madman on the loose from a neighbour. We took a turn and ran to my house and we got in from the backyard gate. Luckily, my brother forgot to locked the door when we went out playing and in no time at all we were safe inside and locked the door behind us. We ran upstairs and peered through a window. The mentally-ill person was prowling at the front gate which was locked with the hatchet still in his hand.

That is why I am so afraid of the Undergarment Snatcher...

Hi,

Welcome to my blog...more to come...