Break Time

Okay.... so I got my camera. But then, I don't have my streamyx anymore since I'll be moving house soon. So with this connection now, I somehow haven't been able to upload any pictures at the moment.

So I decided I'll save up all the photos at the moment, and I'll give u guys a 'batch' update later when I get a better connection, I don't know when..... but I will, hahaha.


Anyway, moving on to ground zero. My house is a mess right now, since we're currently getting ready to move house (well, it's ALWAYS been a mess)..... I honestly disagree with moving BeFoRe New Year.... (Jan 1), since it'll be a hassle and everybody's in Holiday mood. But due to some complications, we have to.

I might be moving on 30th Dec, so, if any of you would be kind enough to lend a helping hand, I would really appreciate it ^.^


That's all for now, next update should be AFTER New Year so.....

Wishing everybody a Happy New 2009, give yourself some time to sit back and think about what you've done this year, what you've liked most this year, what was your most embarrassing moment this year, what's the happiest moment.... and so on.... And then look forward, into another fun filled year to come.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
謹賀新年！！
新年快乐！！

Thank you so very very much Santa...

Christmas comes every once in a year.... the festival of giving and sharing....
This year, was no different. Or at least I thought it was no different.


I don't know why, but I've been so crazy about getting a camera lately.... It just bugged me sooooo soOOOoo soo much! It's been quite a long time since I last felt like that. However.... money always proved to be a problem for everything I wanted. Even this time.

After some eye distorting browsing all over the internet.... some advice here and there, blar and blar.... I finally came to my choice, an RM2000++ Nikon DSLR D60:



Anyway, my wish was that.... I could get it before New Year. Though it seemed literally impossible.... I still wished.... So that I could take as many pictures as I wanted on New Year itself.... and at least capture as many memories as I could before everybody started leaving next year... and create as many memories before I ended my teens.....

I was about to give up hope on it, that I won't be able to get it before New Year.

And as a last desperate measure.... I turned to my mom. And so unexpected to me as it seemed... plus the situation that we're now in.... she decided to help me make my wish come true.


I really am at a lost of words of how to thank her. Saying thank you will never be enough. Even though this isn't anything big like a car or a house or anything. But to me, to her.... it was already the best she could give me.

Really... Thank you mom, and Merry Christmas.
お母さん。。。。ほんとに。。。。ありがとうな。

Camera Dilemma?

If you look at the timestamps of most of my blog posts, you might realise that most of my blog posts would be done after 12:00a.m. I don't know whether this is normal, but I think it's because I usually only update my blog after I lie down on the bed and realise I can't sleep.


Anyway, Sorry, no pics yet, coz I haven't received the pics taken during our trip for a certain 'Someone', who's hard to get, and seems to have gone for a 'vacation' at the moment.


So, after coming back from the trip, what have I been doing? Frankly, nothing much, except eating leftover lamb chops for the last few days, replenishing my sleeping hours that I lost during the 3 days before and on the trip itself, and lastly boring myself once again with this laptop and wandering up and down my house (no, my house ain't big, but when you get bored to some extent.....)

And for the last 3 days, today counts too (it's past 12am), I've been busying myself with something new...... Hunting for Cameras..... erm well..... hunting using the internet.

It's been a long time I've wanted a camera, and I was always fickle whether should I get a Video Camera, or a Camera. Video, photo, video? photo? which?? Well, to explain why I like videos is too long a story for you to read, and to explain why photos are precious aren't needed.... but anyway, lately, I finally decided I'd get a Camera (for Photos I mean)

Knowing the person I am..... I ain't satisfied with the latest 10 Mega Pixel RM1,399 Sony DSC W-300 that everyone would want if they could afford (well, I wouldn't mind one if you gave it to me for free):





But then again, I craved for something MORE..... something more "at the heart of the image", something "like.no.other"...... So after a long full-time 1 day's hunt. I came down to 2 decisions.


01. Sony DSLR A350





02. Nikon DSLR D40X (2nd Hand from Norman)

Photo credit to Norman Chee @ normaron.blogspot.com


Am I going overboard?? Hmm, I hope not... I trust that my few years of consumer digital camera photography has given me enough experience to handle something new.... something that I could fully utilize it's ability. Even after going into BTech (my current studying course), I just can't seem to take my mind off Film and TV Production and it's related fields.....

Well, after yet ANOTHER full day's (today) of weighing the angels and demons within these 2 cameras..... I have still not yet come to a conclusion.

Anyway, I might be shopping around tomorrow to check out the prices for both cameras and future accessories that I might need. So much for today's post. I ought to get some sleep now.


お休みなさい

Short Life Update

Seems like I haven't updated anything solid since the past 3 weeks. Well.... that makes it since I came back to KK eh?

Well it's not that I don't have anything to update, just that I either too caught up with stuff, or too bored to actually say anything. I haven't really got any 'inspiration' to say anything now, I'll just mention what I've been up too the last few weeks.

Since I got back in KK, I've been having all those delicious food up to date that I couldn't keep track of what I've been eating. I'll post something about this later.... coz all the pics are in my handphone and I haven't had the time to transfer them to my computer. (if only I had a camera instead)

So right now, I've been keeping myself busy with some things I haven't done in a while. 1st, Practicing my piano! Well, since I haven't played for about 4 months, some of my songs seem to have a 'part' of it 'lost' from my memory..... Seems like it'll take a couple of weeks to put them all back together as they've all jumbled up to form something else.

Besides that, I'm 'officially' learning my Japanese. Why do I say 'officially'?? Because all this time I've been learning it on my own using my own found resources, movies, and the internet. But from my 3 week experience at learning from a teaching centre, I am starting doubt my choice of looking for a Tutor. (Somehow I wish I could just go to Japan and get done with it)

And then.... once in while-unexpected-time-of-the-week..... My friends would be calling me out for "yam cha" sessions.... or playing Badminton.... or so far only once, the movies. But it's been fun though, it brings back memories...

For the most troublesome part, I'm currently 'organising'... yea... I guess it's organising.... our ex-class Trip to Melinsung!!! Which will be on this coming Tuesday. "Thinking of what kind of Food you guys wanna eat is really really giving me a headache, gimme a break man... and the BarBeQue... O.M.G....."

***p/s: To everyone attending the Melinsung Trip, Please remember to bring a set of your SCHOOL UNIFORM along, YES!!, the TTSS school uniform.... by uniform, I MEAN BOTH SHIRT AND PANTS/SKIRT, not just the shirt.... (as some people thought....) reason?? You'll know on the day itself. *smirk*

Lastly, to fill in the rest of my spare time..... I spend it sleeping, or just staring at my computer screen saver..... and for those of you who's been to my house before, and seen my tv (which has been "mute" for a whole 3 years), It's Been Repaired!!! So at least I get to watch some TV now, hahaha.

I guess I won't be updating till after I'm back from my trip.... with some photos (hopefully).....

For now,
Tata...

Tagged by Tisha, and Rayzzz

Tagged..... again............................

Here I am again, updating my blog at 4 in the morning with a tag, but anyhow, I guess these tags might let you guys know me better, or whatever keeps you interested.....

So here goes:

1. What's your ambition?
- Ambition, actually, I never really thought of one.... but the older I get.... the more I feel like..... .... maybe forget it......

2. Who is more important to you? Friends or boy/girlfriend?
- Can I say both? I guess I'll say both are as important....... Honestly I don't know what it's really like to be with a partner, but I guess when the time comes, I'll still treasure both my friends and my partner. No matter what.

"Friends are like dirt on your clothes.... They come and go through washings.... but the real ones stay put and sooner or later get stuck forever" -myself

3. How often do you think of committing suicide?
- Never did, never will. Even if everything goes wrong in life.... I'd take down as many bad things as possible with myself, but never end life myself.

4. Do you think you have enough confidence?
- I think I do.... well, then again it depends on what aspect you're talking about.

5. How many babies do you want?
- Errr......... no idea....

6. Do you believe in the supernatural? (God, ghosts, fairies, you name it)
- I guess I don't..... (coz I've never seen anything like that??) but then again saying that just because I haven't seen is..... ...... odd? Let's just say I do.

7. What is your goal for this year?
- The year's coming to an end lol. But this year..... ....... to create as many memories as possible....... (does that make sense to you? Well, it does for me though, ^_^)

8. Do you believe in Love for Eternity?
- Can't say I've tried, but I guess I believe.

9. What's a perfect Girl/Boyfriend like to you? (list 10)
- 01. Love is all that matters
- 02. Love is all that matters
- 03. "
- 04. "
- .
- .
- .
- 08. "
- 09. Love is all that matters
- 10. Love is all that matters

10. What are you really afraid of?
- Heh........ quite a hard question if you ask me..... but right now at this very moment.... I'll say that I'm afraid of losing those that are precious to me.

11. What are your bad habits?
- I always lose stuff, too lazy to talk sometimes, loves to sleep.

12. Is there anything you wanna tell the people who hate you?
- Hate me, hate yourself, hate whatever you want..... but I won't be like you. Life is too short to be spent hating others...

13. State a random fact about yourself.
- My favourite song is currently a Japanese song: 小さな恋の歌

14. What does flying mean to you?
- Flying? What's this question supposed to mean? I'll say I'm just as normal as most people would be, Flying = Freedom.

15. What do you crave for the most currently?
- Right here? Right now?? FOOD!!!

16. Most unexpected gift you received so far, and when?
- Hmm..... almost forgot about this one.... but I guess a 'hand warmer' is quite unexpected.... (those reusable packages of salted liquid solution that could turn warm after pressing a metal piece inside it) considering we're living in Malaysia where we can cook our eggs on the road. Forgotten when.... but that was sometime when I was in Primary school I guess, birthday present.

17. Describe the person who tagged you in 7 words.
- a young-hyperactive-moody-wonderful-yet-unexpectable-girl

18. Are you currently single or?
- Single.

19. What will you become in another 10 years to come?
- I have no idea whatsoever....

20. Do you wanna become male/female next time?
- I guess I'll stick to male.


Instructions:
Remove ONE question from the 20 and add in your own question, then tag 5 people. List them out at the end of the post. Notify them in their Cbox if they've been tagged.


Steam (I guess you'll never see this anyway....)
Siaunee
Pheobe
May Ting
Ronan (if you ever.... ever... bring your blog back to life)

As we grow older...

This post might be a bit odd as my first actual post coming back to KK, but anyway....

Once again, I couldn't sleep. My mind just seems to be to active at the wrong times of the day, so I ended up here again, typing my thoughts into this computer, and up onto my blog, which I didn't really want to at first, cause I felt it was a little awkward, but anyway, here it is....

---------
1 week... I've been back for slightly more than a week. Yet all too soon, I've already felt.... something that I didn't want to. Even if it's just a week, I felt that somehow..... with my friends.... everyone... each other.... have somehow started to grow apart.

I remember back in high school, there were times, when all of us would know what Steam would buy for breakfast; what Amos's math marks were; what was CKCham's favourite phrase of the day; what was the height of our classmates; where the girls would usually sit and eat; what would be the topic for that day..... and so on.....

Yet now, even as we talk to each other, there's so many things that we don't know anymore. As we live in different parts of the world, as we busy ourselves with our own business these days, even with the best technology in this world.... it seems we're all slowly growing apart.


As we grow older, there will be things.... that will naturally disappear.... Things that we no longer have to do, while other things that we will start to do; there will be more and more troublesome things, things that we just wave off with a sentace of "I'm busy", or "that's a waste of time", or "we'll do that next time", or some sort.....

In another few years.... we might not ever be able to do the same things we could do last time.... or even now....

And all those worthless things we did, the stupid quarrels we had, all the time we had together.... now turning into memories.... precious memories..... I really never would've thought it would be like this back then.
----------

end

Tagged by Mich@Michelle

I never really showed any pics of me before. But thanks to this tag, you guys get to see a part of me you rarely see before this....... sigh.


Before that, the Six Steps:
1. take a recent picture of yourself or take a picture right now
2. don't change ur clothes, just take a picture
3. post that picture with NO editing
4. post the picture with these instruction
5. tag 7 people to this
6. * no tag backs *


Here's mine......




Only clever people can see it.






Forget it, here's the real thing:



I wonder why I bothered..... don't paste my pics all over some @%&#*!$ websites k? (I don't consider the black white editing)


I wanna tag..... (I guess some of these guys are gonna LOVE this tag....)


Pheobe
Siaunee
Tisha (double tags don't mind do they.... just post another pic lol)
Steam
Shaun
Tee Lin
Wei Tian

~just for fun~

Graduation

I see people saying how happy they are to have graduated; I read messages and posts saying they're finally taking a new step in life. However, seeing all this, just reminds me, of the same me back then.


To graduate, most people would take it as a good news, a happy thing. It's like one of those things you can say "FINALLY!!". Well, I admit that I was no different, I heaved the sigh "finally..." under my breath. But having said this, what does it mean to graduate?

Hmm, I personally still haven't realised what it means to have graduated. But I sure do know now what it is to not have graduated. I also found out, that there are many things, that will never be the same once out of high school.

Sometimes, I wonder if I could go back to the past, go back to before I graduated, do things that I regret not doing, or doing things that I never did before. Besides that, I wanna experience everything all over again..... it's just so...... nostalgic in a sense.



What do YOU think about graduating?? Feel free to post answers.

Past, Present, Future...

Are you a person who lives in the Past? Do you live a life ever-chasing a future? Or are you the normal person of today? Personally, I hadn't realised these aspects of life until just recently, when something stupid happened to me.

On tuesday, I had my first subject, Management 100. And as I was going out, I couldn't find my house keys, so I assumed I accidentally left them downstairs the night before. So I took my bags and books and all, headed downstairs, only to find that that wasn't the case.

And when I went back up, I turned the door knob, and I go "Shucks!". I'd left my keys in my room. So I went to campus without my keys.


The funny thing is (and also a good thing I assume), even during such a troublesome situation, I can still manage to forget about it and end up dreaming of the future, "What will I do when I arrive back in KK? What am I gonna do next year? What do I wanna be in 5 years time?" These sort of thoughts usually keep me entertained when I'm bored.

So, that very Tuesday when I locked myself out, I was dreaming about a couple of years later during my exam free time. "I think if I were someone else, they'd be worrying about how to go back home and open their room door.", that was what I thought.


From this, I realised that most of my time..... I think about the future, about what could happen, is going to happen, will happen.... what is there for me, how good it would be if I could be this, this, this... that, that....

Or if not in the future, I'd be dwelling in the past, wondering if I could've done better, what better things I could have done in the past, re-calling the fun and joy of the past memories. I'll always treasure them.... now and forever.

And when I finally set my mind to think about the present, the only thing I worry most about is my stomach. "growl...." is the sound it makes every 2 and a half hours.... I seem to have a very strong need for food lately. If I tried to force myself past 4 hours, I'd be so hungry I'd have to hibernate (sleep, in other words).


So, do you worry about your future? Are you tied down by your past? Or all you do is worry for the exams?


p/s: In the end, I had to climb a wall somewhere around the back alleyway and walk across the rooftop of 3 houses like some daylight shinobi to get to my room window (my room is on the 2nd floor).

reminiscence

Everytime I realise that I haven't actually touched much of my books to be ready for exam, I'm "Oh great.... and I thought exams were quite a long way more to go....". Turns out I've got another 4 days in between before I do my first subject (excluding today)


Miri's weather is so unpredictable, one day you could get

Figure 1. Strong winds, heavy clouds

Strong winds that take the roofs off the bus stops, bring down 40 year old trees, and those that blow your just dried pantees to god-knows-where......

And as a compensation, you get this, the very next day

Figure 2. My bed....


Figure 3. My room.....

The blazing oven heat coming in from my window makes sure I can't sleep in the afternoon, so that I can use that time to study Management 100. But what the hell!?? Who can study in such heat???


The heat + the frustration + the oh-for-God's-sake + the I-don't-give-a-damn in me always came down to one thing..... Closing the window, turning on the Air-con, and going to sleep.


I really felt kinda hopeless these days.... hoping that I didn't have to study, hoping that I was better, hoping that I could go back to KK and enjoy myself...... but that very last thought..... of going back to KK, opened the door.....

Today, when the barbequeing sun was crawling back to its homes in preparation for night, I watched the sunset.... it reminded me of my times back in KK, it reminded me of the sunset I loved at the Sports Complex; it reminded me of the Sunrise I watched while everyone else was asleep during our trips; I remembered the fun I had back with my friends.... and how much I longed to go back just to have more fun with them.

As I watched the clouds part, the flaming red melting into purple..... more and more memories came back.... and out of the blue..... I realised..... that there was still hope.... there was still so much more waiting....

And then I thought, I should get back to studying.... I don't wanna get hauled back for a supplementary test while I'm back there in KK busy creating more memories..... but this time.... even with the heat, even with the frustrations..... just by thinking of what's there to come...... it all seemed so tiny in front of those thoughts......


Miss all of you RENs, waiting to see all of you soon....... soon..... very soon.....

Feast your Eyes.....

Well, nothing much to post about yet, but in the meantime, feast your eyes.... not with pictures or anything you'd expected though.....

Try out this game. It's a cool one..... and you could see how good your eyes are actually...

SOAR: the Motive behind the Motive

Before I say anything about the topic itself, I would just like to declare that this post is just a voice of my thought and opinions. Call me a critic, call me selfish, call me rude, whatever makes you happy, but I write this, just for those willing to realise, or those willing to read at the very least, to see what goes around in my mind.


SOAR Advisors, Student Orientation Advisory and Registration Advisors, so-called, were one of the first people I saw in Curtin. The first day of uni, they were the ones. The "Men in Black" you could call them, with their black shirts and pants, fitted with a tie to heighten the standard of their looks. Professionalism, was what it stamped in my mind.

The one and only purpose for the SOAR advisors, are to lead, to guide, to teach, and to advise students during the orientation. And after 1 week of my orientation, and another week of mixing around, I got to know more about what, and how SOARs were. And then, I decided.....


But why? A lot ask me, why I want to become a SOAR. In the interview, there was also this question, "Why do you want to become a SOAR advisor?". My answer to the interview, "To learn new stuff, new skills, socialize, get to know more people, and lastly, gain experience."

That wasn't, of course..... all of it......

There's always an ulterior motive to everything nowadays......



And back to the image that was imprinted by the 2 weeks orientation period.

What I saw was.... "SOAR...... what a beautiful name..... ", I thought. "But it's a pretty high name to live up to at the same time..." but then again.... ".... a bunch of people, wearing black, carrying the air of elegance around, but themselves radiating none."

And 1 week, that very 1 week, proved sufficient to analyze and see whether the SOARs lived up to their name.

Like I said before, the very first day I stepped into Curtin, the first people I see.... are these very SOARs. Speak of 'First Impression'. Yet, honestly speaking.... no harsh feelings.... but they were a letdown. The games, the activities, the handling, the leading.... the only thing I could see was a huge empty space, that had plenty of room for all of that to grow into, to expand, to improve.

Time keeping was somewhat befuddled; the games were desperately screaming for change and help; the group advisors themselves were walking on water..... not to mention with a croc below.....; the higher ups pointed fingers without knowing what and why they were pointing..... and more......


And so I thought, a person knows one's self best, and decided to be one of the 'Men in Black', to find out what lied behind the black clothings....

I wanted to bring about change. A change that would let the SOARs live up to what they are called. I don't know how, I don't know when, and I don't know why. It just makes me feel that I want to do this. It just makes me sick seeing such a beautiful name, given to people with so much opportunities..... and yet all used wastefully.

In things that I really AM interested and capable in..... I can say that I'm a perfectionist. I want everything to be perfect, or at the least, as close to perfect as possible. Maybe that is why.... seeing others who deperately could use help just makes me feel awful inside....

And that was my ulterior motive..... to reach into the roots, and carry out some sort of coup d'état to this current pathetic organization.

Well.... that is all I can say for now...... until I soar.....




Hmm.... the post turned out to be somewhat different than what I actually had in mind, but anyway, haha. Some might hate me maybe, haha, especially if any actual SOARs read this. But anyway.... please comment!!!


じゃあ。

Long Bedian - Part 2

Finally, time for the long awaited update of part 2 (IF you waited, haha). Was a bit busy and knocked off track by the recent turns of events and activities.... so well, here it is.

Part II

(This is continued from part one, if you haven't read part I, I suggest you do so HERE)

Day 2 came around..... at 6:30 in the morning.

After having a heartfelt breakfast with our foster families.... chit chatting about who we are, where we're from, what we do..... (which reminds me of a song....), we finally took off for our next stop, which was the Kayan people's very own Sungai Tenyok Resort.

Then, we took something like the 'First Generation' Old-skool Land Cruiser.....

Figure 1. Our ride to Sungai Tenyok.

It was basically a three seater.... so we had to hitch onto the back of it, giving ourselves a chance to experience the fresh air which could only be found miles away from the city.

Figure 2. This..... is the old-skool refueling method.....

Since the day before when I arrived here, everything seemed so..... "amazing" to me. It was a wonder how the whole kampung managed its water supply: which was taken from a self built dam nearby; it was another wonder how they managed to wire their houses to their generators: where they used at night and turned off during the day; and the picture above again....... I wonder whether I would've thought of such a method to pour the fuel into the tank........ ingenious, I have to say....

And after the refueling.... we set off.... for yet another mind jolting ride.... but this time, with fresh air blowing into our nostrils.....

Figure 3, 4. More roads....

The sceneries were nice....... even better than the day before's.... but then again, all the bumping and "massage" made all the views kinda lopsided in my mind...... I could never get the time to remember a straight scenery....

After about 30 minutes of humping in the rear of the pickup...... we arrived......

Figure 5. The suspension bridge near the entrance....

Indeed, this place..... since the first day till today.... everything I saw.... never ceased to amaze me.

Figure 6. The river..... (duh)

(I guess it doesn't look so nice on picture again..... well, cameraphone, what to expect.... you have to see the real thing to appreciate it)

Oh the scenery of nature..... something so rarely are we able to see nowadays..... like right now, what I see when I look outside my window..... is my neighbour's window... but overthere.... everything was perfect. So natural, so peaceful, so beautiful.


We spent the morning.... helping.... wait..... helping? Lol.... I guess not, all we did was attach a few pipes together, that's all. We were supposed to help out the villagers with their plans in affixing a hydroelectric generator and some pipelines for their eletricity and water source..... but turned out that..... they had a change in plans, and asked us to go swimming.


So.... we spent our morning swimming in the icy cold (maybe not icy cold) river..... which was something new to most of us..... swim swimming swim.... until lunch.....

After lunch.... I was already tired from being in the water for the past few hours...... but more was awaiting us. What we had in queue was a visit to their waterfalls..... And so..... half reluctantly (cause I was sleepy and tired), I got into the back of the pickup again...... and jolted my way awake to the waterfall site......

By the time I reached there, I was already fully awake, with my eyes watching my feet and the ground in case any pink-purplish squishy creatures adhered themselves to my feet (leeches). 5 minutes walking distance from the road........ and behold:

Figure 7, 8. The ________ waterfall (fill in the blank, I forgot the name)

My eyes were like "wow......". This was really the first time I actually saw a waterfall...... THIS big..... (though it wasn't really THAT big, but...... yea.....), and this wonderful...... Around it were rays of light that came down from heaven, like those light rays you see from movies and animes..... "So, there really ARE such scenes in real life........"

The one in the pictures was the smaller waterfall, there was another, much HIGHER waterfall..... maybe 3 or 4 stories high, which we could only see from the top since there was no way of getting to the bottom (imagine standing on the 4th floor of TTSS's CCA building and looking down, that's about how it looked like from standing above the waterfall)

The pictures I took didn't turn out nice....... so no pics on the 2nd waterfall.


After the 1st two waterfalls and some swimming below them, we went to yet another one....... but this time.........

Figure 9. Errr...... "Widescreen" (The pic is a bit small because it's wider than taller, click on it if you wanna see properly)

The water fall was BIG....... not high, not much water...... but the rocky part where we could stand on was wide and cool, "cool?..... whatever.... it looked cool I guess.... kids these days seem to use 'cool' to express everything"

And here, we did........

Figure 9. Waaaah.....


Figure 10. Weeeeee........!!!!


Figure 11. Buuuuussshhh!!!............

Before we realised, it was time to be bumping another 5 hours back home..... Four 4-Wheelers.... once again, 5 hours.... of bone jolting butt flattening ride..... shaking us back to reality.


The rest of the trip was basically time we spent together with each other and the villagers..... getting to know each other, learning about the culture and so on.....

All in all, this was really an experience to remember.... all of it. From the free "massage" sessions to the drowning feeling after jumping from waterfalls........ it's all worth it.....

It was actually like watching the dawn of modern mankind..... seeing how they improved, seeing how they maintained their lives.... learning, improvising, improving, it was what brought humans to be who we are today. It was truly a trip that changed my perspective of life.


So long.

Long Bedian - A Trip to Remember

A trip to remember eh? Why? You'll find out shortly.


Since I felt that my expressing ability is kinda deteriorating, I'll stick to less explanation and let the pics explain for themselves.

Part 1

"FIVE HOURS!???, WHERE does THAT leave me!?? Back in KK??", was what I thought, when I heard that our trip to the long house would take 5 hours.

Anyhow, the inevitable came..... and after a troublesome morning of phone calls and sms messages to and from us, our group 5 OC (Organising Chairperson, Ms Aileen), and the Longhouse people..... we finally managed to depart on our "Journey to..... ..... uh...", at loss of words....

But not before a "Transit" at one of Miri's Bus stop..... where we sat, next to the Rambutans and their owners, which all of them had the same thing in common, "Manis ka?" (Is it sweet?), "Ya! Ya! Manis punya, RM3 satu kilo aje" (Yes! Yes! Sweet, RM3 per kilo only)..... Whether they really were sweet or not, I really couldn't help but wonder.

Figure 1. The Transit station, rambutans to the left.....
there were more to the right too.


Figure 2. A "Useful" notice at a "Useless" place....

Something just felt kinda weird when I saw this notice..... I doubt anybody really saw it..... needless to say call the number on it.

Figure 3. The Air purifier beside the "transit station".

During the whole 2 - 3 hour wait at our "transit station", beside us laid a 1.5 meter wide air purifier. How does THIS work? Well, basically, all you have to do is throw anything you feel is of no use, or anything that you don't like it's smell into it, and it'll work to produce a new fragrance by jumbling up all the mumbo-jumbo everyone threw into it.

The Result, is a Light Headed 2 - 3 hour wait....... which kept my stomach feeling full the whole while.

Figure 4, 5. Our "Mass Transport" vehicle.

Toyota HiluxS'..... FOUR of them, it was actually five, but one's tyre got punctured and had to turn back. FOUR four-wheeled vehicles.... to bring 11 people to a place 5 hours away..... (it's said that busses won't go that far, and the road is toooooo "off-road" style).

At the same time, my mind was like "Why do WE need to go all the way to their place to do charity work when they have the money to afford these kind of cars!!?? Even my mom can't afford such a car....., I really wonder how many there are......"


Anyway..... I then realised the reason for the Hiluxes....

Figure 6, 7. Jalan Lapuk, the name of the road....
No, I didn't make it up, it REALLY is Jalan Lapuk!

(Pardon the tilty photoshots.... because taking a proper picture while sitting on a Hilux Rodeo ride was Mission: Impossible 5)

From the pictures, the road doesn't seem too bad...... but in reality!!!! (YES, 4 Exclamation marks!!)...... it was like.... "the ultimate test to car sickness" there was:

• Level 1 - Butt Massage, session length, 30 minutes
• Level 2 - Butt Massage and Vibration, session length, 1 hour
• Level 3 - Whole Body Vibration Session, session length, 1 hour
• Level 4 - G-Force Simulation and Full body 1 second "Air-time" simulation, session length, 30 minutes.
• Level 5 - Teh Tarik production using stomach: Pre-requisite - must have drank Teh-C before the first 4 levels, session length, 1 hour.

Figure 8. But anyway, on the way..... there were some cool things to look at

Figure 9. Err..... Ferry? "Why couldn't they just make a bridge??"


Figure 10. Self Explanatory..... ah, nevermind.... us going onto the ferry.....

At 6:30pm, after a head-dizzying stomach-lurching ass-splitting bone jolting balls shaking 5 hour ride...... we arrived....... at Long Bedian

I was light headed.... thanks to the lunch skipping because of the fragrant air purifier.... and the Teh-C turned Teh Tarik inside me was bursting to come out of my mouth..... which I left for the microns in Long Bedian's side drain to consume....

*Writes in notebook* - reminder - "If my mom is pregnant and went to Long Bedian, the baby will come out along the way"


Tired.... I retired to my foster family, which were going to 'keep' us for the time of this trip.



Night came, along with 5-hours-away-from-town Darkness..... and the gigantic insect species left untouched in the forests, they collided into walls and windows..... flying blindly.....

Being such a long distance from town, electricity was no where to be found. But thank the clever Kayan people (I forgot to mention, Kayan is the race of the people living in this Longhouse area).... they prepared generators, and used them to supply the current to their houses....


That night, we had our "orientation" about the Kayan tribe and some of it's simple history..... which, would be too long to tell here. So I'll just keep the best parts to myself.

Out of good fortune.... we had with us that night, some Penang borned Sarawakian..... Mr James Ritchie..... whom it seems was a journalist.... who happened to be there when we were.

Figure 11. Mr. James Ritchie, doesn't look local does he?

"Who is this guy??" I wondered when I first saw him. "His English is excellent..... even though he's a kampung guy?" And THEN, he spoke Malay! "What the hell......??" and then Cantonese! "What's next?? Japanese!?"...... fortunately.... that was his limit, it seemed.... Anyhow.... he proved to be an interesting character, which I wouldn't mind meeting again in the future, really....



Next was....

Figure 12. Wild Boar Leg

The cheapest source of meat in the kampung..... the price of a bullet and the petrol needed to carry it around. Yes, they use rifles..... on the contrary to what most people think...... they no longer wear a piece of cloth around the waist and use sumpits to shoot down prey..... "The guns are easier, BANG!! and we have meat...". But after seeing the Hiluxes'.... I guess this isn't a surprise anymore...

Figure 13. Well.... somewhat gruesome.... but well, you get to learn new things...

And after finishing up our "orientation", we all flunked home to get some sleep for the next day since it was already quite late..... 12 at night.....



I didn't expect this post to actually be so long. So I'll post a Part 2 later.

Happy Reading!, uh.... a bit late to greet now I guess..... you must've finished reading already, anyway.....


Later.

Bored and Hopeless...

Here I am again, 1:30 in the morning, with Electronics 104 Exercises to do, that has to be handed in in another 10 or 11 hour's time, yet, here I am, blogging.

Why haven't I finished my work by this time?? Well, once again, I got lured into some fun things to do on the internet, like THIS, which my friend introduced, which kept me busy for hours and hours..... till I decided to skip lectures and play this instead, lame huh.....? Anyway, it IS pretty fun, those of you who are free should go try it out.

The other reason (or excuse you could say), is that the work is tooooooOooo darn hard. I guess I haven't been paying attention to lectures, neither have I been studying..... the only thing I've accomplished this week so far is: I Finished the -"My Boss My Hero" Japanese Drama Series, which in turn, I would ALSO recommend you people to watch it. Nice, comedic and interesting movie... ... and touching too, btw.


Anyway.... I was sleepy and bored.... so I just decided to give my blog a quick post before I sleep. I guess my posts ARE getting kinda boring..... I'll try post something that's "not-so-full-of-words" next time..... but..... yeah.... nvm, next time....


Tata.

頭が。。。塞がった。。。

Hey there guys, it seemed like my blog kinda got stuck. I was actually planning to update on the Longhouse Trip that I went for, with the beautiful waterfalls and all..... But I don't know what actually happened to me, but I lost my ability to write.

My posts seem to get more and more boring, and I don't know what is it I'm missing.... that made me lose my ability to express...... my head recently..... is just blocked..... like a mental block.

Heh, I guess the Longhouse story will have to wait a bit..... for the meantime, I'll post about something else.

*************

Recently, I've been having mental blocks once in a while, it's feels like constipation, you know.... like there's so much in there, but it can't come out. But then again, you don't know WHAT's in there..... other than crap....

Recently also, I saw my cards..... lying in my drawer.... sitting together with my Add-Math II papers, which I haven't touched since last semester after my Math exam...... same goes for my cards..... I've barely touched them, and they're getting old..... new but old.....

And then it dawned on me. I've used more than hundreds of bucks on my cards; more than hours and weeks and month's of practice; and cramped my fingers countless times trying to do weird feats like card throwing and flipping and everything. Yet, am I going to give up on them? Right here, right now?

"Learn to Amaze", that was the word that captivated me. "That was it!" I thought, when I saw that phrase. "That was what I needed..." was all I knew. Then came another phrase "Magic Beyond Belief". That was it, I took it up, gave in my time, my effort, my heart, my trust.


What do YOU know about magic?


In today's world, magic proves to be solely for entertainment purpose I guess...... people today, they forget, they never realise.... how someone could jump from a plane without a parachute and not die; how someone could disappear behind a piece of cloth and appear in hawaii; how a hungry beggar could pull a hamburger out of Mc D's driveby menu; and even how magicians manage to turn back time..... just by the snap of their fingers.....

Then again, today's society think that magic is all tricks, that it is all lies, that all you need to know is "the Secret". Sorry to say, but that isn't it. Magic isn't a trick, it isn't a lie, and EVEN if you know "the Secret", you don't know Magic.

I myself believe, not everyone can learn magic. It's neither for the weak nor faint, nor the idiotic and lazy, nor the bone-breaking hardworking or Albert Einsteins'. It is for those who have the heart, not to learn, not to dedicate, but to Believe.



Okay, enough talk about the background of magic. K, I saw my cards, I remember what I used to do, what I used to like.... now what? I realised that I'd nearly forgotten what I used to love, what I used to feel like when performing, the sigh of relief and joy when seeing the word "Amazed" on the other's face.

What stopped me, what's holding me back, I don't know really...... but each time I see my cards, my heart hurts, my head hurts. Will I turn back time.....? (Same goes for my piano.... but that's another story)



まあ　まあ。。。。
人生に、　問題実に沢山いるよ。
俺何を待ち受けて？　自分も解かんね。
けど、段段に。。。　そろそろに。。。

時間が未だある。


じゃあ、　今日はここまで。

FIFTEEN

Hey there guys. I'm back from the Longhouse visit. I was actually back yesterday, but was somewhat too tired, and still having a bit of 'aftereffects' from the 5 hour overpowered-overreved Long Lapuk Ogawa massage session (the ride back from the longhouse). I have a lot to talk about the trip, but I haven't got the pictures ready, in the meantime.....


I was tagged by siaunee............
State 15 weird/habits/little known facts about yourself. The 10 people I tag are then supposed to follow in my footsteps and state their 15 weird things, habits, and little known facts.

1. I'm too lazy for my own good.

2. I don't talk much. Though I DO have a lot to say sometimes. Lets just say I can express myself better typing than talking.

3. I don't drink water right after eating (most of the time, sometimes it can't be helped).

4. Sometimes when I'm bored, I take a shower, for no reason whatsoever.

5. I have a long fuse (I'm a patient person). Though some specific things piss me off Right Away.

6. I Love thrills. I like to do daring stuff and things that other people would think twice to do.

7. I don't give a damn about what people say. I do what I like, sit beside the road, put my legs on the table, lie down on the floor. If I'm not doing something, it's all out of courtesy only.

8. I'm a dreamer. In other words, I like to dream...... whatever it is.... I just like to dream..... In class, at the canteen, in my room on bed, on the rooftop.... wherever.

9. I like to spend my time being alone sometimes.

10. My brain runs like a multiprocessing supercomputer, taking in everything I see, processing everything I hear, and storing everything in my memory..... I think more than I talk.... and I think before I talk too.

11. I like to bring a lighter with me most of the time.

12. I love to take photos (not of myself though). I like having a camera in my hand, it's like given the ability to freeze time and hold that image forever....... and I strive to improve my photo-taking skills.

13. I prefer doing work alone..... if you're gonna give me a partner, it'll depend who the partner is.

14. I like to cook alone, for myself.

15. I like to observe, watch, and see what goes on around me...... teaching my own self about this world.



I want to tag:
Whoever wants to put this up in their blog. (Too lazy to think of names right now, haha)



So long.
Till I get my photos ready.

3 days "Vacation"

After a long and tedious struggle with Management 100, I finally get..... 3 days, not really vacation.... but, just.... some time away from Everything.

I won't be around for the next 3 days, since I took part in Curtin's John Curtin Weekend (JCW) rural outreach camp. Basically, we're going to the longhouse, to mainly.... help out, probably.... so, I'll be back on Monday, and if things turn out to be interesting, I might post about it.


Somehow.... I'm not really in the mood to post anything right now.... so.... here's a video my friend introduced to me while I was doing my Management assignment one night, and because of it, I ended up not doing anything for the rest of the night.

So.... enjoy.




See ya.

Ventilating.....

I got bored with doing an un-proggresable (coined my own terms, hehe) assignment. Why un-proggressable you might ask??

Okay, first of all, I'm not the "Group" person. Giving me a group assignment just makes things harder for me. I always end up taking up all the work and doing it myself, or letting all the others do it.

Well, but this time, that isn't the case. I just really really hate working in groups, DOING ASSIGNMENTS. And Now!?? I've got 3 people in my group including me. That mean's I've got 2 other people to work with, while all other groups consist of at least FOUR, 4, or FIVE people!!

Seriously, I don't wanna make anyone sound bad. But honestly, One of them is practically useless... even if I have him/her something to do, it'll end up either being totally different from what I expected or something FAAAARR from ANYONE's expectations. And sometimes, his/her works and answers are just pure lame and like.... ..... duh....... How the hell do these kind of people LIVE?!? I really do wonder.

Secondly, I won't be around for this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, meaning I'll have to finish everything by tomorrow, Thursday. And up till RIGHT NOW..... I haven't gotten ANYTHING yet, from any of the two. How the hell do I get started with MY part if I haven't even got anything from them??!! I'm supposed to compile everything and include the information I found and complete the report. But I'm missing my head and legs now..... what do I do with a body without legs to move and a brain to control it!?? And I've only got 1 day to go. If we get bad marks for this assignment, sorry, don't blame me please.


Sorry guys. Just ranting... you don't really have to read it if you don't want to. Was just a little frustrated while still WAITING for the two of them to give me their information.


Later.

始まるよ。。。。Management のこと。。。

Time to start with management. But before that, I thought I wanted to post something, but couldn't think of anything.

Anyway, Do NOT Click the Link Below

Do NOT Click


Have Fun!! I'll update later when I've got the time or finished with my Management.

Part 3, Too Busy... too Hectic...

The busy-ness (had to put a hyphen and separate the word, didn't want you guys to confuse it with the 'buying and selling' kind of business) has gotten into my brain lately. Just like alcohol. It soaks itself into the brain, blunting your chain of thought, your input senses, and your output actions. I'm busy, but at the same time, I'm so free that I'm bored sick. Now what's THAT supposed to mean? I think most of the uni students get the idea of it, there's no other way of explaining it.

I'll get back to this next time. For now.....

//////////////////

// . Part III . //
//////////////////

Continuing the turn of events that happened since the week before last week again. I guess I left off you guys with pics of the lantern guys and girls taken on Sunday.

Next was Monday. Oh, the gloomy mondays. And I didn't even have time to realise how in deep sh** I was for getting myself so busy that I forgot about everything. In the end, I spent 2 hours blurring my self with:

Figure 1. A ......... a ....... what's it called again?

Figure 2. Ahhh.... An Oscillioscope. I actually had to
zoom into the first pic to see the name to remember.
The Bottom one is a wave generator.... or smth like that.

I was literally pushing buttons and turning knobs, which seemed fun, without knowing what was happening. The graph on the oscillioscope just kinda looked interesting and made me feel like I was looking at some sci-fi movie apparatus.

Well, but in actuality, I guess it wasn't anything new.

Next we played with....... ...... err ......... a box.

Figure 3. This time I really forgot what that thingy with dozens of
knobs is called.


Figure 4. I only know that it creates a resistance value according
to the value you set it to...... .... yah, that's about it.

We had to perform weird connections from one apparatus to another..... which I always mixed up which was which...... And That, was Monday.


Tuesday came and went like a gust of wind. Thanks to our IOS (Introduction to O.S.) lecturer, which came late and left early, and also my decision to self study Management 100's lecture notes, instead of going to the lecture and wasting my 1 and a half hours nodding my head in my very own imaginary world.


Wednesday. Oh Wednesday was busy. I had a programming test, which I practically did NOT manage to study, because of an invitation from my 'beloved' friends' to play games at night. And also...... to some extent, it was quite a repeat of what I've already known..... so...... I left the rest to my extensive memory library of this bird-brain.

I finished classes at 12:30. And then..... being a CV member (Curtin Volunteer, in case you forgot), I guess it's all about volunteerism.....

Today (wednesday, I mean), we had schools coming for a tour around campus, about further education and just some information for them to know what they should study in the future. Okay.... and then, I was assigned as one of the 'tourguides'.... you could say..... to bring one of the student groups around, to see the exibition stations and stuff.

"Datuk Pemaisuri..... Man..... what kinda idiot thought of such a name.... for a school. It sounds so....... Gaah! Nevermind". And so, the group of students I lead were from SMK Datuk Pemaisuri.

To My Surprise!..... Out of the 20 students in my group, 18 of them spoke Chinese. Well, I thought it's a good thing then........ since I'll be able to get along better too..... then I didn't have to limit myself to English all the time. Then, we began the tour.


It's too bad I didn't manage to take any pictures because I totally forgot about that, and those funny DP (Datuk Pemaisuri) students kept asking me questions...... But anyway, I realised there was a lot of stuff in Curtin that I hadn't seen.

I had the chance to enter the Journalism Lab..... were inside.... you get to see all those 15k worth HDD Video Cameras, with another 30k one sitting just a feet away beside it. And then there were sound proof rooms with 21 inch (or so I assumed) plasma display monitors, with ANOTHER 17 inch one beside it (2 displays), and to the right of both screens stood a humungous white CPU with a big 'apple' logo on it's side. "So THIS is where they do all the editing......." Well, there were a lot more stuff, my then my post is gonna be damn long if I continued talking about it.


Next, I managed to take a peek at the Civil Engineering lab (again, 1st time was orientation), where they had all the heavy machinery that could chop people up and disorient its figure and reduce it to nothingness, just kidding. I realised some new things around campus...... met some new people..... and came to realise that Wednesday had just passed.




I'm sorry if my post bored you, and if there was a lack of pictures.... cause that week was kinda tiring and I guess I was starting to float off the face of earth. That should be all for my 2 week update. Recent events aren't anything interesting, so...... later.

Part 2, Too Busy... too Hectic...

//////////////////////////////////

//............PART II...........//
//------------------------------//
// Warning: LONG post again.... //
//////////////////////////////////

Well, as I promised, here's part two for you guys. Though it was a little later than I planned, but anyway, it's better than no update isn't it?? ^_^


Picking up where I left off, was last last friday (last last.... is there such a word, I doubt that). After a couple of tiring days fussing around with meetings and preparations, and not to mention, classes, came Saturday, where I spent Half of my time awake being in Bintang Plaza, 'surveying' the area and planning the next day's fundraising.


Sunday, sorry, but I didn't manage to take any picture on the Fundraising, but I don't suppose any of you are interested in seeing pics of it anyway, are you?.... If you are, neee.... nothing much happened, we were just having a fundraising in Miri's Bintang Plaza for the Palliative Care Association, which is an association which....... .................... ............... .......... treats??...... patients in serious and critical?... diseases......??? omg.... I wonder how I actually collected donations without knowing who we're collecting for.... I hope it's correct.

Anyway, there were booths for games, and I was one of the so-called booths. And we had someone from our uni from another club, who was a TAROT reader..... "to read your past, present and future, with just a pick of a couple of cards, he could reveal everything that lies before, after, and upon your days to come. " "Come, come, come!! RM2 per question, RM5 for THREE questions!!" "You get to ask about ANYthing, yes anything, your social life, your future, your education, your parents, your loved one, your love life, even how you're gonna be going on with your partner now!"

Okay.... got a bit carried away probably. Anyway, I usually don't believe this kind of stuff, but somehow, all my other friends said he's accurate, and sooooooooOOOoo accurate, that I COULDn't NOT give it a try. And so.....



No, I'm not gonna tell you the details.

But anyway, I guess it really IS a wonder how Tarot works. He shuffles the cards, you pick a couple of cards, depending on what kind of question you ask. The cards are turned over, and from there, he sees what kind of person are you, or whatever answer to the question you asked. I'll have to say, it's not On-the-Dot, but nevertheless, it's good enough for ME (someone I'd say is rather hard to convince), to wonder what lies behind the secret of Tarot.

Ee.... 2 paragraph's on tarot alone.... I guess I'd better get along with the other stuff.... so....

Ah!!, haha, I manage to steal one pic from facebook on the Bintang Fundraising.

Figure 1. Bintang Fundraising Stage Backdrop

O-k-a-y..... I guess..... that should be enough about the Fundraising, since nothing REALLY.... interesting happened, there were dance performances and a magic show, other than that..... yah, I guess that's about it.

And That was Sunday......... There went my weekend Saturday and Sunday.... and also my Friday which I'm proud of because I didn't have any classes on Friday.


Mondays...... the Gloomy Mondays..... oh? or wasn't it supposed to be Sunday...... Maah, whatever. Gloomy Monday came, I totally forgot to prepare for my Labs and Management tutorials (which were always a hassle) beforehand because I was kinda tired after the fundraising.

OH SHYT!! I almost forgot! Sunday Night!! AFTER the fundraising........ came this:

Figure 2. Our Steamboat.....

STEAMBOAT...... After a long day of work......... I came home......... and I still had to wait for the food to boil in the pot, haha. Sorry, not that I'm complaining....... but I was a bit hungry at that time. But man....... what a dinner.

Figure 2. Food, and Ung Chai with itchy tongue....
or probably he ate something spicy.

The food was...... really.... "Feng Fu".... omg, what happened to my english, how do you say "feng fu" in English again. Anyhow, we really enjoyed the dinner, eating with friends, it kinda gives you a different feeling, haha.

Next came, well, it was mooncake festival, so you know what happens I guess.

Figure 3. Lantern Guys.....

Figure 4. Lantern Girls...

Ugh.... Lantern guys and girls....... what the hell kind of name is that. I think I read those somewhere on someone else's blog and the name stuck.

Well, yea.... that's about what we did the whole night. Eat, and then lanterns. The funny thing was, it wasn't only us going around the whole Desa Senadin and DPS area (the area around our housing area, that's what we call it). It's a funny and rare sight to see, when you walk around with lanterns and then you see some bobbing coloured lights far off the street, only to come close to each other and find out they're just some other kids, from curtin, and from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, like us, haha.

I guess only KK people would do such funny things in other places.


Oh man.... I wanted to finish everything in this post. But looks like I'm running short of time and will have to delay things to a part 3. Didn't wanna give you guys a toooo long post, haha.


とまれ、

皆さん　ほんとにありがとう。　今度は楽しかったな。。。
この思い出が忘れないよ。　嬉しかったね。


That's all I guess, for now.

Till my next update. Later.