Tribute to Everyone and Everything in Miri, Part 2

Part II - To the People who make the Difference


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Continued from Part 1, which is a summary of my 3 years life in Miri.

Another long post. You have been warned. Proceed with Caution.

Living a fulfilling life isn't about living it on your own. It's about having fun with everybody, enjoying yourself. Sometimes, it's not about what you do or where you go, it's about who you go or do things with.

"Happiness is only Real when Shared" - Christopher McCandless

Having said all that, I've actually met and known a lot of people within the past few years in Miri. I surely can't list every single one of them here, and definitely don't even remember the name of every single person I say "Hi" to, especially if he or she doesn't have some name that sticks like "Cuthbert" which could easily be called Carlsberg, Cupboard, Custard, Cut-Bird, CuteBird, KukuBird, Q-Bert, or the most common of all, Bird.

You know, there's one big difference between people you meet in university and the friends you make as classmates when you're back in Primary or Secondary school.

In school, we meet friends, sit beside them everyday, sometimes we have the time to get to know them so much that we get bored of them. And even after we've graduated from secondary or high school, we can still see them and meet them up whenever we want since they're usually just living on the other side of town.

However, for university. Within 3 years, we come across, meet, and get to know lots of people, just like in everyday life. But these people aren't everyday strangers, They're your housemates, coursemates, dinner mates, friends, and maybe more. But at the end of the 3 year course period, it all changes, reality dawns... Everybody then steps onto a separate path, seeking their own separate ways, going back to where they came from, back to living their own lives, and some..... never even with the chance to see them again.

Sometimes, it's just something about parting ways that makes it so sad. But I guess, if it has to happen, it'll come sooner or later, and we can't do nuts to stop it.


Things will never be the same.


So, since stepping foot in Miri, here are a list of people who's been a part of my life, and have done enough to make a difference.

(List is in no particular order)

Melissa

Seriously, this girl doesn't have much of a 'NORMAL' photo.... all her photos are either "EEiiiieeeeee" or "Aaaaaaaa" or "Ngrraaaaaaaarrrr".... so this was pretty much the most normal photo I have.

What can I say about her, this girl... My friend, 'brother', ex-classmate, ex-housemates, course mate, and what else can I say.... she's basically my double... From studies, all the way to playing games, and moving on to drinking, she pretty much beats me in all. Besides, she's also one of the persons that I can talk to about EVERYTHING. Yes, by everything, I really mean everything.

If you asked me to name a person who's somewhat 'alike' me, she would probably be it. In fact, alike is an understatement. We have pretty much nearly the same mentality, besides the fact that she's has boobies and I have nuts, she loves computer games, the outdoors, doing crazy stuff, and we're even in the same B-Tech course.

So for the first 1 and a half years after high school, I'd went to the same classes as her, walked the same route from home to the bus stop, ate at the same times, did the same things. Anything I didn't know, I had you to ask, and I never had to worry about timetables and what class came next, because you did it all.

And you know what, the stupid stuff like going jogging, playing computer games, Counter Strike, Left 4 Dead, boy, do I miss those times. Much more for the times we spent making stop-motion animations, light painting, playing COD, and all the other crazy things we do RIGHT BEFORE exam.... and the 38 or sharing sessions we had, at the cafeteria, in the labs, or during Blackouts~ LOL~!

Then after you left, I got lost.

I somehow didn't know what classes to attend, which bus to take, where to sit, where to go, what to do, the road to the bus stop just seemed so much longer. It all became so boring..... I don't know how you were doing without me in Perth, but I believe, maybe, you might've been just as lost as me.

But luckily, for some reason, I managed to handle it all and have lived well up till today, nearing my last day in Miri, once and for all. And anyway, we still keep in touch through Messenger and so on... so it's not so bad.

You've been a very good friend, maybe the best I could ever have, and I'm glad to have you as mine.

I don't think I have to say anything more.

Just, all the best, and let us make sure we finish this last semester together =)

********

Min Yeow

The first day I saw him when I walked into class.... my very first thought when I saw this guy was "What a douche...." Apparently, after we got to know him a bit.... he was a talkative kid,with a somewhat spendthrift behaviour on weird, odd, and most of the time... practically useless, goodies.... and he goes by an easy to remember nick name.... which is... basically the fast version of his real name, figure it out yourself if you have to...

When I first met him, he was a good boy who sat at every single lecture and took down notes when the lecturer talked. He paid attention in class and even submitted his assignments early~! He was always ahead of us in every piece of homework and sometimes we ended up 'referring' (that means c.o.p.y. if you still don't get it) to his.

Maybe I was bad influence to him.... or maybe he felt there wasn't the need to be so hardworking... whichever it was.... one year later, he was at the same level as me.... waiting for answers to copy from.

Despite being a year older than me, I always feel that.... he's actually younger than me. His stupidity and naivety at doing stuff just makes me think he's a little kid. And he has this cheerful aura with him that makes him seem like nothing could bother him whatever he was doing... always happy go lucky and never seeing the brick wall in front.... but he never bangs into it though...

So basically, for the remaining 1 and a 1/2 years after Melissa got bored and abandoned me to run off to some foreign land with Kangaroos and Koala bears, I stuck with this guy and got to know him better. Then I found out he wasn't so bad after all, and in fact, an interesting kid with tonnes of facial expressions when he talks, and quite a fun guy to hang out with. For the remaining time in uni.... I sorta made him my.... permanent fixture.... for groups and everything.... whether he liked it or not... haha

In fact, one thing that still kinda baffles me, was how we managed to work together to pull off our Final Year Project, a whole prototype, documentation, and presentation, done, without ever once, been to each other's house.

Well.... in the end though, we'd still part ways to our own lives. You've been a cool guy for having tolerate me all this while and not complaining. Sometimes I get over my head, and I'm sorry for that. All in all, you've been a very great coursemate, friend, and.... whatever there is to be. haha

Wish you find a good job out there and get your dream car, camera, house, or whatever that makes you happy~ ^_^

Thanks for Everything.

********

Siaunee

Siaunee Dana Mogunsal.... Can I tell you, that sometimes... you make me exhausted....

Even though I've known this girl for 6 years now, she still never ceases to amaze me. Her antics, her lame reactions, her unpredictable retorts, and her tendency to 放飞机 (this means something like not keeping their word, for the Chinese illiterate, in case there's any).... all of them, cannot be matched by anyone else I know.

She doesn't eat eggplants, bitter gourd, cucumbers, and a infinite long list of vegetables.... she's allergic to seafood, doesn't like sweet foods, and likes to drink MSG soup. Why do I know all that? Because I've been cooking for her since 2 semesters ago and I had to keep all that nonsense in mind in case I accidentally cooked something that she didn't like.

In fact, thanks to cooking for her and some other friends for so many times, my cooking has improved to the level that I might have surpassed my mom's own cooking.... just saying.... haha, probably. I should go back and have a competition with my mom ~.~"

Then again, this girl, despite her attitude for being ignorant, crazily annoying at times, desperate to do some things, or at times, totally uncontrollable.... .... she's still a friend that I can depend on.... I hope.... or maybe.... I'm starting to doubt what I said.

Stay Happy, Cheerful, as you always was, is, and will be. All the best for the years to come. Don't miss my food when I'm gone =)

********

Ivan Liaw

Uhh.... pardon his rudeness. I guess he had literally loss control of his actions in this photo thanks to a couple of rounds of "Kings", which, those who know about it this game would definitely forgive his actions.

I'd known this guy since Primary school, and had pretty much been friends with him since then.... But knowing someone and staying with someone brings things up to a whole new level. If you think you know someone well enough to stay with them, think again.

Ivan is one of the only guys I know, that arrives in class later than me. In MY class, I'm the 'King of Lateness' when it comes to classes. In HIS class, he's the 'King'. But comparing the both of us, he wins, no competition, no room for debate, uh uh, straight out, I lose.

Two guys who worship their bed as their sanctuary living under the same roof isn't very fair isn't it? It's a formula for disaster. Do you know the frustration of waking up at 7am, when you slept at 4am, from watching 10 episodes of Bleach in one go? Especially if your class starts at 12pm!

So after days and weeks of training.... I turn into his human Alarm instead, so I wake up when HIS alarm rings, wake HIM up, and then go back to sleep.

I haven't even gotten into his housekeeping abilities yet. I could turn into his mom nagging at where to put his stuff or when to submit his assignments. But I won't talk about that here, ask him yourself if you're so interested in him, haha.

Anyway, knowing you as a roommate has definitely been an 'Eye Opener'.... and you're a fun guy at times, especially when your idiot-ness and childishness kicks in. You've been a good friend also, although pretty useless at times =.=" but... you're one of those that I feel I can actually really talk to, and not feel myself being stupid.

Well, I just wanna say thanks, and although you're not here now, all the best in your course, and don't be lazy like before. You can't afford to play all your life.

********

Kok Kiat

This is a photo of him, at 12:15 AM in the morning. Making.... ....

guess....

Carrot Juice...

He was my housemate for a year after I moved out of Lakeside apartment. The most spontaneous, erratic, and unpredictably annoying guy you could ever get to know. His favourite game on my laptop was Red Alert 3, which he could spend HOURs at it, trying and retrying a mission that was literally impossible with the same old tactics he was using ......

Anyway, I have to thank this guy because he was actually kind enough to drive us all around Miri, and let us explore what we couldn't and hadn't.

Never managed to play badminton with you, but... meh, I don't look forward to it. I know you'll win.

Well, good luck in your studies, or whatever you're up to. Don't lose money in Forex, if you're still at it... haha

So long.

********

Andrew

The "Robot Drone Man" =)

Apparently, after his Final Year Project presentation of that little "Wall-E"-like prototype robot.... He's been known to some lecturers as the "Robot Drone Man". To me, I know him as the "Andrew-pedia". A new branch of encyclopedia that actually walk and talk.

This guy currently runs on an AMD Phenom II X4 with indefinitely improving specs multiprocessor, 20GB of DDR5 RAM for increased multitasking capability, an ever expanding solid state Hard Disk memory current usage at approximately 20 TeraBytes, a flash memory card for Photographic memory capabilities, and a biological casing of the human form. In short, he's a human with a computer-like brain.

Besides that, he is suspected to be in possession of a time machine that allows time compression and expansion, allowing the user to be able to perform more in less time. This leads to the possibility of having 8 hours of sleep, 6 hours of games, 3 hours on meals, 3 hours going downtown, 2 hours of watching TopGear, 2 hours of Movies and another 2 hours on studies, and another 2 hours of relaxing, 1 hour of drama series, 1 hour of gardening, 1 hour of cleaning the house, 1 hour of maintaining his car, 1 hour of reading book, surfing the net, and many more stuff, adding up to more than 33 hours a day. In a day of 24 hours.

Oh, and did I mention that Andrew is my Games 'supplier'?? He has a whole up-to-date collection of Games and Music that he could totally open a CD/Game Store and sell them if he wanted to.

I can only say that.... this guy is a brilliant mind, whose contribution to my, our, everyone's, academic work has been of invaluable help. Without him, 90% of us would be lost somewhere in between "Fark~! How do I bloody do this question!?" and "Screw this! I'd rather fail this unit!"

I guess we should all say thanks to Andrew for all he has done for us. You've been a great help all along. Thanks for all sorts of advice, help, and many more odds and ends. Maybe I wouldn't have gotten this far without having you as a coursemate.

Good luck in whatever you're gonna do next. I don't think you need anything else other than luck. Haha~

********

Alex Goh

Sorry, no photo for you, coz I couldn't find a decent one that I took. Haha. And I guess I can't put a photo up for every single person out there can I?

All I can say about this guy is.... He's a straight up Techie. Why do I say that? Hmm... let's just say, our dinner conversations cover a wide range of topics, from "Which web browser is the best?" all the way to "Why isn't the program I wrote working properly??" And when I talk to him.... I really.... feel stressed out. LOL. Due to the fact that what I know compared to him, is like a primary school kid talking to the Albert Einstein who specializes in computers.

Besides that, he also has a similar interest as I do. Movies~!! Gosh, I've gotten lots and lots of good movies from him, and I've killed many many hours of my time in Miri on the movies which he supplied. He's like my Movie supplier.

And if you ever need advice on computers, software stuff, he's the guy to ask.

So, good luck with whatever you're gonna be doing next in life, and keep on doing what you do best.

See ya~

********

Other B-Techies, Computer Sciences

Then we have all my other coursemates, juniors, seniors, and so on... Seniors which I don't even know exists, and juniors some I didn't even know I had. Oh well, some of them I barely talked to more than a few times... but I guess it can't be helped.

When I first got to know them all, they gave me the impression that.... they were far better off than me, listening to lectures, doing their own labworks, completing assignments without questions, and I go "Wow~". But after I finally open my mouth to talk to them one day.... I find out the depressing truth, that we're all just bird's of a feather. As blur as each other when the lecturers lecture their lectures.

Among them, some, I only got to know better during my last year here, such as Ardhie, Andre, and a few more. Ardhie is some mad big guy who has loads of cool and interesting stories and experiences that make good dinner topics. And Andre, he's a playful and funny acting guy that never ceases to keep you entertained.

Some of them, I got to know a bit earlier, been group mates with them in assignments and so on. But I really can't list every single one of you out there. By the time I write a dedicated post of everyone, my post will look like an encyclopedia entry.

So guys, I wish you all the best in those who are still gonna continue studies, you can find me if you need anything.... IF I can help you.... but sorry if I can't. I won't turn down a party or free food though =) hehe

So long, and, see you when I see you.

********

Tuang & Gang

Being in the same class as high-school with this guy, I haven't actually got to know him much, until recently.

He and his gang of friends and coursemates have been fun to hang out with. I won't be naming every single one of you, but I guess you know who you are =) because if I write a dedicated post for every single person out there, this post would end up 30 pages long.

This guy is a somewhat motive driven person who always stresses himself out during exams... I can't seem to understand why, but maybe that's his way of forcing himself to get good results, lol. But besides that, he's a nice guy that had been bringing us around Miri to experience new stuff and all. Besides that, I think he's the only guy who'd bring me out to go all the way downtown for COD (Call of Duty) and other games sessions in cyber cafes, along with his pals, which I always have a fun time with.

Then I also have to thank this guy for all the other trips he's brought be with, such as the Brunei trips, trips downtown, to the beach, and so on. Not to mention, our idiotic wipe-outs of Taufu fa at 4am in the morning at the Lutong Market. Poor hawkers. We've been to the market a couple of times, bringing 5 people, and buying like 12 out of the 16 Taufu fa's that they make.

Summing it all up, it's been great having you around. I hope you're successful with your course and everything else in life you need to be successful with.

Same goes for the rest of your gang. It's been good knowing all of you. Keep in touch.

GodSpeed.

********

Pheobe & Gang

Often seeing her along with Tuang and his gang, this girl is a cheerful, active, and talkative one. I've known her since high school, but we've only talked more since knowing each other in Uni. Along with her other friends whom... for obvious reasons, I'm not gonna list every single person out, you know who you are.... haha.... They've all been a fun lot to spend time with.

This girl likes tortoises.... for a reason I can't comprehend... but... whatever makes you happy eh? And I was gonna post a link to her bloggie, but for some reason, she's locked it down since a couple of months ago and I can't read it T_T

She's also the girl who's been my model for the 'Faces of Curtin' photography contest last semester (wow... was it last semester? feels like last month lol) And I just gotta say Thanks.

You've been a good friend, although we haven't been hanging out lately... =(  For various reasons I guess, but it's okay. We could always meet up in KK anytime anyway.

Anyway, unsure of what more I should say, I wish you good luck with life, and everything out there. Stay happy and enjoy life.

********

TeeLin, LooMei, Pei Yee, Ung Chai, Jimmy & Gang

Sorry for bunching LooMei along with all the Civil & Construction Engineers, lol, but my post ain't about what you're studying anyway, so please bear with it. Hehe

Knowing Tee Lin and Loo Mei as my high school friends and housemates, we've spent a lot of random times out playing or just hanging out. I still can't forget that drunken look on their faces a year and a half ago when they got wasted from drinking at my birthday.

Pei Yee, how come I never see you wear cap recently liao de?? I remember the first time I got to know you along with Melissa, you were wearing a cap, and I was like "Wah, this girl so cool" But it all went away after I knew you as a housemate. LOL.

And Ung Chai, I've never really talked to him much. I'm either too afraid to talk to him, or he seems too quiet to talk to, I don't know which, so sometimes I just keep quiet.... ~.~" But he seems like a nice guy, and I can see it from the outside.

Then we have the rest of their gang which are mostly their coursemates and so on. Among one of them that I know best is Jimmy, which is actually a fun and talkative guy.

I knew this guy through Moral Studies.... imagine how immoral we must be to be taking Moral Studies..... Anyway, jimmy was fascinated by my Magic, and along with all his silly quirks, one of the silliest things he said not long after knowing me was, "I'll teach you photography. In exchange for your magic". I raised an eyebrow o_0.... this guy was gonna teach me something I already know in exchange for something he doesn't know....?? Well... but I kept quiet... and left the realisation that I already knew a decent amount about photography to dawn him a couple weeks later, haha

Well, whatever I've said, it's been nice knowing you guys. And although sometimes your topics are too technical for me to keep up with, XP I think that, it's not a matter of just talking, but it's just about enjoying and having fun together.

Wish you all, all the best in everything.

********

Joshua & Gang

Ok.... I'm starting to realize that more than HALF of the people I know are from KK now....

Moving on.... Joshua, Brother, how long have I known you?? Well, anyway, we haven't been keeping touch much, I guess it's hard since we rarely see each other and there's so many other things in life to catch up with =) it's okay.

Then there's his bunch of friends who are pretty much what you'd call Game addicts.... of freaks... if you wanna put it in a more harsh way? Together with some of his friends like Timothy, Doggie, Zombie, we've played COD a couple of times back in KK. But in Miri, I meet them in Maple!!

Although I rarely talk to them and don't know much about them, but they've been a cool bunch and I enjoy gaming with them lots.

So you guys, just keep at it and enjoy yourselves =)

********

Tisha, and the rest of CV!

(CV! is Curtin Volunteers, for those who don't know)

I remember, stepping into Curtin, one of the firsts people that I got to know. Was Tisha. She was my group's SOAR advisor for my orientation here.

She's a talkative, cheerful, and happy-go-lucky girl from Brunei. We used to know each other quite well during my first year in Uni, especially when I was still staying at Lakeside Apartment and mixing around with CV!. But as I moved out, we started to lose touch, and although we still bump into each other once in a while, I guess things will never be the same.

And for the rest of CV! and SOAR Advisors, you've been a nice bunch to know and spend time with. Sorry if I offended anyone with a previous post I wrote about SOARs, but I meant it as constructive criticism, so if you can't take it, don't read it. I never actually had the time to join SOAR in the very end....

Keep doing what you guys do best, Volunteerism. I love the JCW trips, although they can be improved, but overall, it's a good experience and something new to people who haven't tried it before.

********

ALL THE REST OUT THERE

For anyone else that I didn't mention above, it's not like I forgot about you or something. I'll never forget someone who's really been a part of my life, maybe I might not know you by name, or maybe you're just too insignificant (HAHA~, just kidding), but I really do remember you.

My memory is like a Library of books.... if you're a book that's been entered in there.... it's somewhere there... but sometimes there's so many books that I forgot where I put you, that's all ^_^

From every single event like Open Days, Bintang Fundraisings with CV!, Cheerleading Practice with CCC, Frisbee~, every single thing I've done... I remember each and every thing, even though I didn't mention it, it's just because... I'm kinda... running out of space to write down every single detail here, heh.

********

This post is getting long. Longer than I initially planned, but I guess I can't help it. Sometimes words just flow when I'm thinking back about nostalgic events and people, haha. Guess I'm more emotional and sentimental than any of you would've expected.

In any case, to all of you out there, reading this, I just wanna say, It's been a pleasure knowing you, whether just a face, or just a name, I appreciate it.

In the end, we all have to walk our separate lives. We may or may not meet again in the future. But till then, I guess this is goodbye.

So, everyone out there, Sayonara, and Thanks for everything.

.