Twenty-One

I know its a bit late, and I know I haven't been updating. Its just that the last few weeks haven't been generous enough to give me some time to update my blog.

Though this post is a bit late, I still wanna post it up, just for my own memories keepsake =)

Being 21 last year had been a fun and enjoyable year to me. There's so many new things to learn, new things to experience, and it is... to me, the ending of an old chapter, and a starting of a new chapter in life.

Without further ado, here are 21 pieces of my life when I was 21

********

1. Attempted to learn how to draw 0_0

And found out that drawing was actually quite fun~! But it ain't no simple feat. Seriously.



2. Got 3rd for a Photography competition.

Thanks to Tuang, and many others for being my test models for the competition ^_^ Here's the winning photo.

3. Confessed my love to someone.

It's one of the stupid-est and most nerve wracking things to do that doesn't involve loads of cash and risking your life~!!



4. And got rejected =(

And one of the times when you feel like just curling up in bed and sleeping your life away.



5. Watched a Caterpillar turn into a Butterfly (Twice!)

It's not often you get to witness the full metamorphic cycle of butterflies. I'm just glad I had the chance to.



5. Tried Cornflakes with Strawberry Milk.

It wasn't because I liked strawberry milk or anything like that. But apparently all other sorts of milk was sold out and I it left me no choice ~.~"



6. Took my first Animal Portrait.

Of some random dog I spotted on the street 0_0



7. Played with the Rubik's Cube

In ways not meant for it to be played.

Screw Rubik's

8. Saw kites that I never knew existed before.

9. Set foot in Brunei for the first time~!!

And raided tonnes of Sushi! (Eating Japanese Food when in Brunei is a Must Try experience~)






10. Learned to Stitch my first Panorama Shot =)

11. Got drunk at some John Curtin Weekend Longhouse visit.

"Yam-Seng!!!"

Even though that ain't vodka he's holding, but you could still get pretty f*cked up if you had 10 rounds of it in a row.

Sitting in a circle with native elders, chatting cock and buffalo, half-conscious and having no aim of what to do. The feeling ain't that bad =)




12. Played and Test-ran a Wi-Fi controlled Drone made by Sir Andrew.

In case you're wondering, that black thingy behind is a turbo-charged booster to provide it with an extra boost in acceleration. Seriously.



13. Did my Final Year Project.

And gave a presentation about it in a high tension atmosphere filled with a room of lecturers waiting to see what's so good about your project.



14. Watched 8 movies in 2 days!


I can't recall the titles of the movies I watched right now, but they were all good movies. Namely, among them:

• Changeling
• Shawshank Redemption
• Memento
• Into the Wild
• Shutter Island
• IP Man
• Iron Man
• Pirates of the Caribbean 1, 2, 3

Trust me, by the time you finish 8 hours of movies in 2 days... you feel like you just took a flight from London to Brisbane (although I've never experienced Jetlag before)

15. Reached level 148 in MapleSEA~ ???

The character sitting in the boss-like chair in the middle is me. Unfortunately I don't have a more up-to-date screenshot =) but I'm proud of my character so far.

16. Wrote a Love Letter, and actually handed it to the person.

Gosh... I still can't bring myself to believe that I actually did this sometimes. Whenever I think back of it, my mind just explodes and I ask myself.... How the hell did I bring myself to pull that off??



17. Attempted Lucid Dreaming

After spending countless hours of effort and wasting days and weeks having overturning my sleeping pattern. I decided it wasn't all that worth trying T_T It's still only a dream after all.



18. Visited the Tip of Borneo~!!

For the first time ever~



19. Got a Job

Though I'm the one who dreaded starting work all my life as a student; it seems I was among the first of my friends to get started with working life. Sigh.



20. Attended KK City Run

First time attending such an event @.@ but watching a mass of people doing morning stretches surely was interesting, hehe.



21. Wrote a list of 101 things to do before I die~ ^_^ 


Next up is to fulfill the list!

********

Well, that's it for the 21 things I did when I was 21.

As of nearly a Month ago, I had officially turned 22.

101 Things to do Before I Die

It's Chinese New Year, and what better time to jot down a list of the craziest ideas and dreams you have and want to achieve than now?

As a motivation to myself, and others... I've wrote down my own list of 101 things to do before I die. The rule of this checklist is simple. To check off as many items as possible before its deadline... which is.... before you die ^_^

If you wanna write your own list, feel free to do so =) And I'd even love to see what's on your list. As guidelines to writing a list, there are no rules whatsoever to what you want on your list, only one thing, keep them within reachable limits, and the goals must be measurable with "Done" or "Not Done" answers. Not something like "Eat as much Mc Donald's as possible"..... which could be 1000 Mc Chicken Deluxe or 3000 French Fries.... we won't know which.... neither is it measurable.

Anyway, without further ado, let's get to the list (it's a long list... so sit tight)

**********

101 THINGS TO DO BEFORE I DIE

Note:

$ Signs represent how much the feat would cost.

* Sign represents how Hard/Challenging it is.

01. Write a list of 101 Things to Do Before I Die.

Okay, so I played cheat.... well, that still leaves me with a hundred things, hehe.

02. Make video logs.

I've always wanted to try see how making video logs felt like =) but I guess before that I'll need to get a video camera. Wait for my Nikon D300S!!

03. Skydive. $$ *

Skydiving being strapped to someone is one thing.... Skydiving on your OWN is a whole new level! I have to try both.

04. Throw a dart onto a world map, and travel to wherever it lands (if possible) $$$$ *

Although it doesn't sound like a problem if you're Bill Gates or Donal Trump. But what if you land in somewhere like... ... ... the Amazon????

05. Learn a new skill from a friend. *

I'm sure you all has that friend who has some talent you wish you had. It's about time to take lessons from him or her.

06. Own a 4 acre piece of land. $$$$$ **

I know, I know.... what's 4 acres in today's world.... But we'll start small. So 4 acres first =)

For those of you who are clueless on how large an acre is, quoted from wikipedia:

"One acre is 90.75 percent of a 100 yards (91.44 meters) long by 53.33 yards (48.76 meters) wide American football field (without the end zones) " 

So if you do some math, 4 acres is... 3.6 Football fields.... I guess I could still start an elephant farm with that much land....

07. Experience Jetlag. $$

No need an explanation for this one I guess...

08. Camp on my own land.

A piece of land without some habitants on it would make it lonely won't it?

09. Learn not to say yes when you really mean no. **

Definitely not for the people who wouldn't take 'No' as an answer.

10. Write a novel about myself... or an autobiography. **

Not like anyone would read it...? But oh well, how many people have actually written down their whole life's story into a book? Not many I bet =)

11. Do something completely crazy and out of character. **

I've actually done this before. But I decided it didn't count and I'd like to do something MORE crazy. 2 stars because it's not easy to be crazy =)

12. Sit on the scariest roller coaster ride in the world. $$

Not many things can scare me shitless I proudly say... except cockroaches and a boss.

13. Find a job I love. ***

Finding a job is like finding a soulmate. You have to Love the job.... and the job Love you back ^_^

14. Photograph an eclipse, both solar and lunar. $$$$$ ***** 

5 Dollar signs because good Camera Equipment is EXPENSIVE!

5 Stars because a total eclipse only comes ONCE every FEW YEARS!

But it's still worth it! Why!? Because the 'imba-ness' of eclipses are just Imbalance~! 

15. Learn to ride a horse. $ 

Ah... I've always loved horses....

16. Own a horse. $$$

Yesss.... in fact I don't mind keeping one as a pet.... so that I can ride it along the beach....

17. Go skinny dipping.

Ha~ Once in a while you have to let it all hang loose~

18. Throw a mega party! $$$ **

It's not that hard throwing a party actually.... but Cleaning up AFTER the party is a nuisance!

19. Bury a treasure/time capsule. $$

You know those hidden treasures in Pirates of the Caribbean or National Treasure? Are they just Myths?? Wahaha... not anymore! I'll make sure I make mine as real as it can be.... more or less.... 

Well.... not exactly a treasure. More like a mystery box that has instructions to open it in 100 years... inside it could ... ..... probably contain a recipe on how to make the world's Famous Amos cookies, which should be extinct in 100 years time ^_^

20. Visit Antarctica, or better yet, get a Job on Antarctica, if possible. $$$$ *****

Who wouldn't, want to work on an iceberg!? C'mon, it's cold, it's cool, it's frosty, and there's penguins! It would be the experience of a lifetime~ or you could be paralyzed for your lifetime~

21. Build something that will outlast myself. $ **

Be it a wooden stool, a custom made toilet bowl, a dildo cast out of my appendage.... or a statue of myself..... ....

22. Drive on the Autobahn. $$ *

The Autobahn~ or more properly called, the German Autobahnen... For those who don't know what it is, basically, it's the pinnacle of the driving experience~! It's a German highway that has a speed limit of Not Less than 60km/hour.... ... Meaning you can't bring grandma's 50 year old Volkswagen Beetle on the highway unless it has a turbocharger to keep it above 60km/h speeds.

23. Keep a daily diary for one whole year (in detail) *****

Self-explanatory, but, I'm afraid I might abandon this goal halfway through the year.

24. Dance in the pouring Rain.

Aha~ You couldn't afford to do this when you were young because your mom would scold you. You didn't do it when you were a teen cause you felt it was ridiculous. You didn't do it when you were in college because everybody would look at you. Now what?

25. Have my own photo studio. $$$$$ **

First, I will have my house. Then, I will have a studio all to myself =) And I can do all my ridiculous photo shoots in it without having to bother anyone in the outside world.

26. Keep a pet (most likely a dog) watch it grow up, grow old, and pass on. $ ***

Remember Marley and Me, the movie? Yea~ Something like that =) If you haven't watched the movie, I Absolutely Recommend you to watch it.

27. Make someone weak in the knees just by looking~ $$ ***

Just for the kicks of it. So that I know what it feels like to be a Superstar ^_^

28. Climb one of the world's Seven Summits. $$$$ *****

One first.... then Two.... and as I proceed... maybe one day I can poke my own flag on Mount Everest, hehe.

29. Bungee Jump. $$ * 

They say that your life flashes before you moments before you die. I hope my life doesn't flash before me when falling from a 100m high platform.

30. Fall deeply in love - helplessly and unconditionally.

Been there, done that. But seriously, Love is addictive, and I don't mind doing it all over again for someone I love.

31. Own a BMW. $$$$$ *

What better way to appease that Need for Speed other than buy the sportiest yet at the same time luxurious of all. The Bimmer.

32. Win a lottery. *************************************

.............................. Although this is on my list, I am sad to say I'm not sure I can complete this.

In a 6-from-49, you choose 6 numbers from the numbers 1~49. So, if you're a permutation and combination freak, and according to mathematics (but we all know that mathematics is always wrong in the real world), there's a 1 in 13,983,816 chance for you to win the lottery....

That means that.... if I buy a ticket every minute of a day (60 minutes x 24 hours x 365 days = 525,600), I might actually stand a chance to win if I keep it up for.... 13,983,816/525,600 = 27 years!!

33. Walk the Great Wall of China. $$ ***

Not anything specifically special about this one, heh. But what's the point of being a Chinese who haven't witnessed your own ancestor's Great Wall?

34. Design my own house. $$$$ ****

The dream of everyone else, to design and build their own home. But not everybody succeeds in doing it. Will I manage? We'll see~

35. Learn Diving. $$ *

Diving~ I've turned down the opportunity to learn it once, twice, thrice, and many more times.... not because I didn't want it, but because my wallet couldn't agree with it. But once I start work, I'll make sure to keep my wallet fat so that it won't say 'No' to another chance.

36a. Hike up a Glacier. $$$ *****

This must've been due to too much 'Call of Duty' and movies depicting the Epic-ness of climbing an ice mountain using two icepicks~ Yet, who are you to say it really doesn't look cool?

37a. See the Northen Lights. $$$ ***

It's not often you get to see something 'fantasy' like in the real world. For all the dreams you had since you were a child till you were a teen about magical auras and colourful winds in the air..... This is the thing to see with your own eyes.

36b. Fold 1,000 origami paper cranes and give them to someone special. $ *****

Have you folded a paper crane? Coz it's effin hard~! They say that if you fold 1000 origami cranes, you will be granted a wish by a crane. 

However, to fold a THOUSAND paper cranes isn't something for the faint hearted~!! Even the 12 year old girl Sadako Sasaki, who was affected by an atomic bomb, and believed so much that the 1000 paper cranes would stave off her death from leukemia, only managed to fold 644 paper cranes and died T_T

37b. Witness the Sunrise with a loved one.

Witnessing the sunrise is like watching a baby being born.... =.=" you see the round head of the sun slowly pop out of the horizon, like a baby coming out of the stomach~ But it isn't fun to watch alone ^_^

38. Act like a tourist, and visit all the places in Sabah like I've never been there before. $$$

Sometimes it's good to re-visit your own hometown. Coz why? You never know you might've missed out something fun~

39. Draw my own self-portrait. ***

Provided I have the patience and skill to do so.

40. Get a complete makeover, and probably might as well add a photoshoot. $$ **

Makeovers are fun~ So are photoshoots~ Combine them together and you get a collection of photos that you could lie to your grandchildren saying "You know? Grandpa used to be a model~"

41. Sleep under a starry sky.

Preferably with someone special, so that the mosquitoes have someone else to bite.

42. Live through the 4 seasons of the year, Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter 

Because from where I come from, there's only Summer, Summer, Summer, and Summer.

43. Learn Stunt/Professional Driving. $$$ **

So that I can make sure I'm never late for work again.... or maybe so I can run away from cops Tokyo Drift style~

44. Watch a Meteor shower. $ ****

Because if one shooting star can grant you one wish, a meteor shower could grant you.... a thousand~!

45. Walk into a restaurant and order the whole menu. $$$$$

One day I wanna walk into a restaurant and say "This one, this one... ... and... this one..... I don't want. Give me everything else~"

46. Say "I quit." To a job I hate. ***

And hope that your boss bows down to hug your legs, begging you to stay.

47. Seduce a straight guy. $$ ** 

There's something forbidden about converting a straight guy to play for the other team, especially if they're not quite sure what's happening, LOL

48. Photograph the Milky Way. $$$ ***

To make people realize our planet is just a SPECK in the universe.

49. Be at Sea for a Week. $$$ ****

By the time I come back, I could probably be the next Captain Jack Sparrow.

50. Master Poker and Win BIG in a Casino. $$$$$ *** 

And if people insist on me sitting back for another game, I'm gonna tell them "Sorry, but I came here just for the money~"

51. Tell someone "I Love You", and mean it. ***

Saying it is one thing. showing it is another ^_^

52. Test Drive a FERRARI!

Fortunately although you can't afford it, there are some cars where you can test drive in a closed circuit without speed limits. Go vrrroooom to your heart's content~!!

53. Ride a Hot Air Balloon. $$$

There's nothing like the feeling of soaring 10,000 feet up in the sky, looking out a 'veranda' and fearing for dear life that if one of the ropes snap, you're 10 seconds away from dinner with your creator.

54. Dive and see the Great Barrier Reef. $$$ * 

The next best thing about Diving, is you get to experience mermaid world first-hand (besides the fact that you still need goggles, and oxygen tank, and a skin-suit, which mermaids don't need)

55. Make someone burst in tears of happiness. **** 

I might have to choose someone supremely emotional for this feat.

56. Go nude for a week.

To experience nature at it's best, sometimes you have to go back to ancient times and cherish that birthday suit of yours. You don't see bears wearing sweaters or dogs wearing underwear huh? It gets stuffy down there sometimes too. 

57. Learn to say "I'm sorry, it's my fault." Even when you're right. ***

Saying sorry doesn't have to mean you're wrong. Sometimes it means you treasure the relationship more than your pride.

58. Publish an article. ** 

People get away these days with publishing all sorts of articles. I guess I thought I should try it out as well.

59. Learn to make a Fine Dish. Perfect it. Master it. $$ *** 

So the next time you come to my house, you can order the 'Bird's Special Deluxe', whatever that is....

60. Learn Skiing, and go Heli-Skiing after that. $$$$ ****

They say that if you shout at the top of a glacier, you could cause an avalanche. I've always wanted to try skiing down a mountain as an avalanche threatens to wallop you just behind your ankles, like in the movies =)

61. Visit one of the 7 Ancient Wonders of the World. $$$ *

Obviously though, because only One of the 7 ancient wonders remain in this world.... it's the Pyramids in Egypt.

62. Perform a striptease. *** 

Did you know your body is an asset?

63. Take a midnight stroll along a beach.

And maybe a dip as well since you're already there~

64. Sit on the World's Fastest Rollercoaster!! $$

0 to 100 km/h in 2 seconds!! The Ferrari World Theme park boasts its fastest roller coaster ever~! Even the Fastest Bugatti Veyron Super Sport only does 0 to 100 km/h in 2.5 seconds!

65. Find my fetish. **

Everybody has one. Some just don't admit ^^

66. Get myself so drunk I don't remember anything. $ **

Self explanatory. Let's just hope I don't do anything that people would remember for the rest of their lives.

67. Have plastic surgery. $$$ *

Sometimes man-made stuff ain't so bad afterall.

68. Drive a car faster than 160km/h. $$ *

Unfortunately, my mom's 25 year old Toyota Starlet starts whimpering with speeds over 100km/h, so I'd have to wait for a better car to attempt this.

After hitting 160, then we can raise the stakes. 

69. Be in a warzone. $ ***** 

Be it as a Journalist, as a Tourist, as an Archeologist, as a Soldier fighting for his country, as a Peacekeeper trying to get rid of the bad guys, or just as some idiot attempting 'The Matrix - Live'. Nothing beats the adrenaline rush of having to fight for your life.

70. Give someone a fake name, just for kicks =) *

"Hello, I'm Da Vinci.", "No, Alberto Da Vinci.", "His Son."... ......

71. Shoot a scoped rifle at a target 200 meters away. And HIT. $$ ****

If you thought 200 meters is close. Picture your mom standing 200 meters away from you. That'll give you an idea how helpless she looks at that distance.

72. Learn a Self-Defense art. Thoroughly. $$ **** 

Nowadays, everybody knows some self defense, which is either 'Muai Thai' learnt from the 1 1/2 hour Ong Bak movie tutorial, or IP Man's 'Wing Chun' when he was teaching his students in the movie. So why should I be left out?

73. Take part in a motorsport. $$$$ ****

Most people say men love 2 things. Women, and Cars. Although I don't agree with the former, I sure do still love the latter mentioned.

How many things could be cooler than you drifting around a rally track James Bond style in a Mercedes wearing a helmet and a fire resistant jumpsuit?

74. Have a collection of soft toys. $

I'm not too sure why, but sometimes I fancy huge soft toys, like a big giant teddy bear, that you could just leave them sitting there staring at you for display. Some of them are nice to hug though.

75. Spend summer solstice above the Arctic Circle, and experience 24 hours of daylight. $$$ *

Imagine sleeping when it's still bright outside, then waking up when it's still bright outside =) It'd be fun~ or we could play All Day long~ or party All Night Day long as well~

76. Touch a Tiger. **

And be best friends with it. Boy, big cats are cool~ 

77. Write a letter to my closest friends to tell them how much they mean to me. 

Or maybe write a letter to the one you hate the most, and tell them how much you hate them.

78. Make a short film. $$ *** 

Hopefully something to enlighten the world.

79. Listen to a Live Orchestra in a world-class theatre. $$$$

Some say listening to a Live in a theatre with superior acoustics gives you the most blissful feeling and is the climax of enjoying music. I personally think that is true... to an extent. So I decided I had to give it a try.

80. Go BASE jumping. $$$$ ****

BASE jumping is basically the Mission Impossible style of an exit from your 55 story luxury condo when you're late for work. And in worst case scenario that your Not-so-trusty parachute decides that today was the day it betrayed you, you could forget about how much money you owed your finance officer because all debts will be forgiven within seconds.

81. Make a pop up/out book and give it to somebody special. $ ***

The best gifts in the world are hand made. So why not start making your own presents ^_^

82. Get a piercing. *

I'm not an adventurous guy... so we'll start with the regular place first.

83. Get a Tattoo. **

Well, since I'm getting a piercing, might as well get a tattoo?? They go together don't they? LoL

84. Perfect my Japanese. And go to Japan to use it. $$$ ***

You gotta have loads of cash in your pants before stepping into Japan though, unless you plan on sleeping in one of those Capsule Hotels, which.... I'm not sure someone my height could actually fit in it comfortably....

85. Build a 1km in diameter man-made island. $$$$$ *****

And top it up with my own empire on the island.

Maybe I'll name it something fancy like "Paradisus de Cuthberto".... as if my name wasn't hard enough to pronounce on its own.

86. Spend 1 year getting my body in optimum shape, and keep it that way. $$ **** 

Like I said, your body is an asset, sometimes you have to invest in it =) and make yourself an irresistible attraction. Just saying~ 

87. Look close into the eyes of someone I've just met, see myself, and smile. ***

You might either get a smile back, or a smack in the cheek.

88. Make love on the beach. **

No walls, no cleanup, no mess, what more can you ask for? Could be done after the beach-side stroll~

89. One day donate 10% of my wealth to charity. $$$$$

I'm thinking I should do this before I get super rich so that 10% would mean less....

90. Take an amazing portrait for someone. $$ ***** 

Ask how much the person is willing to pay, and if the price is high enough, give it to them for free.

91. Build myself a beach house. $$$$$ **

Where I could put my horse, and fulfill whatever beach-side dreams I have~

92. Have something named after myself. ***

A statue, a book, a car, a building, a road. You name it.

93. Watch the Launch of a Space Shuttle. ***

Many of the wonders in the world come from Nature, but the launching of a Space Shuttle is truly an amazing sight. Definitely isn't something you should miss out within your lifetime.

94. Visit a live volcano. $$$ **

Maybe I could throw a penny into it.... and treat it like a wishing well.

95. Join a Caravan in the Sahara Desert. $$$ ***** 

A Friend in Dune by Yoshi Nakamura from dpreview.com

Have you ever felt like riding a camel across the vast ocean of glittery sand? Or wanted to experience what it felt like being wrapped up by yards and yards of cloth?

Well, as a quest for my own self improvement, and to see for my very own eyes the second largest uninhabitable piece of land in the whole world (Number 1 goes to Antarctica), a trip across the Sahara could do me some good.

96. Go Rock-climbing. $$ ***** 

And enroll as Peter Parker for the next installation of Spiderman.

97. Build a Giant Sandcastle. **

With big-ass cannons and flags and toy soldiers peeking out the window ready for the 3rd World War. Only to have it wash away when the tide comes up that very same day.

98. Save a Life. *****

Push someone out of the way of a speeding truck and take his place; Run into a burning house to save poor kitty; Dive into the pond to save that duckling; Shoot that Tiger who's going to eat that deer, there's so many ways~!! Just make sure you don't end up needing someone to save you instead.

99. Disappear for 6 months in attempt to complete as many goals on this list as possible. $$$$$$$$$$ **********

"Guys, take care, I'll see you all in 6 months~ Don't be naughty~"

But before that, first, I'll need a shit-load of cash, so much that you could live another life off from it.

100. Change the World. ********** 

"The people crazy enough to think that they can change the world are the ones that do." - Unknown Origin 

By conquering the world, creating a cure for AIDS, inventing the Z-bomb, saving the earth from Armageddon, or just by being a messenger boy passing fliers to everyone on earth that says "Why be a second rate someone else, when you can be a first rate of yourself?".... even to change the world JUST by a BIT, would be something worth trying.

101. Be happy with who I am.

What's the point of doing all the 100 things but not being satisfied with my own self? Be Happy~ That's the most important thing in life.

**********

So that's it for my list of 101 things to do before I die. I've put the list at the bottom of my blog with links to each individual post once I check off something from the list.

I guess that's all for this post~ ^^

End of another Chapter

... ... of life.

Most of you who read my blog should already realize I don't post youtube videos or songs much. But this is one of the exceptions =) Introducing:

Goodbye to You - by Michelle Branch

Volume is a bit soft, you might wanna make it louder slightly.

The reason why I posted this song, is because I think it expresses my feelings most accurately right now ^_^ Enjoy as you read.

21 years of my life, I've been a 'full-time' student. The only job I was given, was to learn. Of course, learning is a life-long process which is done everyday, every minute. But as of today, I am no longer required to learn for the sake of exams, for the sake of education, or for the sake of anything of that sort. Everything from now on, will probably be, a little different from everything I've known so far.

Having my last day in Miri today, I'm really gonna miss the life I've been through the past months, years, even the last decade. I'm even already starting to miss Miri and everything to it, even though I haven't left it.

A million thanks to everyone out there who's been a part of my life for the past years. I think I've said enough about my last 3 years here in Miri in my tributes to Miri: here, and to the great people I've known: here. So I guess I won't mention anymore about that.

I guess, it's the end of a chapter in life, and the start of a new one. So I guess I just wanna say once again,

Goodbye to Miri, Goodbye to Everyone I've known there,

Thanks for Everything, and may we meet again in the future.

In the meantime of my 10 hour trip to back to KK, Enjoy the song~

.

Tribute to Everyone and Everything in Miri, Part 1

Look at me.... while everybody's studying and pouring their all into the coming exams, what am I doing?? Blogging ~.~" Anyway, now that I come to think back, this blog was created 3 years ago when I first step foot in Miri... so... this post is somewhat a tribute to everyone and everything in Miri that has come to be a part of my life, and a re-cap of my life within the past 3 years.

This is gonna be a long post. So sit back and enjoy if you're.... actually planning to read it 0_0 Or you could always come back later with a cup of coffee to read it. ^_^v

You have been warned. Let us begin.

Part I - 3 years of Miri Life

Approximately 2 years and 9 months ago, I step foot into this place. I remember the day I first arrived clear in my mind as if I'd just been dumped here yesterday.

It was a Saturday, 2 weeks before the start of Semester 1 2008. The day was cold, windy, raining... and I remember seeing the sad face of the old bus driver as soon as I came out of the Arrival hall at the airport, holding a piece of paper written "Curtin University" on it. He's no longer here now.... sigh.... maybe his sad faced got the better of him.... =(

With the day being so cold, we all rushed on board the bus to take shelter, just to realize we were on a much colder refrigerator, freezer box more exacly.... being shipped 30km North to one of the most God forsaken towns in Malaysia.

For my first semester there, I chose 2nd worst (oh, nono... no... there's still worse) possible living environment to live in! The Lakeside Apartment!! Imagine being shipped to a deserted swampland covering a 3 KM radius, with only ONE way IN and OUT of the middle of a place called 'Nowhere'.... .... That can only mean one thing to any person in the right mind.... For a moment there I thought I was going to Prison!!?

If you think I'm bullshitting you. I'm NOT! Seriously.... Yes!... No!, just LOOK!

To the left is your airport, the middle the town area... though it still needs improvement, but at the moment... who cares? Coz we've got God knows where to your FAR right!

See??? It's like the most nonstrategic place to be dumped in. Much worse if it's a windy, cloudy, rainy dark day. And as if things could go badder.... the uni was literally a GRAVE the day I arrived.... the only soul I met, and talked to, on that Saturday, was the dorm officer showing me my room. I remember the guy looking slightly uneasy at the look of the empty dorms..... it's like when you watch those horror movies where something suddenly opens one of the doors and pounces at you.

The hostel worker opened the door to my room... "This is your room... ". I walked in.... inspecting the room with nothing to inspect in it.... there was just a floor, 2 walls, a window, a ceiling.... ah, well, and a bed without sheets, chair that creaks, table with moulds, and... an empty wardrobe..... hmm... I guess they wouldn't have filled the wardrobe with clothes would they....

"Check that everything is in place, and fill in the form over there." he said, pointing at a piece of paper on the table..... "What's there to bloody check???" I thought..... then he said "If there's nothing more I'll be off now~", and BEFORE I could even think of anything to ask, or even say 'Umm....', I turned my back to see him scurrying off down the staircase at the far end of the hallway............

So just to remind you. I was now in the middle of a swampland.... in the middle of nowhere. I even had to check my phone to see if there was a signal =.=".... to reassure myself I was still on earth.

 Image credit to Google Earth

Can you just bloody look at the patch GREEN all around!??  Yes! In case you're still wondering...... That IS Curtin University Sarawak. And look at the picture, barely HALF of the picture is in proper view from a satellite photo. Now you know what I'm talking about....

After days of settling down.... and finally understanding how the word "Home Sweet Home" came into being.... you think that the worst is over. Far from it.

For the first week of uni.... we learn how to Decipher Mad Max's Timetable schedule

Those of you in Curtin Miri, but came later than me.... here's a Review of what our Timetable looked like during my first year here.

So.... I'll let you in on something.... That, is ONLY the FIRST PAGE.... MONDAY, out of 5 pages of timetable.... and this isn't even a FULL page.... it's cropped to only about 2/3rd of the whole page, because if I included the whole page, all you'd be seeing is patches of colourful design that would make it into your collection of High Resolution 24 inch widescreen monitor wallpapers.

How I managed to find my classes was a miracle by its own. Thank God (and Curtin) they changed the timetable to a much more clever and humane method the very next sem. Oh, and did I mention that the timetable changes nearly EVERY WEEK??? means we have to 'decrypt' that colourful wallpaper everytime a new Monday comes along.


And then....

2 weeks into the sem. You realize you have a room mate that wakes after hearing the alarm, just to shut it off, just to go back to sleep, and wake up later not realizing he's waken up before. In fact, living with a room mate who has classes EARLIER than your own kinda gets on your nerves.... especially if you've been watching David Letterman's Late Night show the night before.... but of course we don't have that here.... but who EVER does wanna leave the bed at 7am in the morning?? Not me...?

So on a regular schedule, I turned into his alarm clock.... I woke up to HIS alarm, to wake HIM up.... and go back to sleep. And I guess he has someone to thank for that, hmph!

Then.... in KK, I "Lived to EAT", but in Miri, I "Eat to LIVE"... During the first month here in Miri... I starved every night... wondering what to eat. And living in that hell-hole in the middle of nowhere just meant that even if we called the 1-300-88-2525 Pizza delivery, they wouldn't even ACCEPT your order BECAUSE YOU WERE TOO FAR!!

If I didn't watch National Geographic, I wouldn't have known about so many animals and insects in this world. But then.... National Geographic didn't tell me about the tonnes of Mosquitoes in Miri!!! For the first 2 months in Miri, we had to learn to,

1. Dodge mosquitoes.
2. Go home before 6 pm to avoid being on the Mosquito's buffet menu.
3. Learn not to open your mouth when you ride a bike at night, or else you'll be having mosquito buffet, freshly served live mosquitoes, straight to your mouth.
4. The last and most important lesson. "Ridsect is your Friend"

A little re-cap for those of you who haven't read my previous blog posts before:

My hands looked like balloon hands from slapping so many of these

The tonnes of Vampire mossies killed within a sweep of our friendly neighbourhood weapon - Ridsect.

Ah... you can enlarge the photo if you think you can'see enough of those tiny buggers, in fact
I challenge you to count all of them =)

Don't think I need to explain more about the mosquitoes.... or you could go here to see my previous posts.

Soon though... the fast forward button starts kicking in.... and everything just flies past.... soon, you're looking at exams....

Exam in High school is one thing. In fact, I nearly forgot how exams in high school was like, until I read this previous post of mine.... which reminded me of my naughtiness and stupid acts.

But people in uni take exams SUPER seriously..... in fact, so seriously that I still can't deal with it the way they deal with it till today. Until this very last 2 weeks here... I'm still like "Hey, yo~ waddap waddap~" when I enter the exam hall.... but everyone else looked like Halloween or Ghost festival came early this year.

In fact, I even have such a 'memorable experience' at the library during exam period in my first semester here. Reading it just reminds me that it seems I'm still the same right now.... blogging long and nonsensical posts while everyone is worshiping their textbooks for the upcoming exams.

However.... time flies.... before I knew it, a sem had passed.... and I was in my second semester in this dreadfully mosquito infested place.

I was in luck, I moved out of Lakeside, found a place with my other friends, not too far from the bus stop, and all was good... .... =)

********

For the 2nd sem in Curtin, I did quite a lot of stuff. Namely,

1. I took a Commerce subject, Management 100, as my elective. You know when people say Science and Commerce totally don't mix??? Trust me, Believe them;
2. Then I joined CV! (That's Curtin Volunteers for any of you thinking it's "Curriculum Vitae"... you can't JOIN a Curriculum Vitae anyway ~.~");
3. I witnessed Boulevard mall throw a panic event where you get to see people running, no kidding, RUNNING~!! down the "UP" elevator;
4. We had a Steamboat dinner~!! For mooncake festival, and other fun stuff;
5.  I joined the John Curtin Weekend for the first time, had a bone jolting better than Ogawa massage 6 hour road trip into one of Sarawak's long houses, where if suddenly the Tribe leader decided you looked juicy for supper, you had no where to run to;

And among these I enjoyed the JCW trip the most... Even though sitting in a Hi-Lux cruising across moon-crater roads at 100km/h doesn't help keep the Mc. D you ate that afternoon in your stomach; But the experience I had over there, with the people, the nature, the rivers, the waterfalls.... after witnessing all that, all is forgiven. LOL~

Those were among the more intriguing things that happened throughout the second sem, and since I didn't wanna bore you with tonnes of words.... yea.... that's about it for 2nd sem.

********

3 months of holiday free-flowed like water into the desert sands..... gone in no time.

And by February 2009, I was back in Nowhere land. As life in miri went by, life there started to feel.... 'normal'.... or at least I thought so....

By my third semester, most of the things to be explored in miri had been explored; things unseen had been seen. With my camera now though.... I'm happy that I actually managed to 'document' more of the things that happen now.... like this one....

was the "Attack of the Clowns" on Curtin Open Day, 4th of April 2009

But there's always ONE THING in miri that will NEVER go away. And that is, Boredom.

If you get bored back at home, Fine~, you turn on the TV, go out with friends, go to the beach, throw a party, but in Miri?? Boy oh boy, without knowing many people, and having only a pair of Legs as transportation, we can't go around jolly-ing while exams are around the corner can we??

So, out of all the boredom we can get in miri, I decided to learn something new~ Frisbee~!! For all you know, frisbee was a game Dogs played. But I found out that I was wrong about that.

Then as exams are approaching, stress + boredom, makes wonders happen.

 

And this, was the product of "Stress + Boredom + a housemate suffering from (stress + boredom)"..... we did 2 clips in fact..... another one which you could view here, if you bothered to.

Before I had time to make a 3rd one.... the 3rd sem was officially over. And the crazy ex-classmate + housemate + coursemate + "brother" who had been with me for 1 and a half years was transferring to Perth. And I don't think anyone else would be as crazy as her to do such silly things with me anymore.

********

4th Sem arrived. With my best mate flown 3,744 km away to Perth, and her fun roomie moving out as well, things seemed to be much more boring.... SOOoooo boring that I actually had a whole post dedicated to the feeling of being bored, entitled: "The Definition of Boredom"

So for my 4th Sem, I spent my time conquering game after game of First-Person-Shooters, Strategy and Real-time strategy games, mini-games, text based games, you name it.... and I spent even more of my hours on Movies, animes and stuff to keep my mind off the boredom.

The only new thing that came out of my 4th sem was 'Prom Night'.... which.... although nothing too amazing, I'm just glad I went and managed to get some nice photos like:

One of my favourites for the night, though a bit blurry

********

Semester 1, 2010, Year 3 Sem 1.

This semester was practically MapleStory Semester. From March all the way till June, I was basically Mapling my way through the semester. I updated my blog less, watched less anime and movies, worried about studies less.... all because I was stuck to Maple.

 GBIRD is me.

Yea, the 3 of us are dead in this picture.

We committed suicide for the fun of it =)

 
I don't know why, but although maple is a stupid, childish, and a super-duper time wasting game, filled along with loads of 14 year old's who haven't got a spanking for not using manners properly yet.... but I like this game....

And I also love the stupid times we spend together, just wondering about a virtual game, when we can't meet up in real life to see each other.

And the best part of Maple, is CHIT-CHATTING. You know, if you asked me to choose between chatting in Windows Live Messenger (aka MSN), or Maple, I'll choose maple ^_^ The cute and childish environment filled with Emoticons just make it so much fun to sit down, chill-out, and talk nonsense.

I could write a whole lot about the fun and idiotic things about Maple I'd love to share with you guys, but this post isn't specifically about maple. So, next time maybe.


Once again, I CANNOT cease to emphasize more that Miri is a place Sooooo boring, that... you would lose your mind if you didn't find something to do. And that.... was when you realize you could do things you never knew you could. No, I didn't realize I could fly, I wish I could though..... one day... suddenly realize I had some kind of superpower out of the boredom.....

Ok, back on topic, I just suddenly, out of the blue, learnt to Draw~ even if just a bit.

Yea, I know, the proportions are off and this and that, but hey.... I only drew for like, 2 months? That's when you know.... maybe boredom isn't necessarily so bad after all.

Then.... once again, time flowed like water swirling down the toilet bowl whenever finish your business.... And it was my final Semester.

********

At long last.... I survived all the way to the near-end of this 3 year long stay.

And before I left Miri, once and for all, and never to come back again, I had to do one thing, for sure.... BRUNEI~~!! Nearly every student in Curtin would have had tried having Sushi in Brunei. It's fresh, cheap, a LOT, and is the only thing that's lived up to the word "Delicious" for the 3 years I've been in Miri (but then again the sushi is in Brunei, so I guess Miri doesn't get credit)

One of the dishes.

There's many photos of food, but this ain't a food blog, so go google up sushi photos if you're suddenly craving for it, and don't hold me responsible for making you hungry.

Soon, there was Curtin Open day once again. And this time, there were Kites~!

There were pretty cool kites where my photos don't even describe HALF of what I see.

You really had to BE THERE to see everything in full view.

Then, for the last time in my Uni life, I decided to join the JCW Event once again... Though it wasn't as enjoyable as the first one.... meh... I guess it's still an experience....

I had quite a mad night there.... I still can't quite believe I actually got myself drunk on 'tuak' (local wine) and was chit-chatting nonsense with the elders and senior committee members till 2am in the morning.... they sure love to see their guests drunk eh?

During this last sem, I also managed to round up a couple of guys for some rounds of "Call of Duty" at Miri's Cyber Cafe. Going to the cyber was always fun, but not so when you enter a cyber filled with headphone equipped computers and people all minding their own business.

Coz you see, back in KK.... our cyber cafes had big ass altec lansing speakers that shook literally the whole cafe with 1 or 2 of those, and guess what, we had FIFTY computers, so that's 50 big ass speakers to go with. So whenever we sit down and play, the place is already so deafening that you could scream to your heart's content and no one would even hear you~ And that just makes playing COD so much more war-like.

Then for the past 1 month, I'd been busy on my Final Year Project, on that so-called "Intelligent Surveillance and Automation System". And after a month long worrying and fussing about whatever makes it so 'Intelligent', it finally came to an end 2 days ago, with a presentation to 9 Electrical and Computing Department lecturers.


Presenting to a group of people who has a level of intelligence 5 to 10 times yours makes you suddenly feel so.... insignificant. You think that "Ah... don't worry, its all good.... it's under control, don't sweat it, it's not a big deal..." right up until the moment you're standing before that group of people who knows MORE than what you're talking about..... and then the first greeting you feel like saying for your presentation is  "SSSShhhyt...."

But anyway, it was an experience.... one of the coolest things I experienced within my 3 years here in Miri.

********

Before I could even stop and stare at what I've been doing for the past 3 years, it was all over, well, nearly.... if you wanna put it that way.

After being in Miri for 3 years, you can't help but feel, maybe this place isn't so bad after all, even though, like I said before, it's smack in the middle of Amazon and basically Kingdom of the Insects as far as Malaysia is concerned. Trips downtown cost RM2.50 bus fare, one way only, and that's a 40 minute crawl to the city in the bus.

In fact, I've also done my share of crazy things with my friends here in Miri, and it's a place that's turned from being alien to a sense of belonging. 3 years.... I still can't believe I'm getting so old already....

To sum it all up, that's basically my whole experience in Miri.... the 3 years, the time spent, the time wasted, and everything within, of course, there are things I missed and stuff I couldn't include, but this post is already getting ri-donk-ulously  long.... so, I'll leave it at here.


Nevertheless, my days in Miri are coming to an end, and although I've taken for granted many things here in Miri, like the cheap food, the vast and infinite sky, the unpredictable weather, the laid back environment, and most of all, that feeling of.... Boredom.... I think I'm gonna miss that feeling once I step out into the society and start work.

Ultimately. Miri... isn't that bad of a place once you get to know it.


We'll be parting soon.... very soon.