Life and DNA

Not that simple, anymore.

Life isn't as simple as 4 alphabets, it's much more complicated than DNA. Alright, I'm childish enough for counting alphabets to make silly comparison, but it's damn true, you know? Btw, dear blog, sorry for the irregular updates... now you should understand why I named you that way, right?

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I'm back =)

Since November last year, the world wide web is literally right at my bedside, and I started to disappear from the memories of cybercafe operators. Ironically, I failed to blog even with the existence of internet facilities in my apartment. I’ve been reading, reading, and reading other people’s blogs- whether they are my friends, strangers or even some politicians (actually I did write some, but they ended up as some monalisas in my draft folder). Some are thought-provoking, some are relaxing and sweet. Addictive lar. =p

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Alright, so I’m now back, typing on my new toy- Dell Inspiron 1420. Err, not that new actually as I got it from PC fair in December. It was quite a bargain, Intel Core 2 Duo T5250, 2GB RAM, with built-in webcam and three years Complete Cover, at just a few bucks over RM 3k._

Meet my dear, Ms. Inspiron.

In January, I was investigated regarding a mobile phone ‘suicide’ case in my apartment. Apparently, the police thought I purposely push my ex- a Sony Ericsson k750, down from my 13th floor balcony. Fortunately, final investigation shown that my ex was just being playful and wanted to try some thrilling sky-jumping.

Sayonara k750.

Just as February last year, we hosted a CNY party at our garden. Well, it was sorta a satay feast with colonel’s chicken barrels plus pizzas, attended by almost all the relatives. As expected, it was filled with classical questions, again. Haha.

In March, both of my parents moved to Shah Alam as daddy got transferred here. Finally, I’m now a local guy. Teehehe. You know, KL peeps are kinda ‘geographicist’; they won’t call you a local, even if you are a Malaysian. To qualify as a local, you must come from the capital or its nearby cities. Oh yea, and the best part of March- my naughty k750 was reborn as a k850 to serve her dear. =)

Morning rush hour- 6.50am, Federal Highway.

Not many of my coursemates are gonna continue studying advanced diploma. Our diploma final paper was on April 26th. Ironically, nothing seemed to be unusual on that day. All we did was wishing each other the usual plain vanilla goodbye. Yea and that was the ending of our whole entire two years of diploma. Pout.

Loneliness chills me.

P.S.: I just came back from my 3D/2N Cameron Highlands class trip. Though it wasn't attended by everyone, but I must say that it was pricelessly enjoyable. Do check out our happy moments here.

Long live 2DFI1. =)

Tagged by Shee Ann

I used to say that I dislike tagging, but pardon my hypocrisy, cos tagging appears to be an attractive option when you're not in the mood to type a proper posting. Whee, tagged by Shee Ann... =)

1. At what age do you wish to marry?
Late twenties.

2. If you can turn into anyone, who do you wish you can turn into?
Someone who can turn everyone into me. Nah, kidding, I’m happy being myself. =)

3. If you were to be stranded on a desert island, who are the 3 blog buddies you would take with you? Why?
i. Shee Ann – cos she has a great plan to get ourselves noticed in desert- by tying her friend’s jeans on the coconut tree!
ii. Mickey – cos I believe she has a great sense of direction, in case no one noticed the jeans.
iii. Natasha – we need her jeans.

4. Where is the place that you want to go the most?
Germany- to meet my net-pal. And yea, I’m learning German (slowly) now.

5. If you can have 1 dream to come true, what would it be?
Happy everyday.

6. Do you believe in seeing a rainbow after the rain?
Scientifically yes. =)

7. What are you afraid to lose the most now?
My good memories.

8. If you win $1 million, what would you do?
50% for a house and a car, 30% for family vacation, 20% for investment.

9. If you meet someone that you love, would you confess to him/her?
Yea, if I’m ready for it.

10. List out 3 good points of the person who tagged you.
Down to earth, sweet and innocent.

11. What are the requirements that you wish from your other half?
Loves me as much as I love her.

12. Which type of person do you hate the most?
I’ve no idea as I don’t hate a specific type of person.

13. What is your ambition?
Investment banker.

14. If you have a flaw, would you rather the people around you point out to you or would you rather they keep quiet?
Point it out to me, preferably privately.

15. What do you think is the most important thing in your life?
People I know who have always been there for me.

16. What would you most want to achieve right now?
Speak German.

[p.s.: hey sheeann, where's Question 17?]

18. What age do you want to start a family?
Early 30s.

19. What would you want to be after you're dead?
Heaven. I'm eligible, right?

20. What makes you different?
The environment I’m living in.

Street food of the Year

SSL Noodles.

My tastebuds are now in a lovey-dovey mood with various noodles this stall has to offer. Despite the fact that you could see Remies playing hide and seek, it is still one of the most popular ones in Desa Setapak area. If you love Ratatouille, you should have no problem understanding why such a prestigious award goes to SSL. =p

Meet Plastic. Off-peak hours.

My fave- Gai Bei Yok Choy Xue Xu Meen. Their drumsticks fared better compared to Colonel Harland Sanders'.

Note: Do expect to pay a 20% premium for their street atmosphere. Irony, but true! =)

Blogging at war zone

Explosion of bombs, firing of guns, blah blah. I'm now at a cybercafe, people around me are so obsessed with all those games. A group of secondary students shouted at several hundreds decibels just now to celebrate their (typing) victory, louder that what American armies did when they successfully conquered Afganistan and Iraq.

This is a war zone without real bloodshed. We studied in History that Malaya gained independence without any bloodshed, too, right? Hm, I suppose our late Tunku and friends were some of the world's best gamers.

Singapore in shower.

My recent trip to Singapore brought me another familiar stamp on my passport. Well, I must say the trip did stimulate my tastebuds again. Neither my tougue nor eyes can forget the sexy dining experience at The Hooters. Their waitresses are so sexy that even the most pretentious innocent guy on earth would like to glimpse at them. Some sensitive boys, like primary kids, might even find its washroom orgasmic, as they have sexy waitresses watching over you near the urinals (just pictures la!). =p Anyway, till now I still couldn't believe that I had S$40 (S$160/4pax) dimsum at a famous-but-I-have-forgotten-what-its-name restaurant, near Orchard. The dimsum was great, but the taste was quite similar to Ipoh's famous... and I started to think Ipoh's dimsum is a bargain!

The crowd-puller. Queue to enter.

Some of the things we had.

Places visited were almost the same as my previous trips (didn't revisit Changi though), but it wasn't boring at all, as they always have lotsa new attractions to offer. (I've blogged about my recent trips over here, here, and here.)

Back home, we had a family raya gathering at KLCC Traders- a place I fell in love since my very first encounter with it sometimes ago. Our room, facing KLCC park, was truly awesome. DIY postcards can be made anytime, due to the magnificent view it has. Staying here has made me dream of owning a unit of Avare.

The view from our room. This gonna be the best postcard on earth.

The rooftop's Skybar is definitely the best bar in KL, offering the best view of the city centre, better than Luna Bar (though the latter has a greater washroom)!

Skybar.

The view from Skybar in the morning.

Thanks to nice coconuts during our buffet lunch at Jogoya Starhill, it made my urine smelled so good that reminded me of the best coconuts on earth that we had in Bangkok, last December. The buffet was really an ecstacy to my tastebuds, too much varieties and yummy. That night, we hopped into the hotel's buggy to Suria KLCC, to get a surprise birthday cake, and we celebrated mom's belated birthday together with relatives who visited us. :)

Ecstacy to the tastebuds. Her tongue proved it!

525 kilometres

It's time for tiger to be coached by lion.

Cause: Plenty to blog but not enthusiastic to write.
Effect: Nothing to read.

Cause: Plenty to blog but too enthusiastic to travel down south.
Effect: Nothing to read. More topics ought to be blogged.

Sigh, all these while I've been accumulating topics. I have been wondering what would happened if blogging is to be made compulsory by God.

Anyway, I'm having my three-minus-one weeks semester break right now. Instead of living 218 kilometres north of the capital, I'm now 307 kilometres south of it. Yesterday, I travelled 218+307=525 kilometres from Taiping to Singapore- by land.

I suppose the border between Singapore and Malaysia is among the most active in the world. Every weekdays, a huge number of people, including students, travel accross the border as early as predawn. Most of the students who cross the border every early morning are Johoreans who want a much much much better education system (no typo, mind you). But still, I found the situation rather amusing when it comes to this way:

One day, in a certain part of Johore,

5.45am

Neighbour : Hi, Mrs. Singa. Where are you going?
Mrs. Singa : Ohh, I'm sending my kids to another country to study.

2.00pm

Neighbour : Hi, Mrs. Singa. Where are you going?
Mrs. Singa : Ohh, I'm leaving this country to fetch my schooling kids back from another country.

Initially, the above situation seems weird but the current state of Malaysian education system has made it not-at-all.

Shall update more, soon.

Water is much tastier, in this circumstance. =p

Something I revisited...

I can't believe that I have to do Add. Maths again. People say Chinese are born with a calculator embedded in their brains. Well, I'm an exception. Due to my poor Add. Maths' foundation, I'm obligated to revisit my SPM texts for some practice on certain chapters- from ground zero! Darn.

I found my ex-school's test pad inside. Hm, what a nostalgic practice!

Last fortnight, we spent our day in Ipoh again after my third appointment with dermatologist at Fair Park. We had dimsum, and this time was at Ming Court (Not our usual, Yoke Fook Moon anymore). Gosh, the restaurant was as sardine as the Putra Lrt during peak hour! Just like others, we waited for our seats by standing there. Lol. I wonder why Ipoh folk never get bored with their dimsum.

At Leong Sin Nam Street, too.

I guess it's a taboo to order orange juice in a dimsum restaurant...

They need a point of sales system. Currently you can order 11 plates and might just end up paying for 2 plates. Embedded calculator isn't flawless.

Thanks to our high metabolism, we can eat a lot. We went on for their salted chicken somewhere near Gunung Rapat. It was quite yummy but the place was really hot. Hey, I know sweat is kinda salty, but they don't need it for their that lil soup, ryte? I conclude that their salted chicken was great for take-away, not dine-in.

So much Ayam Garam boxes, it was meant for take-away!

Again, Malaysia will be celebrating its Birthday. Our nation is gonna be 50 year-old, but many of our politicians are still racist and naive. I shall see who should I cast my very first vote to. Hm.

Anyway, Happy 50th National Day to all colour-blind Malaysians.

p.s.: I've watched some great movies/cartoons recently- Simpsons Movie, and Ratatouille. Both were awesome, but Ratatouille was the best and definitely not to be missed. :)

I heart Remy (and cheese)!
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Suddenly I remember...

...that I've promised to post at least one posting a month. Okay, I'll blog a very very short, picture-less one, because I need a nap after this, plus the biggest reason- today is the dateline for my July posting. =p

It has been a pretty busy month for me and I seriously hope that the next would be a much relaxing one. I must say that I'm a lil frustrated with my team mates who didn't contribute for our group projects. Okay, I know I shouldn't elaborate but I dislike that kinda people. Aha, that's all for now. I need my nap. Really.

Very very short, indeed. *Pfft*

I wasn't even nominated...

I was anticipating the award of 'Best Procrastinating Blogger of the Year'. Unfortunately, I found that this is an unexpectedly competitive award as procrastinating is the norm for many bloggers that practice hibernation. Anyway, here goes the summary of the various things that I've wanted to (but didn't) blog. =p

A) Semester break

Aw, my recent semester break gotta be the longest break i've ever had. It was supposed to be a usual three weeks, but i had five. Thanks to my examination which ended a week earlier and the 'skip-able' first week of Semester 4 with my 'P' licence ('P' for 'ponteng').

Five weeks at home? For some, it might be darn boring, but not for me, especially the weekends. All of my weekends, except one, were spent in outstations. Being a patriot, I cuti-cuti locally. We have set foot on Penang, Ipoh and Ipoh, Cameron Highlands, KL and KL, again. Guess what, I was the one who drove for most of the journeys. The most enjoyable one was the route that leads all the way up to Cameron Highlands. :)

A great place to film 'Cameron' Drift.

As correctly pointed out by my friend who blogs at hiddenmcky, there isn't much 'oomph!' in Cameron Highlands. Nevertheless, it's always fun for me to revisit a place where I've been absent for years.

The Smoke House at Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands.

Cameron Highlands is more than just tea leaves, it also supplies fresh vegetables and fruits for the country. I especially like their unique pearl corns and strawberries. Unlike the strawberry farm which I visited in Paignton, the growers in Cameron Highlands use the hydroponics-way of planting, rather than growing them on earth. Besides that, it also grows flowers for overseas market, which made Malaysia one of the largest exporters of flowers. Hm, I guess these are all the 'oomph' of the highlands. Anymore? I guess no. Sigh, how pathetic. =p
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B) Being a Cantonese Semi-illiterate
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I've been watching Cantonese soap dramas since I was a small kid. So I expect myself to converse reasonably well in the dialect. Besides, mixing around with my KL friends has also improved my Cantonese vocabulary in some ways. I know 'Petpet' isn't merely a disposable diapers' brand. I also know that what's the meaning of 'tiu', though I've problem understanding what 'nia seng' means. Despite that, I still found my proficiency below the 'pre-beginner' level. Sigh, here are some of my embarrassing moments of being a Cantonese Semi-illiterate:

i) A few months ago, I thought of ordering a glass of soya bean milk in a food court near my college. Since he asked for order in Cantonese, so I answered "tao sui". He (apparently a foreign immigrant) said "mou!". Then my roomate corrected me that I should call it as "tau ziong". I thought "ziong" means "glue"... Anyway I was wrong. Cantonese is as complex as Mandarin.

ii) Recently, we were having dimsum as dinner in Ipoh, and I asked the waiter for a "zi kan (tissue)", and he gave me a spoon. I thought he was stupid, but he wasn't. I then realised that tissue and spoon have almost the same pronunciation. Maybe I as a Cantonese-stupid pronounced it misleadingly. tsk tsk tsk.

Dimsum at Leong Sin Nam Street.

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C) May 23rd, the day I became a senior.
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Time flies and it has been a year since I started my college on the same date, last year. College life has been fulfilling and fun. The things that I've learnt over here are possibly something that I wouldn't have learnt if I studied elsewhere - simply priceless and made me happy with the path that I've chosen.

On the May 23rd this year, I, together with other Course Committees hosted part of the Mass Call orientation programme for our juniors. The enrollment for my course, Finance & Investment, has increased from last year's 92 students to 120 students, but the number of juniors in the lecture hall during the 'Get-To-Know-You Session' that we hosted was far more than that as the students from the course of Banking & Finance were joining us too. The best part? We were the speakers!


The whole session went on pretty smoothly, except for the campus tour, which we were required by the organizer to bring hundreds of them for a tour around the darn huge 186-acre campus! Anyway, it's really sweet knowing that many of them will be reading the map and asking for directions to the lecture halls, tutorial rooms and so on in this transition period of theirs. =p

Lecturer gotta face this if his students couldn't locate the lecture hall.

He lectures alone. He listens alone.
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A brief tour of Taiping

Petroleum is fun to be burnt. I spent my whole afternoon driving, as one of the newest competent drivers in town. I revisited the various landmarks of Malaysian’s wettest town in an exceptionally hot and sunny day.

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Pit Stop 1: My secondary school.
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I was supposed to get my Sijil SPM from the office and get rid of the school, but the fond memories of my schooling life prompted me to wonder around the largest school in town, even though the temperature was as high as in Saudi Arabia.

A miniature of my alma mater, courtesy of Friendster Groups: Hua Lian.

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My school had changed in certain aspects. It has a new awful theme of brown and white in some of the main buildings. Sigh, I came to the school at the wrong timing, which was why I met virtually all strangers; none of them were sixth formers. I saw some of my ex-teachers, and the canteen operators. Just as few years back, Mr. Papindar Singh was still wearing a typical red turban. Ms. Rosmawati was still teaching Kemahiran Hidup in a similar tone, at the same lab. Mr. KK Lim looked as strict as last time. The Canteen A operators still struggling to come up with turnaround plan to compete with Canteen B. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, minus a hundred of yawns. Hm, so here you are: Hua Lian revisited...
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Oh, my big 'brownie'. That's the administration block. The first two floors are offices, while the rest are class rooms. My classes were there for 3 out of 5 years.

A slice of Nature Supreme Pizza, in front of the school hall.

The inner-part, surrounded by hills. It has classrooms, more classrooms, basketball courts, and a better canteen.

Not-so-new-anymore Form Six block under a misleading cloudy sky - it didn't rain.
Hm, does Diamond water help in studies?

I revisited, I snapped, I sweated, I fled. Oh, gosh, I guess global warming is getting more serious. Having a school in the lake garden that surrounded by hills didn't help much. Duh.

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Pit Stop 2: Taiping Town

Taiping Lake Garden. This picture shows you the evidence of hidro-tropism. =p
On the left is the country's oldest market. On the right is a small food court, Siang Malam - a venue for 'rain-betting' activities.

Theatre Road. Nah, we no longer have theatre or cinema in Taiping, but we preserved the old name of the road. It's a heritage. :)

Main Road.

When my dad was a kid, he used to stay in one of these shop lots in Kota Road.

Kota Road.

St. George's Institution, the alma mater of my daddy and grandpa.

Treacher Methodist Girls School, the alma mater of my mommy.

SM Convent, my sisters' secondary school.

Oh, btw, what makes an ISO-certified school, huh?

Municipal Plaza. It houses the biggest wet market in town, where some housewives gather, gossip every early morning. It's our local version of Wisteria Lane. =p

Taiping Buddhist Temple. It operates a kindergarten which I studied. I met lotsa friends there on Tuesday's Vesak Day.

Beautiful sunset in Kamunting, Taiping.

What drives me? McFlurry! =p

P.s.: Click here for my posting on Taiping food!