Around (half) the world in (almost) 80 days

Tomorrow I will be the furthest away from home as I have ever possibly been. I will be travelling to the University of Cambridge to present a paper. No la, I didn't bribe my way through! Heheheh. I just submitted an abstract, for fun, to test if my work seems good enough for Cambridge standard. They said they'll reply in 2 weeks. I received mine in a few days! Hehehehe. Seems strange that I'm studying transnationalism for my thesis. I've been from Australia to Malaysia to Singapore to Malaysia now to UK and soon to another destination that shall be revealed in good time! So it's going to be moving across at least 3 different time zones and 3 different continents!

It's 3.10am now, and I'm still awake practising my presentation till perfect, well at least almost! It's just a few more hours till my flight. I've already done the webcheckin on Fri afternoon! Hahahaha. I checked the list of presenters. Professors! Doctors! And then here comes this Ph.D fella from Malaysia! Aduh, stressnyer! I hope I don't get grilled! It'll be my second conference sine coming back to Malaysia. Singapore's NUS conference was great. In many ways, it has given me a lot of hope, confidence and the bravery to dare to dream again! I have since adapted the motto, "Well, you never know what tomorrow brings! Seriously!"And I've really seen this happening in the past month! Seriously, Cambridge was a surprise. In truth, I'm supposed to be back in Melbourne at this moment! But see what tomorrow has brought me!

And I believe that life has been surprising me at every turn since! I've never laughed so hard for weeks as I had in Singapore. I learnt to love others again, for I learnt that others loved me too. I also realised how great an influence others play in my life, and I accept this positively by only being positive back towards them! Oh well, a lot has happened since, I got hurt and burned real badly, but I'm leaving it where it belongs, in the past! I've moved on la and I once wrote before, I'm a Leo and a Rooster, when I go down, I go down kicking and fighting till the end. And then I come up again. Even bigger and better! I live with no regrets and I don't regret whatever decision that I've made! Strangely, life seems bigger, better, more satisfying and more joyous eversince!

Well, it's been awhile since I've last written on this blog. It's also partly because I am not far from home at the moment, hence the silence! Yes, I am in Malaysia! But tomorrow my journey starts again, I'm just feeling so darn excited! I shall start trying to speak in a Brit accent-LAH! Hahahaha. I'm not sure if I have any pics of me at the moment. I'll try to "steal" some from FB.

"Right, this seems to be the most "professional" looking pic I've ever taken in my life la! I think!"


"Well, nobody told me to wear red ma! Hehehehe...The second newest edition to the family, Bryan Kua. Well, he's got a little sis now!"

"It was really nice meeting up with these ex-students, and Dr. Ooi P. Ramlee. Of course I remember all your names la. You'd really want me to name you here online?! Hehehe. Yalar, I know that I don't always, not it should be, always don't remember people's name on the first meeting, but when I remember, I never forget! Visiting Penang was great and made even greater when so many friends were inviting me for meals and above all, treating me! Yummmmmmmmmmmmm. Strangely enough, I didn't have one single bite of hawker food! Hahahahaha"

Next stop, Cambridge!!! I'll of course make a trip to this place...and sing out GLORY GLORY MAN UNITEDDDDDDDDDDD!!! (Eventhough there's no match going on at the moment and the squad's not even there! Hehehe)

This Facility Cannot Accept: Dirt

My emo song. Been listening to this song for more than ten years when I'm feeling down and out. EH, men also can feel sad what, ex-lecturers also can feel sad what, Ph.D students also can feel sad what. So what's bothering me, I'd rather not say la. Everything seems to go south but as always, let me put on a huge smile and spread it around. Adrian Matthews said, that's exactly what a clown is. Am listening to the song now. I don't know how to upload a video here, actually more of not really bothered to. So here are the lyrics:

Down in a hole, by Alice In Chains

Bury me softly in this womb

I give this part of me for you
Sand rains down and here I sit
Holding rare flowers
In a tomb...in bloom

Down in a hole and I don't know if I can be saved
See my heart I decorate it like a grave
You don't understand who they
Thought I was supposed to be
Look at me now a man
Who wont let himself be

Down in a hole, feelin so small
Down in a hole, losin my soul
Id like to fly,
But my wings have been so denied

Down in a hole and they've put all
The stones in their place
Ive eaten the sun so my tongue
Has been burned of the taste
I have been guilty
Of kicking myself in the teeth
I will speak no more
Of my feelings beneath

Down in a hole, feelin so small
Down in a hole, losin my soul
Id like to fly but my
Wings have been so denied

Bury me softly in this womb
Oh I want to be inside of you
I give this part of me for you
Oh I want to be inside of you
Sand rains down and here I sit
Holding rare flowers (oh I want to be inside of you)
In a tomb...in bloom
Oh I want to be inside...

Down in a hole, feelin so small
Down in a hole, losin my soul
Down in a hole, feelin so small
Down in a hole, outta control
Id like to fly but my
Wings have been so denied

Usually I feel better after listening it around 15-20 times. Hehehehehe. I'm at the first go. Anyway, I prefer the unplugged version.

Layne Staley, R.I.P.

Maydays

Very:
Busy
Injured
Cold
Underslept
Overworked
Stressed
Tired
Spiritual
Loved
Happy

=)

School

I have no idea why I'm writing this blog for. It all started because I was using a pencil sharpener. Then I had this thought, how many of us, today, actually still uses one of these? Plus it's been ages since I've actually used one. Well, most of us have adopted the pen for work. And I guess amongst all my friends, as in the ones I have grown up with, are all basically working already, unlike me who's still studying. Never ending!

Then last night I was talking bout SPM with Missy E. Wahhhhh...turns out, she's secretly a genius. I promised not to say 10 As anymore, so I'll just use Straight As Student from now on. Hehehe...Then I remembered getting my SPM results back then. PLEASE dont ask me how I did! =p And I called Annessa, whom I was very close to back then. She still does remain one of my closest friends till today, one of those friends I can really fall back on! And I asked her today bout that call, and she says she still remembers it!

Yesterday Navin, a friend from school posted up an old photograph of us when we were 17-18. My goodness, how time has flown by! Looking at these pics just brings me into another "dimension"! That's basically more than 10 years ago! Let me try to download that pic so that I can post it here. Of course, all credit goes to Navin for it's his pic! How time has passed and how things have changed. Looking at the pic, I think I've lost contact with almost half of my friends in it! But, thanks to Facebook, I've managed to keep in touch with a few. It'll be really nice if I could have a few of the photographs I had taken in my school days. I've actually lost a lot of pics when I moved to Penang, and then there was the termites in my old house in Seremban. I feel that a huge part of my life has just gone missing! I guess all of us are pretty much doing well these days. A big part of it has come from the friends who we have mixed with, how they have shaped us to become who we are today. Plus, not forgetting our teachers, whom we terrorised and were terrorised by! I guess in the end we all grew to love one another, I think! But the only thing that comes to mind when I look at this pics is: FOOTBALL!!!

"Yesteryears. Our class teacher, Mrs. V. Sam isn't in this pic. Many thanks to her too for "disciplining" and guiding us!"

"The skinny days! Let's see: Seated bottom row, from left, Roeshan who now has 2 beautiful daughters, then it's that crazy PhD fella in the centre, so skinny then. Ken Soon whom I believe is working in Seremban running a successful business.
2nd row, Jared, who's now in Adelaide, Dennis (in blue shirt), who's in KL and also has a daughter. Sunil (in MU Jersey) who I believe is now in the UK and Stanley who's an engineer working in a big firm in Cyberjaya.
Backrow, Timmy, who's successfully running Live and Inspire, Navin, who's doing well in KL, Soon Lock I believe is in the UK and Adelphy Papini Peter who I believe is doing well in JB!" Speaking bout football, I believe that this is a picutre the class team that played in many games when we were in Form 4 and 5!"

Ph.D(ed)

Is the abbreviation PHD short for PsycHoeD? Hehehe. We've always been "bashed" by the Permanent Head Damage, uhhhh... tease? Add in Pretty Heavy Drinker also la. Hehehehe. After all that endless hours of researching, studying, writing, reading, typing, drinking, absorbing, depression-ing, procrastinating, PRAYING, eating, starving, table and computer keyboard bashing, Facebooking, MSN-ing, Mafia Wars-ing, hey after all I'm still human right?! RIGHT?!!! Hehehehe. Oh yeah, I left out cursing in the long list of what PhD people do. Hehehehe.Strangely I still haven't spent any time crying over the stress of doing this thesis. Luckily. Well, I just hope that it'll be all worth it in the end. Strangely, I'm listening to Korn's A.D.I.D.A.S as I have this thought: I would say the PhD's mind goes, A.D.I.D.A.S, All Day I Dream About STUDYING! Sigh, what were you thinking? Hehehe. True enough, I've had dreams whereby I'm actually generating thoughts and ideas related to my thesis! Sometimes I wake up with some ideas in the middle of the night and quickly write them down! Ph.D(ed)! Speaking of adidas, I just suddenly miss my black jacket ='( Still missing my black adidas Jacket...sigh...Oh black jacket, where art thou?

"Myself climbing out from the PhD prison to escape this needless endless mindless torture. Hehehe...No la, it was my second visit to Puffing Billy. I was trying to climb onto the window rail. This trip will always be remembered as the bestestest, ever. I didn't even know this picture was taken! Hmmmmm...wonder who took this pic? I feel violated!"

Writer's traffic jam

I am stuck stuck stuck. Trying to write a thousand words but can only think of 680 so far. Hmmmm....how nice if writing the Ph.D thesis was like writing this blog. I can go on and on and on and then post pictures some more! Hehehe. I've been writing for almost 12 hours now and can only come up with 680 words. Hmmmmmm...kinda sad I guess. Sometimes the days are just like that, sometimes I can write on and on and on for my thesis. Oh well, good days and bad days la. When is the weekend going to come? I am really really really looking forward to the weekend. How I wish the weekend consisted of 5 days and the weekdays consisted of 2!

OH YEAH, today I made Claypot Chicken Rice. Or rather, just Pot Chicken Rice. With salted fish of course. I didn't have a claypot so I just used a pot and put it over the stove. And it did have the "burnt" crust of rice. Heheheh. Good luck to whoever's going to wash the pot. Somewhat, I feel it will be me! Hahahaha...Well, was it nice? I think it was OK la. Although my cousin said, Thank you very much, it was very well done. Hmmmmmmmmm....Hahahahaha. No picture la, too lazy to go down and take one, so just imagine la, how a plate of Pot Chicken Rice looks like! Hehehe.

Very rare, or rather almost never, or rather I've never really re-posted someone else's writing. It's probably because I've always got so much to say myself. I think I'd like to start doing that, copying and of course, crediting the original author, because of the person's job well done. Of course recently I found a blog "scolding" me la, hahahahahaha...not the first time anyway, but let that be la. Of course I'm not going to re-post that!

So to begin with, I somewhat "bumped" into this blog, written by an ex-student of mine. It basically sums up very well, how we could always turn a bad situation into a good one. Of course I'd like to add on to it, but I think I'll just leave it as it is for it is very well written. So, I thought I'd like to share it with everyone else, in all its glory, and re-posted in its original PINK colour! Who knows, it might just help someone along the way! Well done Jocelyn Lim Cheng May. Bravo. This is really beautiful!

Finding Positive Out of Negative

by Jocelyn Lim Cheng May

I am grateful.

For the clothes that fit a little snug, because it means I have enough to eat.

For the pile of laundry and ironing, because it means I have clothes to wear.

For the noise I have to bear from my neighbours, because it means that I can hear.

For the bedroom I have to share with my brother, because it means that we are close.

For all the nagging I got from my parents, because it means they care me always.

For the bunch of assignments I have, because it means I am capable of completing them and I am thankful that I can study.

For the curfew that I have to listen to, because it means that it is dangerous to linger on the streets.

For the worries in my mind, because it means I am aware about the things.

For the mistake that I have been made, because it means that I learn it as a lesson.

For the parking spot I find at the far end of parking lot, because it means I am capable of walking and that I have been blessed with transportation.

Last but not least, for too much e-mail, because it means I have friends who are thinking of me.


p/s: think positive and get less trouble today~ you will find out your day would be happier. C=

14 August

Just out of curiosity, and taking a break from writing some endless abstract, and waiting for lunch time as well, I searched for 14 August on Facebook. And! Apparently it's Pakistan's independence day. Woohooo! I'm born on the same day as Pakistan! Hahahaha...Now, that's something I really really didn't know. Then I searched on Google. 14 August. It says, the 226th day of the calendar. Similarly, there's a country named Tannu Tuva, later known as Tuvinian People's Republic. Seriously, aren't you a bit curious to just search for Tuvinian People's Republic? OH, and apparently it's now called Tuva Republic. Hmmmmm...And from what I read on Wikipedia, 14 August seemed to be a rather "violent" day. OK, I guess many will go, and...? SO.....? Well, doesn't really matter that much since my birthday is on 31st September. Hehehe...

Interestingly, this weekend I've received word from friends I've not heard from, or heard of names I've not heard of for more than 10 years! Right, and I've also been told things that I've not remembered for maybe a good 10 years as well! Like...believe it or not I was once in the school choir. BUT, I never ever sang one note. Hehehe. Treasurer some more. Hahahaha. I totally forgot about that part of my life. Anyway, it's always good to hear from friends whom we've lost contact with for years! It's also amazing how life brings about unexpected twists and turns. I always try to give people who are down hope by saying, let's see what happens tmrw la, who knows what tomorrow will bring? And true enough, the past few weeks have simply been amazing!

Such as, the last weekend was very very very very very very very very *breathes in* very very very very very very very very incredibly special! So why was it so special ah? Some will go...must have spent it with a girl one laaaaa...WALAWEI! Got meh? EHHHHHHHHHHHH...last weekend was Easter weekend what! Would I not be talking about how grateful I am that Christ died for me (and us) and that He rose again on Easter? Hmmmm....? Errr...dunno... *with pouty lips* Or was it spending time with someone special? Christ is also special to me WEI!...Hahahaha...So what's the answer? Well, up to you....Am I going to give an answer? SEE FIRST! HEH HEH HEH...

"OH, don't bother searching for me on that ferris wheel. I'm not on it. Hehehehe..Just took it last weekend and thought I'd post it for fun, since I love riding on ferris wheels...weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"