Not So Unusual Afterall

Hugs

2012-01-03T23:20:00.000+08:00

And so
Everyone gave their hugs
I thought hugs are supposed to get us closer
But somehow the hugs created the distance
Emotional distance
Filled with blank-out words and awkwardness
Which is why nobody likes parting

And now
Counting down the last 20 hours before i flap my wings
So goodbye, until I come back again

What I did in 2011

2011-12-29T00:58:00.002+08:00

I wrote a summary of what I did in 2009, forgotten about it in 2010, and now since I still have plenty of time, I shall slowly summarize what I did in 2011 (written this starting 15th Nov).

When this year started, I was still doing Bmed science, entering the phase where I'm going to sacrifice all the rats I had. And I just came back from Guilin, China not long ago. The first most exciting event that happened early this year was the Maxis Om Nom Nom race. It's a food related amazing race around KL and Selangor, where we have to find clues and go to the next location, which are restaurants, and we're supposed to taste the food they provide and blog about the food and experience. Sadly, we didn't win anything in the race, but we came close, at a point in the race, we were 5th!!

It was a really great experience and we get to try lots of good food, for free!!! More options for meals next time, provided I still visit KL in the future =P

After having things settled in KL, I came back to Penang for Chinese New Year. I visited my relatives as usual, ate one full day of laksa cook by my aunt, which was heavenly. Besides that, I went to climb Penang Hill with Lih Shian, house visiting with friends, and also sing K with Kok Keat and the gang. I went back KL rather early, having stayed back in Butterworth for only around a week. And when I went back to KL, I hang out with Jamie and the gang again, doing house visiting and collect angpaus, playing Xbox for the first time in my life, had an awesome meal of home-cook nasi lemak and homemade ice kacang made by Shu Qeng's mum, and had an unforgettable night playing the King's game. Also, I went Seremban to visit the Seremban bunch of people and together we went Melacca for a day trip. One of the best Chinese New Year I've had, really.

After that I continued on with my research, gotten pretty frustrated at certain points when I couldn't yield any proper results. But thanks to all the great friends around who gave me help and support I manage to complete everything, obtained a BmedSc degree although it's only a second class upper, and get my paper published!

During that period of time, I did a lot of things too, not just hide inside the lab and do experiments non-stop like a mad scientist. I joined the Energizer Night Run in Sepang. It was really cool to be running on the F1 track, though that run was the worst I ever joined thanks to the lousy organizer.

I went to Genting with Vui, Yuxiang and Ickes, and guess what? We went there to camwhore!! Lol

I challenged my acrophobia once again and went to hike Bukit Tabur, and it proved to be more scary than mount KK!! Sorry guys for dragging you all from moving fast, but at the same time thanks a lot for the help!! Definitely couldn't do it without you guys!!

Hang out to JB and Singapore, my 3rd....wait...4th? visit to Singapore in a span of 3 years. Again, more camwhores and tried the curry laksa in JB!! Yumm...

Middle of the year, Leon came visit Penang twice. Once with Clarice, before she flies off and the other with Ickes, before our trip to Hong Kong. The first trip with Clarice we went to Lembah Bujang in Kedah and visited the historical site that I've wanted to visit for a long time. Other than that I guess it was all eating and eating, and Penang Hill hike. The trip with Ickes was also only consist of eating, and a visit to MengKuang dam before it closes (supposedly). It was my first time taking photo over there even though I went there countless times when I was young, and it really brings back lots of memories revisiting the place after such a long gap in between.

I also visited Sunway Lagoon with Ickes, Yuxiang and Vui, my second time being there if I remember correctly. The first being my graduating trip after form 5 with my classmates.

As if Bukit Tabur wasn't enough, I challenged my acrophobia again shortly after my Bukit Tabur hike, this time SkyTrek. Basically you are walking on the rooftop level, some 20 meters above ground. It was thrilling, and I think my acrophobia improved somewhat after that.

Second half of the year was filled with a lot of travelling and outings. Within a short half a year, I went Hong Kong, Hatyai and Taiwan. I had my first fishing trip with Lih Shian and her colleagues, which wasn't really pleasant with the strong waves that we experienced. Hong Kong trip would be my 3rd visit to Hong Kong, this time self-travelling, which was indeed more fun, and we stayed over at Manlo's house. With Manlo's guide, we ate lots of awesome Hong Kong delicacies and visited many places and all in all, it was an awesome trip. Hatyai trip wasn't bad either, though I stayed so close and it is so easily accessible, this was my first visit there. It is something like Vietnam, and a totally different experience than visiting those more developed countries. And most important of all, I met a bunch of great friends whom I got so close to, and eventually hang out every week with them after coming back from Hatyai. As for Taiwan, I guess it's the highlight of my year. I enjoyed Taiwan so much I want to go there once more, backpacking. The food was fantastic, the scenery wows you and the shopping experience was thrilling! One time is never enough.

During second half of the year, I also worked for 2 and a half months, as a trader. It was a good experience and I learnt more about trading and became more sensitive to economic news (only during the working period) but I doubt I will come back to this ever again.

Christmas this year was spent at Jacky's house, doing BBQ and steamboat, with gift exchange and a drinking session, and it was my first time throwing up after having alcohol, though I reckon I didn't drank that much, only 3 bottles of Heineken and some wine.

I guess this wraps up my hightlights in 2011, a fun-filled year indeed. And may 2012 be another exciting year as I step into another stage of life, where I'll be studying in ANU, Canberra.

不擅长说再见

2011-12-28T17:10:00.002+08:00

离别，永远都在沉默中
泪流，总在离别后
话，永远太迟说
而害怕，总是静伏在后
再见，我不擅长说
不舍，总是在心头

还有一个星期
最后的一个星期

Apparently

2011-12-25T00:54:00.000+08:00

Apparently
It's because you guys don't yet know me well enough
It's because we've only known for 3 months
It's only because you guys are not really close with me
It's because I still cannot be accepted fully into the circle
It's because I still feel out of place sometimes
It's because....I don't know
Just because I am emo that I am leaving and I will not be there in all the things

Delicate Relationships

2011-12-19T00:10:00.002+08:00

Relationships can be so delicate

Even for friendships that lasted so many years

One wrong decision, one wrong intention

Can cause so much anger

Putting a strong-held relationship at stake

Thank god it was alright in the end

Proving that relationship does need time and challenge to get stronger

And my relationship with you guys are yet to be tested

Because I've only known you all for 3 months

Life

2011-12-18T09:35:00.000+08:00

Sunday morning, I drove alone to mengkuang dam
Wanted to jog here once before I leave
Tempted to bring my camera but didn't
Just let the images be stored in my memory instead
Doesn't matter how long it will last
Or how soon it will be forgotten
I admit
The emo has started to kick in
The fear of losing
The constant reminder that I will be missing in the picture
I called them the pre-departure syndrome
Hence the mood disorder
Easily upset
Easily disappointed
I hope you guys would understand
But too bad you guys aren't reading =P

Overestimation kills

2011-12-11T02:05:00.003+08:00

Really, I overestimated myself
I overestimated my importance
I think too highly of myself in everything
Perhaps I am not that good a person
Perhaps I deserve to sulk at one corner
Maybe I should not have met you
Because I don't deserve to be treated so well
But do you? I guess not
Once again, overestimation

Taiwan - Food and Shopping

2011-12-06T13:26:00.001+08:00

Talking about food and shopping in Taiwan, you thoughts would immediately be directed to the night markets in Taiwan. Night markets in Taiwan is well organized, with a huge variety of food and clothing. If you think the night markets in Malaysia offer a lot of food, I can assure you Taiwan has 3 times more to offer. An example of the entrance of a night market and how it looks like inside:

It is true that Malaysia has one of the widest variety of food selection, but in my opinion, Taiwan has more, even with Chinese food alone. Some are really good, whilst some I don't really fancy. All in all, I think the food is on par with Malaysian delicacies.

And that, is only one small part of the food Taiwan has to offer. Plenty more for you to explore yourself. Now, moving on to shopping, night markets in Taiwan offers much fashionable clothing, they'll get you so excited and make you wish that you can buy them all. They are all very trendy and fashionable, though I wouldn't say that they are cheap. Still, it's an excitement to be shopping for clothes in Taiwan.

Taiwan - Scenery

2011-12-05T20:38:00.001+08:00

One of the highlight of the trip, is the magnificent scenery of Taiwan. The mountains, the beach, the railways, the bridges, the brightly-lit cities at night, all these contributed to the beauty of Taiwan. The natural scenery of Taiwan awed me much, as they are as beautiful as China scenery. Limited by the tight schedule of the tour, I couldn't capture much of what I wanted, and thus left Taiwan with much regrets. Another trip in the future is needed! And this time, I will go backpack!

Taiwan - Hotels (Part 2)

2011-12-04T16:27:00.002+08:00

Here are the other 2 hotels that are worth mentioning:

梦幻山林山庄 Dream Forest Villa
This is a villa themed hotel up in the mountain. They have rooms in wooden houses overlooking the mountain view and also rooms in the main hotel building which is rather luxurious. Since you are high up in the mountain and there's nothing you can do at night, they provide a lot of facilities and entertainment. They have a room full of computers for you to play computer games, a car-racing simulator like those you get in arcade centers, a pool center, a corner where you can get all the board games you can think of and lastly a reading area where you can get hundreds of magazines.They have a sunset trail for you to watch the beautiful mountain scenery during sunset but sadly I didn't get to do that as the tour schedule didn't allow me to do that.

林口优馆精品旅馆 U.com Hotel
This is a motel-themed 6 star hotel. Basically the hotel doesn't have a lobby, it only has a small stand in front where you can get your room key, and then you will drive your car up to your own room. There is a car garage for every room, and when you drive your car in you can let the gate down and then it's your heaven inside. The rooms are huge, equipped with Jacuzzi, an X-box room, karaoke set, a huge LCD TV and comfy beds. The design is fabulous! Let pictures tell the words.

Taiwan - Hotels (Part 1)

2011-12-03T15:51:00.001+08:00

I was surprised by the quality of Taiwan hotels. They were all very unique with their own themes and they really awe you. Out of my 7 day trip, I stayed in 4 special hotels that I found really special, one themed palace, one motel and the other two country villas.

法皇商务饭店 King of France Palace Hotel
This is the hotel that I stayed on he first night, a palace-themed hotel. The hotel is designed such that it looks very classy and golden everywhere. And the unique part about the design is that every room in this hotel is designed to be different, thus you cannot find 2 rooms which look the same at all!!

小熊度假村
This is a holiday villa surrounded by lands of paddy fields and mountains. There is nothing nearby so you have nowhere to go at night. However, the owners of the hotel are smart enough to provide daily night activities such as 放天灯, Hula晚会, outdoor karaoke and also a small arcade center for the kids. There are 2 types of rooms available, one is wooden houses and another is like the trailer house. They are both very unique and nice to stay in, though the trailer house looked smaller from the outside.

Pre-Taiwan

2011-12-03T01:10:00.000+08:00

Before I went to Taiwan, I've heard a great deal about it, and thus the excitements and expectations. I watched a lot of Taiwan shows, showing the different types of Taiwan delicacies and beautiful sceneries. I've also heard a great deal about the place from friends who have went there themselves. And thus, summing from all, my expectations for Taiwan is as such:

Well, it turned out not entirely like what I expected, but nevertheless still an awesome trip! I love Taiwan!! One major drawback of this trip is that I followed tour because I was travelling with my family. Next time, I want to go backpack!! And do things I didn't get to because I was limited by the tour.

Truth's a Bitch

2011-11-22T16:27:00.000+08:00

I thought I am somebody
Truth is
I am nobody

I thought I am important
Truth is
I'm forgettable

I thought I am smart
Truth is
I'm just an idiot

I thought I am happy
Truth is
I'm damn lonely

I thought I'm independent
Truth is
I need you

Why?

2011-11-13T23:06:00.002+08:00

Whats with this social norm?
This social taboo
That you have to be like everyone else
That otherwise you would be odd
Out of place
Not accepted
Segregated
Everytime my confidence is all lost
When it comes to this
What wrong did I do
To simply just want to be loved
To be protected
You say its against nature
So why did nature created me in the first place?
I'm so lost
I don't know what to do

Fucked up morning

2011-11-11T10:58:00.003+08:00

Typing this as I am sitting in my office, supposed to be working but really had no mood. Fucked up morning, it really is.
First of all, I need to explain that I am carpooling with one of my colleague who stays near me, and who coincidentally is my cousin's cousin. Not close with him at all, no common topic of interest except about work. He's a rich ass kid who drives a C-class to work. And yeah, it means I sit in a C-class to work, not everyday though.
So this morning he told me he had something to do and that he'll be late so I waited at my house. When he finally came and I got up his car, there was a lady behind. I don't know who she was, and my colleague didn't introduce anything. I thought is his girlfriend but she seemed too old, a bit young if she's his aunt. I wasn't sure what to say that time, saying hello would be rude if she's an elderly, calling auntie would be wrong if she's not. So I didn't say anything, and before I could think of what to say, they started chatting in Teochew and after a while I figured out she's his aunt. And since they were speaking in Teochew and they were talking about personal/family stuff, I remained quiet the whole journey.
When we reached Penang the aunt request that we go for breakfast before we head off to work. So we sat down at this kopitiam and she started telling me off: 'Are you his friend? Why are you so quiet and so rude? I was wondering why my nephew have such a friend...You were so quiet the whole journey and you didn't even say hello!!'
Caught completely off guard, I took it all in and smiled while saying sorry. But deep down inside me I was yelling what the fuck really. I admit that I do have fault because I didn't greet her, and I'm sure she has the right to tell me off as she's paying my breakfast, though I don't feel like having that free breakfast at all, after what she said to me.
From my point of view, I mean, come on, my fucking colleague didn't even introduce or say anything. And you guys were speaking away in Teochew so what am I supposed to say? My Hokkien already suck so bad and you guys were speaking Teochew, I don't even understand a quarter of what you said. I tried to explain to her that I didn't know who she is when I got up the car hence I don't know how to appropriately address her, but she said you could have said hello and I had nothing to say.
After she learnt that I am studying medicine, she's like: Are you kidding me? How can you be a doctor when you are so quiet? I kept smiling, but inside I thought that was such an insult and it was really way over the line.
Come on, I'm not even close with my colleague, and you don't even know me, so who are you to judge me like that? Sometimes I really hate to have to deal with these aged group, not the old people but the supposedly 'matured' bunch, because I hate the thing that you have to address everyone appropriately, and I hate that they like to poke into your life, a bit too much, and whatever you told them today will be the headlines for everyone tomorrow. And personally for me, I hate the so called manners where you have to greet everyone, I thought it a waste of time and has no significance at all. Call me odd all you want, because I am. And thus you can tell that my relatives don't really like me, as I don't really like them either.
End of story.

The day the mist was so heavy in the morning

2011-11-06T12:03:00.000+08:00

Was the day I woke up so early and realized the mist was so heavy I felt like I woke up in Genting Highlands

Was the day I learnt what is the ultimate level of enjoying movie in one's own room

Was the day I first ate the best chicken rice I've ever eaten, though it has been there near my house for years

Was the day I went to V-spot again after last being there during secondary school

Was the day I realized there's a 萧敬腾 and a A-Lin in my new group of friends

Was the day I realized that somehow I'm still distant, that friendship does take time to build up

Was the day I first tried the Tom Yam Mee in BM and decided that I still prefer the one in Raja Uda

Moral of the Day

2011-11-04T09:26:00.001+08:00

Moral of the Day: Study everyday and improve yourself everyday, no matter what you're working on.

What a day

2011-10-23T20:59:00.000+08:00

Woke up early morning to go to jog in the botanical garden, but didn't know the place is crowded as there is a run taking place there, the Botanical Garden charity run. But we ran anyway. And as we were heading back, we were blocked at this road where they were cutting down the branches of a big tree. Some people got impatient and make a U-turn to back and take another road to their destination. And there was this fucking idiot, trying to make a U-turn and while he was reversing he banged my car. I honked hard when I saw he came close but the bang still occurred. One fucking retard who doesn't even know how to reverse. And there it was, a dent on my bumper and lots of scratches, with paint falling off too. It wasn't serious, but I was furious that I got banged even when my car was stationary. Luckily my friends were there, and they helped me as they know better the cost of fixing the damage. The guy said he didn't have money at that time but he say he'll bank in the money to me so I gave him my bank account number. Haven't checked though whether he has already done it. We took down the picture of his i.c. and his car plate number just in case. Seriously an unlucky day, good mood turned bad all thanks to the stupid guy.

Updates

2011-10-19T23:47:00.000+08:00

Here I am again, writing up some updates.
So what am I up to these days? I've been rather busy actually. So occupied suddenly with all the things coming at the same time. First of all, my ANU offer letter has finally arrived. I have to reply the offer letter, check some things, think about accommodation, buy air ticket and stuffs that I haven't thought about yet.
And then there's work, from morning until evening, and life is spent doing such mundane routines. I've just been increased my buying power to 50k from 20k, nothing to be proud of, as my friends who entered at the same time as me achieved that on the first day itself, happened one and a half months ago, and they're now trading at 5 Million. I don't really like my colleagues to be honest, smokers, nonstop gossips, rich kids. One drives a C class to work and his content of chat is like 'I don't like Burberry because I always see so many people wearing the same shirt, and the colour doesn't match my Ferrari'. I seriously cannot strike up a normal conversation with them. Whatever they say, I just give them a big grin and say: 'Yea yea'...
After that is filming a short video. I'm currently helping James to shoot a short video, he's excited as it's his first video. It's an action clip with some superpowers. Sounds cool but the real thing, gotta see how all things goes first. So I'm the script writer, and also one of the camera man, and some guy B inside the video. Let's hope things are successfully done before I go over to Aussie.
Then there's sports, been trying to run once a week but didn't happened last week. I'm training for half marathon on 20th of Nov, Penang Bridge International Marathon. I've stopped running for so long now my stamina is really bad, I mean really really bad. Gotta catch up, at least a little, if not I might not even get a cert for the run.
And I'm going to be super busy on the 20th of Nov. First of all, the Jamie gang, 9 of them, coming down to play and run the half marathon together. And I've also gathered my friends, James and the rest, 4 of us running. After the run Vui and Yuxiang is arriving at Penang and I'm supposed to pick them up to get their car and then drive them around for a while. If you catch the flow, I'm meeting up with 3 gangs of friends, on the same day. And if the rest are staying back, I'll be having meals with them all!! And accoding to my mum, she booked a family trip for my family on the 21st of Nov. Gosh why does everything have to happen together? Can't they take things one at a time? Lolz

Realistic

2011-10-15T17:19:00.002+08:00

Was actually quite disappointed at how realistic this society is
Even good friends that you thought you could trust became so realistic
Selfish acts that threatens to render friendship into nothingness
And I thought friends are supposed to share joy and sorrow
And to compete fairly if there was any competition
I guess some would do so
But some others would consider themselves first before anything else
And I guess I'm just unlucky, to have met the latter

小酒杯

2011-10-11T20:40:00.002+08:00

一群人的喧哗
只为了存在而存在
目的根本不是重点
脸孔熟悉却又陌生
匆匆地完成任务
匆匆地各自散布
目的与现实格格不入
一个小小酒杯
成了逃避现实的避风港
杯中黄汤直灌
成了唯一合适的动作
提醒着自己热闹有时是寂寞的

Bad Day at Work

2011-09-27T20:21:00.000+08:00

Had a bad day at work. Why? Because I've lost 8 ticks, the highest record I've achieved thus far after working for almost a month (Well practically I've only been trading for only half a month).
I work as a trader, for almost a month now. Basically my work involves me buying and selling Hong Kong shares for the company. It was interesting when I first joined, perhaps because it's something new. It's getting more dull right now, and slowly I lost interest in it because there's nothing new. Maybe you'd argue that everyday the market is different, hence the play style would be different to adapt to the everyday trend. Or maybe you'd say that it's getting dull for me because I lost money most of the time. But I'd say that there's nothing more to learn, although I haven't grasp the basic principles yet which include 'Buy low, sell high' and 'Cut loss when you see the tide is against you'. It's easy to say, but hard to practice. For example, when you see a low, it's a 50-50 chance. It might be the low if you're lucky, but it might also drop even lower. As for the cutting loss, well that's a bit hard on me as my reactions are slow but maybe less of a problem to others.
In the end, I still feel that it depends a lot on luck, just like gambling in casino, just that this one you have graphs and news and numbers to refer to, which will help you determine whether the market will go up or down, to a certain extent. Yes,'To a certain extent', else everyone would be a billionaire already just by trading. And I say that it feels like gambling in casino because you do get the palpitations when you buy and waiting to sell, your hands sweat too. It challenges you on fast decision making and fast reaction, also controlling your emotions. But the proportion of luck involved is too much, at least for me.

Hatyai

2011-09-11T00:03:00.000+08:00

Went for a trip in Hatyai during the Merdeka holiday. Due to communication problem, I woke up at 3 something in the morning and waited at the Petronas nearby my house at 4.15am. Waited there for about 15 mins to be told that they're actually coming at 5am only. So I went back home again and came out again at 5, poor dad had to stay awake with me also lol.
When they finally came, I hopped on to the van and we continue to pick people up before heading north to Hatyai. Mind you, of the 10 people travelling together, I only know one person, others are all strangers. (After story: I was told that when I walk towards the van, they all commented 'why this guy so chuen one?'. I guess probably I was having the =.= look because I didn't sleep the night before so I had a stoned look. But when I got up the van I said hi, and they were stunned...lol!!)
Finally on our way to Hatyai, because it's a holiday and the driver fear there might be a bad jam at the border, we took another way, through the Padang Besar side. It was around 6.30 in the morning and when I looked out of the window, I was awed by the scenery of Padang Besar. It was breath taking....really, like the scenery you find in China...or like some Europe field with some low hills. I bet many did not know such beautiful place exist in Malaysia. But well, when I saw it, it was morning and with a lot of mist, making the place so beautiful, I don't know how it'll look during the day.
Finally arriving at Hatyai, we checked in to our hotel before going out for our trip around Hatyai. Our tour guide brought us to a few places for visitation. We went to the Municipal park which has Guan Yin, Buddha and statues of other gods. We also visited the 4-faced Buddha (direct translate) and then went to eat bird's nest. Also in the list of visitation is the beach at Songkhla, which I would say is quite pretty. Sands and white, the rocks are black, perfect for pictures, well except that the sun was too bright. There's also a mermaid statue of the beach, and 2 islands named cat and mouse island in a distance into the sea. Apart from all these is just walking around the town of Hatyai and some market that we were brought to. Nothing much really. Things are cheap, but none to my liking.
Food wise, I think the food we ate most is ice cream. And ironically, we didn't eat any Thai food or seafood that Hatyai is famous for. Had swensens there, which was super cheap compared to Malaysia, and with a generous portion. Had the coconut ice cream at Songkhla there, which I would say is really good.
Photography, I didn't take much photos, only about 90 of them. Could have taken more photos at the beach, but I don't know why I didn't. Ah well, next time. =)
The most enjoyable part of this trip would be company I say, get to know a few more friends that are also into travelling and photography. From strangers to good friends, in just 2 days, quite amazing I'd say!

活着的意义

2011-08-17T01:20:00.001+08:00

人活着的意义是什么
今天有个朋友这样问我

我想了想，说
找到自己存在的价值
和达到自己的目标与梦想
难道你没梦想吗？

他说
没有吧
很多人都问过我这个问题
我想了很久都想不到
那你呢？

我又想了想
然后慢慢举了很多例子
有些，我想过也说过
而且明确的想去做到
有些，只是脑中一闪而已
自己说出来时也有些惊讶
说了自己，又说说别人
然后说
不一定是什么大件事吧
梦想可能是许许多多的零碎小事
每个人一定都有梦想吧
是看你是否有发觉到而已

听了
他若有所思
回家后
他决定将辞掉他想辞了三年的工作
让我有点吓到
不过他说
他想从新生活
因为他之前的生活已经到了瓶颈
他厌倦了
只不过之前一直没能决定
也没勇气打破他原本的生活规律

我真心希望
这个改变会是好的
也希望未来他能更开心

想想一下
自己的责任也蛮重大的
一席话
改变了一个人的一生
o.O
想想一下
自己又几时变那么成熟了
好老
>.<

Hong Kong

2011-08-09T21:10:00.001+08:00

After coming back from Hong Kong, it felt different to be looking at a land with flat grounds instead of high-rise buildings. One thing remains the same though, the heat!
Staying one week on the busy island which is lighted up by neon lights at night so the whole island looked so bright and beautiful has got me liking the place much. It is a happening place, with lots of shopping malls so that you can hide within after walking under the hot sun, and there are so many places with lots of events. One can't help to compare Hong Kong with Singapore, as both are very similar in various ways. I like the places in Hong Kong, it is more lively in my opinion, compared to Singapore. Food wise, of course Hong Kong is better! I enjoyed the dim sum, the smelly tofu, the porridge, the Thai food, the Japanese food and not to mention the local noodles there. Whereas in Singapore, the food that I enjoyed are countable with five fingers. However, though it is boringly systematic, I find Singapore much easier to get around as everything is clearly shown. Whereas in Hong Kong, it is a bit all over the place. You don't know where to find the proper bus station that would get you to your destination, and the MTR has so many exits sometimes even a local got confused.
Having said that, I enjoyed Hong Kong trip much. Credits to Manlo for bringing us around, and giving us free accommodation. Highlights for me in this trip would be the fascinating night view up on the Victoria's peak and the non-stop shopping in Wong Kok. The downside? The glaring sun that gives me sunburn almost everyday, though I still think that it's somewhat hotter in Penang.
Having visited Hong Kong twice previously, my aim this time is to add DSLR-captured photos to my collection. I pretty much captured what I intended: the night view of Hong Kong, the ships in the fishing village as well as the streets of Hong Kong. And then I realized that I'm pretty bad at wildlife photos (Ocean Park) and also architectural photos (streets and buildings of Hong Kong), thus not very satisfied with the photos taken. Room to improve then. =)

麻烦

2011-07-29T00:19:00.000+08:00

很多麻烦
如果意志能够坚定点
坚决地说不
不要那么容易心软
就不会有那么多麻烦
就不会心中郁郁
而这，也是如果做得到
如果能有如果
那该多好
o.O

ESFP

2011-07-18T14:53:00.000+08:00

I still remember in semester one there's this lecture by Alex, in which we can decide which character we are, and then it's tell us about our personalities, and mine's ESFP:

Portrait of an ESFP - Extraverted Sensing Feeling Perceiving
(Extraverted Sensing with Introverted Feeling)
The Performer

As an ESFP, your primary mode of living is focused externally, where you take things in via your five senses in a literal, concrete fashion. Your secondary mode is internal, where you deal with things according to how you feel about them, or how they fit with your personal value system.

ESFPs live in the world of people possibilties. They love people and new experiences. They are lively and fun, and enjoy being the center of attention. They live in the here-and-now, and relish excitement and drama in their lives.

ESFPs have very strong inter-personal skills, and may find themselves in the role of the peacemaker frequently. Since they make decisions by using their personal values, they are usually very sympathetic and concerned for other people's well-being. They're usually quite generous and warm. They are very observant about other people, and seem to sense what is wrong with someone before others might, responding warmly with a solution to a practical need. They might not be the best advice-givers in the world, because they dislike theory and future-planning, but they are great for giving practical care.

ESFP is definitely a spontaneous, optimistic individual. They love to have fun. If the ESFP has not developed their Thinking side by giving consideration to rational thought processing, they tend to become over-indulgent, and place more importance on immediate sensation and gratification than on their duties and obligations. They may also avoid looking at long-term consequences of their actions.

For the ESFP, the entire world is a stage. They love to be the center of attention and perform for people. They're constantly putting on a show for others to entertain them and make them happy. They enjoy stimulating other people's senses, and are extremely good at it. They would love nothing more than for life to be a continual party, in which they play the role of the fun-loving host.

ESFPs love people, and everybody loves an ESFP. One of their greatest gifts is their general acceptance of everyone. They are upbeat and enthusiastic, and genuinely like almost everybody. An ESFP is unfailingly warm and generous with their friends, and they generally treat everyone as a friend. However, once crosesed, an ESFP is likely to make a very strong and stubborn judgment against the person who crossed them. They are capable of deep dislike in such a situation.

The ESFP under a great deal of stress gets overwhelmed with negatives thoughts and possibilities. As an optimistic individual who lives in the world of possibilities, negative possibilities do not sit well with them. In an effort to combat these thoughts, they're likely to come up with simple, global statements to explain away the problem. These simplistic explanations may or may not truly get to the nature of the issue, but they serve the ESFP well by allowing them to get over it.

ESFPs are likely to be very practical, although they hate structure and routine. They like to "go with the flow", trusting in their ability to improvise in any situation presented to them. They learn best with "hands-on" experience, rather than by studying a book. They're uncomfortable with theory. If an ESFP hasn't developed their intuitive side, they may tend to avoid situations which involve a lot of theoretical thinking, or which are complex and ambiguous. For this reason, an ESFP may have difficulty in school. On the other hand, the ESFP does extremely well in situations where they're allowed to learn by interacting with others, or in which they "learn by doing".

ESFPs have a very well-developed appreciation for aesthetic beauty, and an excellent sense of space and function. If they have the means, they're likely to have to have many beautiful possessions, and an artfully furnished home. In general, they take great pleasure in objects of aesthetic beauty. They're likely to have a strong appreciation for the finer things in life, such as good food and good wine.

The ESFP is a great team player. He or she is not likely to create any problems or fuss, and is likely to create the most fun environment possible for getting the task done. ESFPs will do best in careers in which they are able to use their excellent people skills, along with their abilities to meld ideas into structured formats. Since they are fast-paced individuals who like new experiences, they should choose careers which offer or require a lot of diversity, as well as people skills.

ESFPs usually like to feel strongly bonded with other people, and have a connection with animals and small children that is not found in most other types. They're likely to have a strong appreciation for the beauties of nature as well.

The ESFP has a tremendous love for life, and knows how to have fun. They like to bring others along on their fun-rides, and are typically a lot of fun to be with. They're flexible, adaptable, genuinely interested in people, and usually kind-hearted. They have a special ability to get a lot of fun out of life, but they need to watch out for the pitfalls associated with living entirely in the moment.

Jungian functional preference ordering:

Dominant: Extraverted Sensing
Auxiliary: Introverted Feeling
Tertiary: Extraverted Thinking
Inferior: Introverted Intuition

True or not? You think?

What Remains?

2011-07-17T00:24:00.000+08:00

People come, people go
Some stopped by for a while, some a blink of eyes
Some left and come revisit, some left and gone forever
There are those who stays in your heart, and there are those who are lost in the midst of memories
In the end, the effort is ours to remember and fill them in our hearts
It is our choice, to stay connected or letting the string loose
What remains, after all have left, are memories and feelings =)

走了

2011-07-05T22:06:00.000+08:00

就这样
走了
离开了
那呆了好几年的地方
离开的感触
对已经熟悉的地方
和人事物
留下的
除了垃圾之外
还有回忆
好的坏的
而回忆
迟早也会随时间消逝
能带走的
除了身外物之外
还有的就是用真心培养出来的感情和友情
不过随着各人四散
这些感情
又能维持多久
不过这些
多想也没用
该想的是
这半年
我该做什？

道理

2011-05-31T17:01:00.000+08:00

千万不可因小成功自大
却也不可因小挫折自卑

是时候

2011-05-26T21:41:00.000+08:00

是时候写些东西了
懒惰不应该再是借口
毕竟这是我人生一个重要的交接点

知道了这一年来的成绩
松了口气了
因为结束了
失望了
因为达不到自己的标准
只差的那一分
遥不可及
像别人说的
这么近，那么远

接下来就要出国了
虽然这是半年后的事了
忽然间有点适应了安稳和安全感
少了接受挑战的雀跃和冲劲
所以
还是等待那一刻的到来吧
那时的兴奋
不舍
感触
唉

对于收到的祝贺
谢啦
收到的安慰
也谢啦
不过想说
不是说要开心就能立刻开心的吧
除非你要我强颜欢笑
而我还以为你最明白这道理

4.30 am

2011-05-04T04:45:00.000+08:00

4.30 am in the morning of 5th May, and I'm done!! I'm done printing my thesis.
At first I was still checking while printing, but I gave up through the first quarter of it.
If I hadn't, I probably wouldn't finish printing by noon time.
Submission is 4 pm, but heck, I'm done and I'm not gonna care about it anymore!!
I'm done!!!!

Night at Sepang

2011-04-17T16:28:00.002+08:00

Went Sepang for the Energizer Night Run
My first time stepping into Sepang F1 circuit
My second time feeling that the run would be so cool
My third time running 21 km
We were required to be there early, around 5.30 pm for registration
but the run only starts at 8 pm
We were basically waiting and queuing in utter boredom for 2 hours plus
and we didn't eat dinner, because of such timing
Dinner was just 3 pieces of Butterscotch
Finally the run starts
I ran
and then the internal battle began:
'Run'
'Why are you stressing yourself? Stop and walk'
'No you can't stop'
'So motivated for what?'
but I kept on running
then...
'wow I finished? in just 1 hour 58 minutes?'
and then I heard shouting:
'21 km one more round!!'
Everyone:
'Huh? one more round?'
'Really?'
'How long more?'
'Anyone know where 21 km will end?'
After lots of doubts and confirmation, everyone ran on....for one more round
Others ran, I walked
I had muscle pain
and was desperately looking for the medic team for some spray or counter pain
but there was none
I walked on, could't run because too pain
Even when I walked, I had cramps 3 times
I walked past the water station
Too thirsty but there was no more drink
I walked, and walked towards the finishing line
I was defeated
by lack of motivation
by muscle pain
I disappointed myself

Having said so
I would like to blame the organizer
So poorly organized
It was chaos the entire event
It's the lousiest run I ever joined
1. We were supposed to arrive and register at 5.30pm when the run is only gonna start at 8pm, such long period of wait and time wasting
2. 42 km, 21 km, 10km starts 15 minutes apart, so when everyone was going back home, we can still see the 42 km people still running. As compared to Penang Bridge Run, each category was 2 hours apart, so everyone finish around the same time, and the award ceremony can be joined by everyone.
3. The entire run, there was only one medic station for the spray, and it was only 2 person holding 4 cans of spray and thats all. That happened when I was running the first round, the second round when everyone was desperately looking for these medic stations, there was none to be found.
4. When I run the second round, all the water stations already ran out of water. I can't imagine for the 42km people, how are they going to survive another 20 km without any water?
5. 1 million people joined, and yet there was only one table there to give out goodie bags after people complete the run. And there was only one person handling that table. And the goodie bags are not even packed. They only pack on the spot. And even before I reached the finishing line, they couldn't take it anymore. They were desperate, and they threw the goodie bags out. They threw them overhead into the crowd and people were all rushing and grabbing and pushing. You can find the video of it on youtube. Such chaos. And after that police came and ask everyone to disperse, and that they'll send the goodie bags to us. So when I reach the finishing line, it was already an empty area.
6. The was no drinks, no food after finishing the race. All other race had it, this is the first race I been to that doesn't have that. And for god's sake, not even a medic team at the finishing point. You would expect people to have cramps and pain after the race, it's common sense, not?
All in all, it was the worst run I ever joined. Regret joining. The only cool part, I get to run on the Sepang F1 track. =)
There is even a facebook page created 'Boycott Energizer Night Race' ,you can go check it out and you'll see all the runners are so mad at Energizer now. It's time we convert to Duracell. =)

人生

2011-04-15T20:13:00.001+08:00

自己的人生
自己决定该怎么走
一个忙忙碌碌的人生
一个潇洒自在的人生
一个坚持自我的人生
一个服务他人的人生
一个抬头挺胸的人生
一个自哀自怨的人生
统统都是自己的抉择
决定好了就不要回头看
没有回头路
只有前面的分岔路
没有好与不好
只有各人自己的看法
世界不会因你而停转
可是你可以让所有人为你停下脚步

我，多么希望自己的意志可以坚定些

挑战

2011-03-25T10:54:00.000+08:00

压力
混淆
每天重复的计算着细胞
越算越混淆
困惑
重复的闷
还亏自己常说爱挑战
这么小事情竟然想放弃
真没用
啊！！！
我要把他当挑战
我一定可以算好它！！
纯粹想发泄。。。有点很压力，睡也睡不好 o.O

CNY 2011

2011-02-15T17:22:00.000+08:00

This year Chinese New Year started off slightly bad for me. It was about 2 weeks before Chinese New Year that I received my mum's call telling me my grandmother was admitted to the icu and that the doctor said it was her last days. So I rushed back home to visit my grandmother for a few days before coming back to KL again to finish up my work. I had hoped that my grandmother would be able to celebrate Chinese New Year for one last time before leaving us, and thank god she really did. My grandmother had took care of me basically my entire childhood so it was a bit hard on me at first, but I've finally came to acceptance stage. Yes I teared, when I came back and she couldn't recognize me, as her eyes had failed her. I teared, when I went into her room one night, and overheard her praying to god to take her away because she feels herself being useless for unable to do anything. I was upset, when I think about the times we spent together, and how much she took care of me, and how much I did not when I was away. I thought about her walking me back from kindergarten, bringing me to cut hair, cooking all the delicious dishes, lookout for me when I went out cycling and came looking for me when I disappeared too long. I thought about times I bought back ice cream and we ate together, when I fetch her around after I got my driving license, and visit her every time I come back from KL. Perhaps studying medic helps, perhaps I'm rather cold-blooded as others claimed, I came to acceptance pretty fast and easily. And that, was how my Chinese New year started.
Not long after that I already find myself hanging out much with my friends and having fun, using the excuse that next year I won't be in Malaysia to spend Chinese New Year anymore. I went for yamcha sessions, house visiting to collect angpaos, even climbing Penang hill, and of course the usual watching movie, karaoke outings. I had a lot of fun and took quite a lot of pictures, so i guess no regrets for this Chinese New Year, because I spent it more wisely than the previous years in my opinion (wisely as in hanging out more =P). Came back to KL again only to find myself visiting friend's houses again, playing xbox, gambling for the first time and losing a lot of money, and visiting Malacca for a day trip.

感动

2011-01-29T18:32:00.000+08:00

何为感动？
一则短讯的慰问
一通电话的了解
一则留言的关心
这些，就是最简单的感动

难以形容的心情

2011-01-22T00:14:00.000+08:00

我回来了
却迟了吗
迟了几个月
还是几年
你躺着
呼吸着
挣扎着
看不见
认不得
一言不语
有别于以前的唠唠叨叨
我感受到你的失落
所以我悲痛
看着你
我不懂该说什么
也什么都说不出口
你问我一句
你看我怎样了
我找不到答案
只得说了声我不知道
也因这现实的答案
你更沉默了
这世界没有早知道
我也不会早知道
时间从来
我还是会嫌唠叨
还是会每次回来只抽一会子的时间看看你谈谈天
要后悔吗
太多事情需要后悔了
我没有后悔
我有的是少许的遗憾和惋惜
我有的是迷失空虚
因为我人生将第一次尝到
失去

Trip - day 5

2011-01-14T15:42:00.000+08:00

Early next morning, we went on this boat for a river cruise, touring a distance of 漓江. I basically stood upstairs the entire time, to take photographs...and to enjoy the 4 degrees cold breeze that made my fingers turn blue after the long photography session....

While we're still 'stagnant' waiting for other people to board the boat.

Mountains of different shapes, they're all named, but I forgot what their names are... o.O

They told us the name of these trees too, but again...I've forgotten ( guess I'm getting old...poor memory)

Since it's early...it's very foggy...

Mountains, river, and the reflections = good picture no matter how sucky your photography skill is...

People washing their clothes along the river

Pretty pic

Fishing

'Speed boat' o.O

Another pretty pic

Trip - Day 4 cont

2011-01-13T22:59:00.000+08:00

After a tiring day of visiting 世外桃源, we traveled another few hours to 阳朔. We overnight there so as to visit 漓江 early next morning.

A scenery from outside the hotel, looking directly at 漓江.

At night, we walk around the streets there, this street is the famous 西街.

It's called 西街 for a reason I think, because I see a lot of Caucasians there. It's their hang out place. Those that are deprived of alcohol...it's their heaven, because this street is full of pubs and clubs.

Another bar

Bar again, and outside every bar, there are people dressed up nicely or in costumes trying to attract customers

One of the funniest, dressed up as 财神爷 and dancing hip hop o.O

姜茶， nice...and it came at the right time, preventing flu virus from starting to make my nose run >.<

Tried the fried tofu there...delicious

They still use this to weight things over there

The tofu, saliva dripping again....

Eat with their homemade sauce, it's very local, and it's a taste you won't get elsewhere. Simple stuff yet unforgettable...

Night view of 漓江

Across the river can see that the houses are lighted up with colourful lights

Trip - Day 4 cont

2011-01-12T16:05:00.000+08:00

After visiting 伏波山, it was a 4 hour bus ride to this place called 世外桃源, known as the most beautiful place in China. It is also where 陶渊明's 桃花源记 was written.

The entrance/front door of the place

The place, the scenery, is so beautiful they look like painted pictures. Photos can't show the true beauty of the place, you have got to witness it yourself, it will take your breath away.

Tour boat

We have to pass through a cave

Getting in, and it's pitch dark inside

Coming out, arriving at 桃花源

The first scenery we saw the moment we came out from the cave

Some tribe marking their territory

People from the tribe, I don't know whether they are really the tribe people, or they are paid to wear as the tribe people, since it's a tourism spot. Lol

Another breath taking scenery, that looked exactly like a real-life painting

I like taking reflection photos

Making net

Traditional China houses

Again, photos don't show you the real beauty of the place, go see it with your own eyes

It's really the most beautiful place I've ever been to in my life so far.

Trip - Day 4

2011-01-11T17:55:00.000+08:00

The 4th day, we visited this hill called 伏波山, which is named after a General.

Statue of the General

The teapots decorating the park

伏波山

Fishing in the morning

A small hut with a large bell inside

A special stone formed there, which doesn't touch the ground

Winter swimming =)

Trip - Day 3 cont

2011-01-10T17:22:00.000+08:00

After coming down from the hill, we came to this village, which consist of one of the lesser ethnic in China, 瑶族, that I had introduced earlier.

The village they stayed in

we went to watch show in this theater

The people there sowing, with their ethnic clothing

Performing show =)

Some special...drink they have, yes you didn't see wrongly, it's drink =)

Marriage ritual

Another guy and me was invited on stage, as we were the only 2 guys around =.=

So yea, basically, I have a wife now =.= lol

Performance using their hair, so freaking long!! Haha it looked like a lot of Ju-ons coming out...

More of the long hair dance

Trip - Day 3

2011-01-09T01:16:00.000+08:00

The next morning, went to a place called 龙胜 to view 梯田. It's an hour bus ride from our hotel, from Guilin town. Along the way the view was fascinating. I could have taken a thousand photos if I were walking there and not sat on the bus, seriously!! The heartache feeling of having such nice views and yet I don't get to capture them, you won't get it. The photos I finally gotten are only 1% out of all the beautiful scenes I could have captured.

The mountain area

Hand-made slippers made by the locals

Entrance to 龙脊梯田, one of the numerous 梯田in 龙胜

You kinda have to climb mountain, so if you're not capable, you can take these

Interesting stones I saw on the way, really look like pork

The bee hives that can be eaten

Enormous abalone mushroom!!

Starting to see some 梯田

More of that =)

Houses of the residents, they are all 壮族, one of the lesser ethnic in China

And they like to paint their house gold colour

An old lady, sitting by the roadside, making and selling their handmade slippers. I do have to admit I felt guilty afterwards thinking back that I stood there taking photos of her and yet I did not help her buy one pair. So bad of me =.=

One of the best scenery

My pretty mum

Guess what is this that they're drying?

Erm, dried birds...

蜥蜴

A lady selling clothes on our way down, she's from another ethnic, called 瑶族, see the hat like thing on her head? It's HAIR!!! So long, so oily and shiny....then see her ear ring, and her ear lobe!!! Huge!!

Trip - Day 2 cont

2011-01-08T22:47:00.000+08:00

And then it was this park, 'Xi Shan Gong Yuan'

Such nice view right? I like those trees

The fat lady in front was our tour guide, not really a good one, quite nasty personality =.=

One of my best picture I took during this trip

And later, we went to this mountain called ' Xiang Bi Shan' , direct translate would be Elephant Trunk Mountain

And indeed, it looked like an elephant trunk!!

You can take photos sitting on the raft, but you gonna pay 50 bucks!!

So I stood far far away and took this =)

Trip - Day 2 cont

2011-01-07T13:43:00.001+08:00

After the cave visit we went to visit this place, 刘三姐大观园, a garden like place, with a mini theater inside for dance show by the China minority ethnic groups.

Entrance

Playing their musical instrument as a warm welcome

A closer look, and the funny thing is, when they play it, they swing from side to side ( as in their whole body)

A nice scenery in the garden

Guilin is full of hills and mountains everywhere

Asking us to sing

And the girl from across the lake will sing back

Again, for luck

Traditional costume, traditional dance

Dance show in the theater

Different ethnics performing

Thank you =P

Trip - Day 2

2011-01-06T01:40:00.000+08:00

Second day, early in the morning we went to this cave, to see the special stones in the cave. I thought it was a lame thing because Malaysia has it, and I've visited caves in other places. But well, I was kinda wrong, because it was prettier than I imagined. The colourful lights they put in there to shine the stones contributed to the beauty of the cave.

The name of the cave, Lu Di Yan

The sun was just rising as we arrived

It's for luck =)

The interior of the cave, looks awesome shone by colourful lights

Shape of a snowman

The most beautiful part of this cave

From another angle =)

Came out of the cave

A very China-looking scenery, as we came out from the cave.

Trip - Day 1

2010-12-30T02:32:00.001+08:00

Waiting for transit at Guagzhou Bai Yun Airport, and thats my flight, CZ 3303

This is the plane I'm boarding

Again, sea of cottons

Really looks like cotton, doesn't it?

And finally, reached Guilin Airport

And brought to the hotel, Jin Tong Hotel

It's already late, but I've come so far and sat a whole day of plane so I'm not gonna just stay in hotel. I went out for a walk around the town.

And this, is another hotel nearby. It looks better than ours.

In China, they put lights on most of the structures, colourful lights

Then walked to this night market, the most happening street in Guilin

The first stall on the street, selling durians!! And nangka!! Lol, tried the nangka and it tasted quite alright, but I don't think I wanna try the durian. Penang durian is still the best!!

There are stall selling winter boots

Stalls selling food, including packs of black ants!!

Local delicacies, pickled food

Stall selling eggs, drawn for artistic decoration

Stalls selling unique products, like this fruit basket

And some typical China products

What surprised me is this, special edition cards!! Haha, but I didn't buy any because they were too expensive.

Saw this glass bridge, which is also lighted up at night, like all other structures

There are a lot of stalls like this on all streets in Guilin, selling drinks, snacks, like an outdoor 7 eleven.

The Land of Cotton

2010-12-28T09:32:00.001+08:00

I was in the land of cotton again, where was I headed this time? Well, all I can say is that it was sudden and spontaneous.

Past and present tense of a Christmas party

2010-12-12T00:27:00.000+08:00

A year ago I was here
A year later I am here
Different company
Different feeling

A year ago it was Christmas carol and gift exchange
A year later it is chattering and song performances
A little more woo ha outside
A little more emptiness inside

A year ago I had company and care
A year later I see company and care
How I wish I was back in a year ago
How I wish a year ago happened again

Murderer on the loose

2010-12-10T22:28:00.000+08:00

The murderer's cloak

Evidence of crime

The victims?

5 poor rats

Including my favourite rat number 3

I shall mourn for them

Frustration

2010-11-29T20:16:00.003+08:00

Ever had the feeling of frustration when you want to get something done but you just couldn't? No matter how much you wanted it, how hard you try, you just can't get it. There's bound to be something or someone stopping you. This is exactly what I'm feeling right now.
This is the third month into BMedSc, yet I couldn't even get my hands on the most essential substance for my research, Etlingera extract. According to Dr Nagaraja, they were sure there are still plenty of the extract in IMU, in one of the lecturer's hand. And yet due to some internal politics, and conflict of interests, I couldn't get my hands on the Etlingera. So I decided to buy fresh Etlingera and extract it myself. It'll be a lot of work and perhaps take a long time before I can finally get the extract, but it's the only option I've left. Weeks before, Dr Srikumar told me he would settle this. So I waited and waited, but everytime I asked he said the people he asked to help him get, couldn't find it. So I decided to ask Ms Bazlin myself today, a person that Dr Srikumar said he asked to help get the Etlingera, and I was surprised when her reaction was: Huh? What is that? Dr Srikumar never ask me to buy anything also? There you go, my first lesson, do not rely on your lecturer. Nobody is more reliable than yourself when you want things done.
Well fine, since I don't have Etlingera, I proceed to process the few tissue that I already have. I've made paraffin blocks, now I have to do microtome cutting of the blocks to make the microscopic slides. Yet when I use the device to cut it, the testis is so friable the section of testis became powder the moment it was cut, leaving a hole there which was supposed to be a cut section of testis. I tried all the methods I could, those suggested by the experienced lab assistants but still, it remained as holes when I keep cutting. The main issue is, my research is on testis. If I can't even get a slide of the testis, my research is as good as failed. And when consulted Dr Srikumar, he doesn't know about what to do either.
There you go, the two things, Etlingera and testis. Mind you, my research is on effect of Etlingera on testis. I guess I don't need to explain further. I really need to know how others out there make the slides of testis successfully, but yet even Dr Srikumar did not know, and I couldn't find anything on the net as well. And also, I really need to get Etlingera fast. If not I can't do anything apart from control group.
Finally, to put a cold blanket over all these, Dr Srikumar announced to me today that he's going back India this weekend for his year end holiday and he'll only be back next year. About my research, all the procedure, all the problems, he say we can keep in touch by email. But I really wonder how can he teach me to do all the lab work using email. So yea, congratulations Nigel Khor, you're on your own. Lesson two of the day, things don't always go smooth for you. Fight to survive.

Rats

2010-11-24T15:47:00.003+08:00

The rats before being dissected.

Another memory of them

Cutting open the abdomen after anaesthesia

Performing cardiac puncture

An example of a testis I took

Running in the Rain

2010-11-22T20:14:00.000+08:00

Penang Bridge Run, I joined the Half Marathon (21km run). When we reached the place, we heard the commentator shouting 'Countdown to the race, 5, 4, ....' and we were still quite far from the starting point. Panic built and I started running towards the starting point following behind Kyan. We were running in the opposite direction of the flow and all the runners dash through us. It felt like minutes before we reached the starting point to set foot on the starting line and started running the race track. It wasn't a good start because we were already behind, and my mind kept nagging me to overtake as many people as I could, and at the same time worrying that doing so might cause me to run out of energy and motivation fast.
But still, I ran and ran, overtook perhaps half of the people before I started getting tired and slow down. As was predicted, when I make a turn to go on to the bridge, thunder started to be heard from a distant. It was hot, and not a slightest breeze even though I'm on the bridge which has nothing to stop the wind from blowing through, a sign that heavy rain is coming. Hoping that I can finish the run before it started pouring, I continue running, up the middle of the bridge, down, make a U-turn and up again in the opposite direction.
Then suddenly, a drip of water. I thought it was a drop of sweat from someone running close by. Second drip, third, OK fine, it's raining. It didn't take 30 seconds to turn into a heavy rain that made everyone wet head to toe. So I kept running, slowly though, afraid that I might get hypothermia if I stopped running. And the water started to accumulate in the shoes making moving a step felt like moving a small rock. But then, it was so cooling and refreshing. The good feeling urged me to keep going.
And then, my knee snapped. As always, while running long distance, my knee gave me the pain that stopped me in my track. I slowly walked, then increased my pace and started running again, and stopped again when it hurt so bad I couldn't take it anymore. This cycle kept repeating from there onwards, until I reached the finishing point. Amidst the knee pain, the muscle cramp came in as well. I stopped for the muscle spray few times, applying ice few times and also I applied some counter pain. All these stopped the muscle cramp but did nothing to soothe the knee pain. But with these aid, and a strong will to finish the race in the shortest time I can manage, I pushed myself on and managed to complete the run in 2 hours and 35 minutes. It's not fast, not really a good time also because I know I can do much better without the knee pain, but I was really very satisfied. And it really felt good running in the rain, I would have stopped earlier on if there was no rain. My best run ever I would say.

Knowing a person

2010-11-18T21:55:00.000+08:00

'You're good'
'You're mean'
'I think you're very quiet'
'You're kinda cool huh?'
'Hey you're impatient'
All the descriptives are bull crap. When you truly befriend a person, all these descriptives becomes meaningless. That is because you will already have accept all the personality that comes in a package, including all the negative ones like cruel and evil. And you'd forgive the person because you understand, you know the reason behind the person's behavior.
So if you keep hurling descriptives at a person, it means you don't know the person well enough. If you have been doing it for long, then perhaps there's something unacceptable there so you should probably just forget it.
Everybody has friends, even the meanest of all, or the 'bad guys'. Unless you're a weird psycho, then that's another story.

The Madscientist

My Birthday on 10-10-10

2010-11-10T16:46:00.000+08:00

Such a special date, 10-10-10, and I was turning 22. Midnight as the clock strike 12, a few people came by to celebrate my birthday. They were Kian, Huey Ling, Lily, Jamie, Leon and Ickes. Song was sang, video recorded, candles blown, cakes cut and eaten, what next? I didn't want it to be a boring one so I cheered everyone up. I convinced Leon to sing, followed by Huey Ling, then Kian and Lily. It was simple, but yet it made me felt the pure friendship that comes with it. I was touched, by these simple acts. So thank you guys so much for coming by!!
After a few hours of sleep, I woke up and prepare myself for the Nike Run. It was a 10km run, but recently my body was not as fit anymore, so it took me 1 hour and 10 mins? or 15 mins? I forgot. I only remembered it wasn't as good. And it wasn't really that fun, running around Kl city which smells bad. After that, the milers people who also went for the run sang birthday song for me. Again, thank you guys!!
Then, went to eat lunch at Old Town Coffee shop with Jamie and Ickes. Was kinda tired, and out of no where a little emo came by but I convinced the others I was just tired. I went home after that trying to sleep but couldn't, probably due to the over-active brain after exercise. So I played games, and waiting for Ickes to hang out with me. But in the end, he said he had already told me he won't be going out with me because he has cheer practice.
So in the end, I went out to Times Square myself. I wandered in Pavilion, eaten dinner there and had some Baskin Robbins myself. And during that trip I received 2 phone calls from UK. It was Han Hong and King Hung. I was so touched.
I wanted to watch movie but the timing was not suitable so I went back home. And my birthday ends.
This year my birthday I only received a present parcel from UK. Others, like my best friend, didn't bother to even give it a think. He said it's because nobody was around anymore, so it would be very expensive to buy a gift. And he also said he himself don't think present is a necessity for birthday, so he didn't bothered. To be honest, I actually felt very sad and disappointed.

Promises

2010-11-01T11:59:00.000+08:00

What is the value of a promise if those that vowed to it does not care to follow?

Along the way, I've had broken promises here and there, now I don't even know if promises carry any meaning anymore.

1 year and 15 days

2010-10-26T00:53:00.001+08:00

That, was the amount of time I have used to read a book, a story book, given to me on my birthday last year.

The Lost Symbol, another book of Dan Brown's, depicted yet another story of Robert Langdon solving a mystery that involved lots of symbols and legends. And this time, Freemasonry is involved. As usual with Dan Brown's books, the story involved a bad guy who wants to unveil a hidden legend and threatens to bring chaos to the world. Someone will be kidnapped, and someone will be helping Robert Langdon too. The police will also be helping Langdon, but again he will be running away from them. Sounds familiar huh all these? Well, that is because The Lost Symbol is another Dan Brown book, the storyline very much predictable.

But I do have moments when I was surprised by the book, like when I thought 'someone' was dead. (Haha My friend said: He should have died, I'm sick of him). And I was also shocked when the bad guy revealed his identity. But well, when was I not shocked about the bad guy's identity ever since the Da Vinci Code?
What I am trying to say is, it's a good book, just that I got a little bored of the Dan Brown style. Still worth the leisure time though.

We are gods. =)

Something to Emo About

2010-10-20T15:25:00.001+08:00

I treat you the best of friends, you treat me the worst of all.
Enough said.
Sometimes things just can't be helped.
I used to have a lot of reasons to keep trying, but now I have more than enough reasons to distance away.

感想

2010-10-08T22:30:00.000+08:00

刚刚在看台湾剧‘钟无艳’
第十一集剧中杨谨华说了一句话
‘付出得越多，就越想得到回报’
我，不仅仅赞同而已
也在想
之前有至少两个人跟我说过
‘付出不要在意回报’
我就在想
这种事怎么可能能够做到
除非是圣人吧

你是大慈善家
捐出去数以万计的钱
你也会想得到一些东西
别人脸上高兴的微笑，你心中帮助别人而快乐的满足
就算是父母
不计辛苦，努力付出
为了孩子们的好
他们也会想将来孩子能为他们做些事情吧
照顾自己，孝顺自己

这个世界真的没有所谓付出不计回报的事
而且你越在意的人，你会越想得到一些什么
关心，认同，爱
父母与孩子是如此
爱侣更不用说
朋友之间亦然

再说
真心付出
也要接受的人感受到，珍惜过，回报了
这样才值得吧？
付出而没有得到什么的
应该叫白费力气？

我

2010-10-04T01:25:00.000+08:00

我
努力改变
不过要得到认同
结果不被肯定还不止
还被冠上了人格有问题
或许吧
有没有问题你们自己决定
只不过
努力成了白费
还倒不如依然我行我素
不喜欢的请滚
不是我要小气
不过有些话很伤
一句话可以改变很多
从白变黑
由爱变恨

Something Worth Thinking About

2010-09-29T13:31:00.001+08:00

I saw this on someone else's blog and decide it's good so I copy and paste it here. =)

Advice for young people:
(taken from http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1474094)

1. Shiny things are nowhere as much fun after you get them as before, even if they have some value. So yes, that Kindle or iPad or whatever will have a real use, and you will be marginally happier with it than without, but not as much as you think

2. You can talk yourself into (or out of) anything. The only difference between smart people and other people is that smart people do this with bigger words and more complex arguments. Be confident, but also assume that you are broken in ways you can never spot. Find some ways to get a checksum on life decisions every now and then.

3. You don't need very much at all. Maybe a laptop computer and a couple changes of clothes. Pictures and videos of your life. That's about it.

4. Nothing will ever replace experiences. No matter how big the car, nice the house, or professional-looking the suit, it's never going to be as much fun or mean as much later as the experiences you have in life. And it's not just having the experience, it's looking forward to them, and planning them, and making pictures, movies, and blogs out of them. The best part, oddly, may be the planning. So planning a 200-dollar trip to the beach in the Fall with people you love may give you many hours of happiness this summer -- along with the fun of the trip itself.

5. Learn to keep picking topics and immersing yourself in them. Most everybody will say to drop out and become part of the system -- 9-5 job and TV/games/internet in the evening. If you want a life you could sleep through, that's fine. But if you want a life you can tell stories about, keep reinventing yourself. And that means constantly learning.

6. Lots of shit in life that once looked dumb or stupid opens up into this huge panorama of beauty once you learn the rules. In so many things you are like the guy who never saw a baseball game going to the world series. You kind of get it, but it all seems silly. You don't know the rules. Decide to learn how to appreciate music, for instance. Get a few college lectures on tape, get some good music to listen to, hang out with folks who are music connoisseurs. The more you know about various art forms, the richer your life is.

7. Forget philosophy and meaning-of-life shit. You're too young. For now, you are what you do. Go do something worthwhile

8. Stick to a daily exercise routine at all costs

9. If you are changing and getting better, that means you are changing friends too. This was very difficult for me, but you can't hang out with the same folks and expect to become a better person. There are exceptions, of course, but to a large degree your life is controlled by whom you choose to be friends and hang out with. Be aware that you don't want to be the same person at 30 as you were at 20. I'm not saying be an asshole -- keep being friendly by all means -- but be very careful who you hold yourself up against as "normal"

10. Dating is a numbers game, like a lot of other things. Learn the skills of dating and don't sweat picking up chicks (or guys)

11. Concentrate on your weaknesses. Make them stronger. When you get to your 30s you can work from your strengths, but there has to be some time in your life to work on shit you suck at, and for me it was when I had the most motivation, my 20s.

12. Speaking of which, you have to learn management. No matter what you do, there will be a manager. Even if you don't want to be one, you have to understand what the job is like to help out your manager. Being a good leader means being a good servant. This concept sounded easy (or facile) to me in my 20s, but proved hard to apply in practice.

13. You are never ready for kids. Have them early while you have energy. Read all the books about kids if you must, but realize that creating a replacement is about the most biologically easy thing you could do. After all, evolution has been working on making you a great gene transferral and primate-raising machine, so don't get paranoid and neurotic about all the latest parenting fashion. Use some sense.

14. Everybody wants to be a rock star and win the lottery. Nobody ever does, and the ones that do end up destroying their life. Realize slow success is a million times better than overnight success.

15. Much of the stuff in life that normal people do is geared around killing time by distracting you with shiny things of no value. You may never be able to fight this completely, but you should at least deeply understand it and how it affects your goals

16. Create. With a passion. There are two major kinds of people in this world, consumers and creators. The herd will push you to consume, life will push you to consume, consumption is the easy and default path, but true joy and a full life come from creating. It does not matter one bit how many people like what you create, just create. Write. Blog. Make videos. Make a movie. Write a program. The longer the format and the more creativity involved, the more you are going to turn on and exercise key parts of your brain. Nobody wants to be 80 and only have stories of being at the office, but fuck, if you were at the office creating something at least you tried to make a difference. I'd rather be that guy than the one who watched Sumo wrestling everyday (or played 20,000 hours of WoW during his 20s) The only thing you're going to have at the end of your life are the decisions you made, the things you created, and memories. Learn to maximize these things.

Give a good think about these things. =)

Seremban - Food and Photography

2010-09-26T11:26:00.000+08:00

My second visit to Seremban discounting the compulsory visits to Seremban hospital. Had two hearty meals there with seremban good food and heaps of photography. The dried hor fun as shown above being the number 1 in my must-eat list of Seremban food. Then we tried Italian pizza and pasta which were great as well. Places we went were the muzium, the centipede hill, David's and Chin Nam's house. Just one month plus and we were reminiscing old IMU times when we were all in Bukit Jalil.

Photography - Sekinchan

2010-09-24T23:29:00.002+08:00

Went to Sekinchan, 2nd visit this time. I took quite a lot of photos, pictures from the beaches, the paddy field, and some random places. Managed to take satisfying pictures from the paddy field and in the gymnasium, but was really not satisfied with the pictures from the beaches as I couldn't take the sun pictures properly at all. And one more regrettable thing is that I was not able to take sunset picture this trip, both at the paddy field (which I manage to take during my first visit) and from the beach.
The above picture I took from gymnasium, and I used it to join a photography competition in IMU.
Title of photograph: A look of despair
50 words description: A little girl running around by herself in a gymnasium while other kids were undergoing training. She peeked, she hid, she followed quietly behind but she never joined anyone or anything. Facing the camera, she looked intimidated, and a saddened look cross her face at all times, like she's so lonely and uncared of.

Photography

2010-09-01T22:47:00.002+08:00

Finally I bought my DSLR about 2 weeks ago, D90. I was conned into buying a grey unit, which means the warranty is not valid here but it's in Japan. Never mind, it still produces good photos and that is all I want.
Took quite a number of photos, a few during convocation time, some on Yann Er's birthday, Broga Hill, i-city, and sending a few people off in the airport. I was pretty much very enthusiastic when I started. I read the manual, searched a few websites, bought a magazine, asked a few friends. I put up quite a bit of photos on facebook, and also sent a few to some websites that offer professional advices. Well, the critics that came back was quite upsetting actually. It did to a certain degree put out my passion for photography. But well, knowing that I am noob, I will just have to learn harder. And since I've invested so much in it, I'm not going to put it to waste. I am now waiting for good opportunities to snap good photos again. =)

人际关系

2010-08-26T00:11:00.000+08:00

最近遇到了些状况吧
在处理人与人之间的关系
有时不知所措
有时无可奈何
只好保持沉默
假装笑笑说没关系吧
太假
我自己接受不到
把委屈往自己肚里吞
太对不起自己了吧
所以沉默
一直到我想到了成熟的解决方法为止吧
只能说
为某人自私的行径感到不快
为另一些人幼稚的行为感到失望
也因某些自以为是的认为感到不齿

我也没不开心吧
只不过在看
在思考
在成长

Nikon vs Canon

2010-08-11T17:31:00.000+08:00

Ever since my old Olympus digital camera died some time ago I have been searching for it's replacement. But it was ever just thoughts and no action taken. Seeing more and more fellow friends getting DSLR lately have got my heart itchy and want to get one myself too. This holiday, was a perfect time for me to do all the research I need to know about DSLR, and to choose one that will belong to me.
For camera brands I have an affection towards Olympus and Nikon, but the big heads in DSLR category are Canon and Nikon. So I did some research, had some help and explanation from Canon users and Nikon users, read reviews online, and the comparisons of the models online to help me decide which model would be a better deal. All these, plus my personal bias, has led me to get myself a Nikon D90.

However, as I finally made my decision on the model and went for a hunting mission, I discovered that this model has been swept clean from the whole Penang state, maybe even other states. I guess I'm unlucky, or perhaps I'm too slow to come to a decision, because the shopkeeper of one of the shop I visited told me that the last available D90 in Penang was sold 2 days before my visit. The arrival date of the new stock is unknown, as Nikon has stopped production of this model, so now I'm hunting for the remaining stocks in the market. Argh, I do hope I can find it, plus with a good deal, or else I'm gonna have to switch to my second choice, Canon. =(

Happy vs Unhappy

2010-08-04T02:03:00.001+08:00

I was amazed myself at how fast peaks can become valleys,
you just have to do that don't you?
you never gave it a second thought of what you destroys,
and there was nothing left unbroken.
I am broken,
and contained inside me words that cannot be spilled,
feelings that no one can understand,
but still putting on a smile to say I am ok.
I have lost faith,
but I held on to the long rope that kept me alive until today,
and I was too brave,
to keep climbing the steep hill not knowing if I can even make it to the top.

Leonardo

2010-08-03T16:30:00.000+08:00

Hanging on to the Inception fever, a friend of mine asked me to watch another movie, named 'Shutter Island'. It's another mind playing movie which came out early this year, with Leonardo DiCaprio as the main character, and you get to choose which side of story to believe in. It wasn't a bad movie but it wasn't that good either. The mind tricking part was too short and not elaborated, and the ending was just a failure because you don't know what happens next.
However, this has got me interested in this guy who famed acting in Titanic years back. So I wiki-ed him up and look for his other movies. Not surprising, he has a whole list of award winnings and award nominations with various movies. Few movies caught my attention and I decided to download them and see for myself how good the movies are.
I watched ' Catch Me if You Can' by him and Tom Hanks, directed by Steven Spielberg. Seeing these names, how can it not be a good movie? =P
Anyway, this movie is actually based on a true story of a guy currently still alive in this world, Frank Abagnale Jr.. Having his family torn apart, he sets out impersonating as a pilot, forging cheques and conned millions of dollars from banks all over the world. Tom Hanks, as the FBI agent Carl in charge of this case, followed Frank's trail. After settling in a place, Frank forged his own certificate and impersonate as a doctor, and then an attorney. However, the cops caught up with him and he was forced to escape from being caught on his wedding night. He told his fiancee to meet him at the Miami airport but a whole bunch of cops showed up. He managed to escape in the end, right passed the tight securities that the cops has set in the Miami airport impersonating as a pilot and his own air crew. Carl, now knowing Frank and understanding him so much, predicted his location and sets off to France to catch him.
Frank surrendered, then escaped from the plane only to surrender again after seeing his own mother has had another family. He was sentenced to jail for a long time, but his knowledge on cheque forgery was very much appreciated by the FBIs who then decided to let him out and work for the FBI.
It is amazing to see how skillful he is at conning everyone, how narrowly he escapes at times and how moved from one lie to another. A movie worth watching!!

And today I watched another movie of Leonardo's, called ' What's eating Gilbert Grape'. This movie starred Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio. Johnny Depp acts as the main character in the movie, Gilbert, while Leonardo is his little brother, Arnie, who has a mental condition in which he behaves like a little kid even though he's already 18. It's a story about coping with life when you have an absent father, a mother that has became a town joke due to her size, and a younger brother who has this condition. It is a touching and meaningful story but the movie is a bit slow, so perhaps some patience is needed to finish the show. And it's worth waiting, as there is a twist at the end there that would make you tear, and perhaps simply because this whole movie is meaningful.

And here's a summary I found online which I find described the movie perfectly:
What's Eating Gibert Grape is a beautifully shot movie of tenderness, caring and self-awareness that is set amongst the fictional working class one street town Endora. Centred around the Grape family Ellen and Amy and their two brothers Arnie and Gilbert, who, along with their morbidly obese widowed mother Bonnie Grape are striving to survive and coexist with the absence of a father figure, low wage work and seventeen-year-old Arnie's severe mental condition. It is in this awkward and extremely one sided affair that the unfortunate Gilbert has to constantly, while working for the town's slowly dying Convenience Store, take care of his younger brother Arnie. Gilbert's life, his future, is thwarted he know this, but it is in this Guardian Angel that his love and bond for Arnie cannot, and will not, be let go. That is until the free spirit of Becky arrives in town, and with her grandmother are stranded for the week while waiting for parts for their vehicle. This realization unties new feelings, new thoughts and new hope for the put upon Gibert, something new is eating Gilbert Grape.

Arnie and Gilbert, Leonardo DiCaprio and Johnny Depp. It was a 1993 movie, look at how young they were!! Leonardo was just a young teen!!!

知道

2010-07-28T12:27:00.000+08:00

我们的一生
用来追求无尽的学问
为的就是要知道得更多
知道得越多越好嘛
越多知识的人越被人尊重

长大的过程
我们探索周遭的事情
为的就是要了解的更多
了解事情的来龙去脉嘛
了解得越多就是越有人生经验

我想，每个人都会想知道所有事情
这样他们才会认为自己处在优势
这想法并无不对
可是有没有时候你很后悔知道事情的真相？
知道得越多，责任也就越大

知道，结果受困于框框内
知道，所以活得不快乐

知道一个人悲痛的遭遇
因为可怜，你失去了判断
知道朋友的曾经背叛
终于和好，可是心中难免有了根刺
知道社会的现实
理想虽大，也只能默默埋藏起来
知道了人心险恶
人心惶惶，凡事胡思乱想

当然，事情有两面
世界的进步，惊人的发明
全赖于知道
人类的沟通，正确的决定
归功于知道

Beauty of Penang - part 2

2010-07-26T15:11:00.000+08:00

After visiting the Cheong Fatt Tze mansion we decided to go for a cendol and ice kacang in Penang Road because the weather was so hot.

Penang's best!

After some cooling down Chern Ern wanted to go for another mansion but we couldn't locate it on the GPS, and nobody else knows where it's located so we decided to go Tropical Fruit Farm instead. Along the way to and from the Tropical Fruit Farm we stopped by quite a few pit stops. We dropped by the Hard Rock Hotel. It looks good. And I found out too that there are quite a lot of beach activities over there. Can consider to go there next time.

This is so cool!! The hotel room balcony on the ground floor opens directly to the swimming pool, so you can just jump in from your room!!

Then we went up to the Tropical Fruit Farm which was located quite far away, somewhere in the middle of balik pulau. We wet up there and discovered that the fruits they sell there are so expensive they almost double the price you get in normal market. I guess it's to con tourist money. And there's a trip to visit the fruit farm, which cost 28 ringgit per person and there will be a fruit buffet in the end where you get to eat all the fruits available. We decided however that it is not worth it and we rather spend the money on the nice balik pulau durians we saw on our way to the fruit farm. We went down to find the durian stalls but too bad for us the durians were sold out. And thus we slowly go down, discussing where to have our dinner before heading to the Bon Odori.
We passed by the Teluk Bahang dam and decided to stop for a while and take some photos.Standing there feeling the cool mountain breeze is just so relaxing.

We were debating what to eat for dinner and we settled for the famous Hainan Western food at the Mt Erskine area. Well, we had difficulty finding it at first, but thanks to Han Hong's help and Han Wei's vague memory of it we found the shop. Not bragging, the western food here is one of the best you can find, and comes with a cheap price. A grilled fish which only cost RM7, with a taste comparable with those high class restaurants which will cost you at least 20 bucks for it. It taste so good I had my second helpings, Indiana fish. Well, my friends all said the best dish they have is the chicken chop, I'll try it one day. No pictures taken though, as we were all hungry ghosts that swallowed up everything the moment the food arrives.
After the hearty meal we went for the bon odori. It's my third time being there, the first and second time I went there was during form 5 and the year after. It's kinda boring I would say, there's nothing for me to buy there, the queue for the ghost house was freaking long and people told us they had queued up for 2 hours, and this year lacked the dance along thing that I used to join in. The one part worth looking forward to was the fireworks, which lasts for about 5 minutes. My arms felt so sore holding my phone to record the show.

The city hall at night, lighted up.

Beauty of Penang - part 1

2010-07-21T18:32:00.001+08:00

One fine day again, the next day after watching the awesome Inception, we set off a trip to tour around Penang island, a one day trip. Well, the tour was originally to bring my friend's friend, who has never been to Penang island, for a one day tour around the island. But that guy, gave us a huge aeroplane, in other words, he's not coming. The trip was scheduled to start at 10a.m. and the guy messaged to say he couldn't make it at 9.35a.m. Well, since we all have woken up and sitting in the car, we decided to just go on with our original plan.

The first stop, we went to have our lunch, in this restaurant Kampar Fish Jelly restaurant to eat Yong Tau Fu and Hakka mee. Well, I chose the yam rice instead of Hakka mee because I kinda like it more, it's one of the good tasting yam rice, which comes with a cheap price, only 1.20 ringgit per bowl.
Here are some photos I stole from the google images:

The famous Hakka mee

The fried stuff in Yong Tau Fu

The other stuff in soup

After the hearty meal we went on to search for Cheong Fatt Tze mansion. I've never been to this place before myself, though I have heard much of it. It was Chern Ern's idea and we were all grateful that we went there, because it was really a magnificent piece of art.

Phone quality, so it's not that good

I'm gonna mix some pictures I stole from Google images and the photos my friend took with those I took with my phone.

Better version of the outlook

The inside of the mansion. Well I guess many people, like us, took photos of the interior of the mansion although photography inside the mansion is strictly prohibited.

And this, is Cheong Fatt Tze, the original owner of the mansion.

Inception

2010-07-20T15:13:00.000+08:00

It was one fine day that I randomly went and watch this movie with my friends without any knowledge of what this movie is about. All I know was Leonardo DiCaprio starred the movie and some people told me it was a nice movie. The first half an hour, I was totally amazed and awed at the idea, the concept of the movie, and the next 2 hours are simply mind blowing. The plot and effects, and the creativity, was just splendid. To me, Inception is definitely the movie of the year, no doubt about it. And to me, before 16th of July 2010, Avatar was the best movie I watched, but after that day, it's now a different story. Both are awesome movies, but I would say the creativity in Inception's plot is hundred times better than Avatar.

Plot summary:
Dom Cobb is a skilled thief, the absolute best in the dangerous art of extraction, stealing valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious during the dream state, when the mind is at its most vulnerable. Cobb's rare ability has made him a coveted player in this treacherous new world of corporate espionage, but it has also made him an international fugitive and cost him everything he has ever loved. Now Cobb is being offered a chance at redemption. One last job could give him his life back but only if he can accomplish the impossible-inception. Instead of the perfect heist, Cobb and his team of specialists have to pull off the reverse: their task is not to steal an idea but to plant one. If they succeed, it could be the perfect crime. But no amount of careful planning or expertise can prepare the team for the dangerous enemy that seems to predict their every move. An enemy that only Cobb could have seen coming.

艋舺

2010-07-15T14:04:00.000+08:00

我知道这是一部上映了蛮久的戏，可是昨晚才有机会见识到这套戏的魅力。艋舺是由鈕承澤導演、李烈監製的一部台灣電影，大致描述1980年代臺北市「艋舺」地區黑幫兄弟與慘綠少年們的愛恨情仇，參與演員包括鈕承澤本人，阮經天、趙又廷、鳳小岳、蔡昌憲、黃鐙輝、柯佳嬿、馬如龍、王識賢、陳漢典、林秀玲、邢峰等。

剧情简介：
蚊子轉進這家三流高職的第一天，午餐飯盒裡他最愛的那隻雞腿就被狗仔孩搶走了，蚊子不知哪來的勇氣，搶回了那根雞腿，一場從校門口到河堤的追逐戰就此展開。太子幫四人看到蚊子有如泥鰍般閃躲遁逃的身手，大樂，決定收他入幫。

隔天志龍領軍找來蚊子，在學校頂樓，將追打他的狗仔孩和體育班鐵人們獻祭給蚊子，讓他報仇個爽。“今天你不弄死他們，有一天你就會被他們弄死！”在和尚那句堅定的話裡，臉上掛彩腫著一隻黑眼的蚊子，朝著其中一名鐵人奮力揮出生平第一枚主動攻擊的拳。接著，他加入太子幫，踏入黑道。

和尚講述艋舺歷史，教育蚊子，蚊子如同踏進大觀園，視野開展，世界遼闊。和尚送他回家，丟給他一個在黑暗中會發光的溜溜球，他胸口突然變得暖暖的，原來這種感覺就叫友情。“意義是三小？我只聽過義氣，沒聽過意義啦！”白猴的話超酷，簡直是無敵真理。這一切，都像迷幻藥，令蚊子上癮。

而小凝，是另一件令他上癮的事物。小凝是美與醜的綜合體，她的左臉美如天使，可右臉被一個巴掌大的綠色胎記盤據著。他問小凝“你為什麼要做妓女？”小凝不甘示弱回他“你為什麼要做兄弟？”隔壁傳來令人尷尬的打炮聲，他只好拿出隨身聽來，和小凝一副耳機，共聽一首曲。那天之後，小凝這就成了他的僻護所，他常常都想來，來看這個小學同學，那個有胎記的小女孩，他不會記錯。

在每天打打殺殺有仇必報的過程中，太子幫五人犯下了無法彌補的滔天大錯，和尚有種，頂下這一切，因此被志龍的父親（廟口老大Geta）打得只剩半條命。和尚傷癒後，Geta送五人上山習武，是懲罰，也是鍛鍊，要他們理解出來打拼是靠拳頭，決不能碰槍枝，這個來自西方的邪惡。

下山的那天，在溫泉餐廳的晚宴中，蚊子意外遇見了來與艋舺老大們談合作計畫的外省掛青壯派幫主灰狼，他母親的舊情人。而和尚察覺了蚊子的不對勁，以及席間的暗潮洶湧。

Geta 拒絕與外省掛合作，引起艋舺另一角頭後壁厝成員文謙的不滿，文謙勸說灰狼，這局要成，一定要廟口加入，否則無法擺平由廟口為首的其他十幾個角頭。艋舺的第一聲槍響，後壁厝老大masa死了，整個艋舺黑道因此產生劇烈搖晃，太子幫五人的友誼也是，他們捲入大人世界的陰謀浪濤中，不知命運會帶他們去哪裡。

艋舺，monga，原為平埔族語，意指小船。

最近台湾电影，偶像剧都很出色，很有水准。看了这部电影真的直呼过瘾！电影中友情，义气，江湖争斗，发挥得淋漓尽致，而且还有搞笑，爱情，色青，哈哈真的包罗万象！对女生来说，还有帅哥看，多好！哈哈

总的来说，这是一部不容错过的好戏！

ANU

2010-07-15T13:51:00.000+08:00

Matching result was out today, for BmedSc, and I got the university I wanted, ANU, Australian National University. Well, I was happy, though not as excited as others thought I might be. Perhaps anticipation really did kill the excitement. Anyway, I am still very happy to get what I wanted, now is just working hard so that I can get transferred to ANU smoothly in 2012.

My first...

2010-07-14T00:07:00.000+08:00

First time having my tooth removed, wisdom tooth. Kinda scary at first, but really without realizing my tooth was already out! And my dentist was a super talkative one, perhaps that has diverted my attention away from the fact that my tooth was being removed.

And here's my history of presenting illness. One year ago I had toothache on the right side, at the back, so I figured it was wisdom tooth and I went to the dentist. The dentist told me the wisdom tooth couldn't come out and hence pushing my molar in front sideways, causing it to rub on my mucosa every time I chew, hence causing the ulcer, inflammation, pain etc. He then smoothen the sharp surface of the tooth that is pointing towards my mucosa. The symptoms then resolved.

A year later, which was about 2 months ago, I had toothache again, this time on the left, at the back. So I went to see dentist again, another one this time as the previous one was not open. And without another word this doctor had me done an X-ray. X-ray shows that all 4 of my wisdom teeth are there, the 2 upper ones on each side are out, both pointing out, the right wisdom tooth was dealt with last time and now the left side is causing the problem. The 2 lower ones, however, is much more complicated, they were embedded inside, and they're grown, horizontally, like really 90 degrees horizontal. So surgery need to be done to get them out.

So then I was back in my hometown I went to see another doctor, and she so insist on not doing X-ray for me, I guess it's really just different doctors or dentists have different views. Well, I asked for removal of one side both up and down but she recommended me to go Adventist Dental clinic to get the surgery done, probably because she couldn't. And she insisted on removing the tooth one by one, instead of up and down together because she say it'd be unbearable. I don't know whether she just want to earn a couple more bucks or it's real but I took in her advice and had her removed my right upper wisdom tooth. It was a fast process as what she did was just pulling it out, but the process involved lots of talking by her, some gag reflex complications and lots of mouth rinsing and spitting lol. It wasn't much of a pain and it didn't hurt after the extraction, just some weird empty feeling over there, and yes the food got stuck in that hole every single time lol. It was expensive though, 85 bucks for consultation and removal, when KL offered me only 60 for removal of the upper one.

1 down, 3 more to go, dreading the surgical ones.

Flash Forward

2010-07-11T16:41:00.001+08:00

A new series I saw on TV in a coincidental event, and I was watching the second episode without myself realizing it was, I wasn't even sure of the name of the show, but it captivated me. Well, most sci-fi series/movies would, but not all of them are good. Flash Forward however, drove me into watching one episode after another. Well, actually I would say the storyline becomes a little bit confusing and slightly going down the slope, but it's still a good one, worth watching, and a good entertainment.

Synopsis:
A mysterious event causes nearly everyone on the planet to simultaneously lose consciousness for 137 seconds, during which people see what appear to be visions of their lives approximately six months in the future—a global “flashforward”. A team of Los Angeles FBI agents, led by Stanford Wedeck (Vance) and spearheaded by Mark Benford (Fiennes) and his partner Demetri Noh (Cho), begin the process of determining what happened, why, and whether it will happen again. Benford contributes a unique perspective on the investigation; in his flashforward, he saw the results of six months of investigation that he had done on the flashforward event, and he and his team use those clues to recreate the investigation.

The team investigates a number of events related to the flashforward, including "Suspect Zero", who did not lose consciousness during the event because of a Quantum entanglement device (QED), the sinister "D. Gibbons/Dyson Frost", and a similar mass loss of consciousness in Somalia in 1991. Meanwhile, personal revelations contained within the flashforwards occupy the personal lives of the principal characters. Mark Benford sees himself relapsing into alcoholism; his wife sees herself with another man; Demetri Noh sees nothing, which could mean that he will not be alive to see the day everyone else has glimpsed or, perhaps, that his future wasn't set on the day of the flashforward. Other characters grapple with similarly unexpected or surprising revelations in their flashforwards.

Well, I also found out that this series came from a novel with the same title written by a Canadian sci-fi writer Robert J. Sawyer. Now I'm gonna hunt down this book.
It's a pity there's no second season to this series, it'd be great if they continue filming it.

Sinking In

2010-06-12T10:32:00.000+08:00

Sinking in to the feeling of loss
A day started with a gain in bonding, but end in loss of solid memories
A day started with peaks of emotions, but end with valleys of sorrow
Why, preaching through the safety and stolen our memories
The things that are precious to us
And why, take away the comfort and security that we used to have

Fuck you, whoever you are!

Random

2010-05-28T21:03:00.002+08:00

I feel so calm now. There are no worries or excitement. I dont know how to express my feeling right now, so I really need someone to help me to describe it. I feel Ying Xin is weird because she is playing bejeweled while listening to "AI NI" , cute song by Cindy Wong, really very sweat!

Night Walking

2010-05-21T01:12:00.004+08:00

Traveling down a road
Night was late
Street was empty
Quiet dominated the whole atmosphere
It was cold out there
Rain drizzling
Water dripped in front the eyes
Water wet the feet and the ground
Fragments of a song came into mind
‘你怎么舍得我难过，
为你付出了这么多，
你却没有感动过’

The rain stopped
The street came to a junction
Where should I go next?
What song will it be playing?
The functions I carry here is no longer useful
It is replaced by someone else trying to catch up
what role do I play if I stood on?

心情

2010-05-15T22:03:00.000+08:00

付出得最多的，结果得到最少
开敞心房的真实，结果被当成了靶一枪枪地射
伤痕累累，却挂着一丝苦笑撑下去

A touching short clip about Dementia

2010-05-14T11:57:00.006+08:00

This short clip gave me a sudden inspiration to take on neurology next time =)

寞

2010-05-12T00:16:00.000+08:00

人海茫茫
唯我独怅
欢笑声浪
为我加霜
众志高昂
唯我独忘
无能无望
何以得赏

今日金言

2010-05-09T23:56:00.000+08:00

爱情使人忘记时间，时间也使人忘记爱情

这是今天一个好朋友说的，谢谢你

疤

2010-05-02T17:44:00.000+08:00

长大了
做事说话都要三思而行
不能总是做错了事再后悔
打破了玻璃就换过一个吧
割伤了人疤痕就永远都在
疤痕结合需要时间也需要细心的照顾
不能随时把药膏布拆掉
疤痕再次被撕裂是很痛的
结合需要更长的时间
而且疤痕将会更大更丑

今天我胸口上刚结合的伤疤再次的被撕开
被撕开的痛让我全身瘫痪
我真的无能为力
你干嘛要这样对我？

发泄

2010-04-19T00:27:00.000+08:00

发泄的管道
有暴力的
丢打骂
也有不暴力的
听歌看戏诉说
压力时期
每个人各自寻找发泄的管道
安慰了一个，两个，三个
却谁听吾诉说？

Updates

2010-03-27T20:40:00.000+08:00

Just some random updates about myself. My health has been down with red light since last Friday, luckily it's in the process of recovering now. I was down at first with fever, but as the fever regress I developed tachycardia, water retention and extreme fatigue. As I tried to eat everything tasted bitter, my worst days. Luckily all these are going to be over soon, though I still have impaired appetite, and I realize food doesn't taste as good as it normally was. =(

Sem 5

2010-03-07T19:13:00.001+08:00

My long forgotten blog, well not forgotten to be exact but lack of time and inspiration of what to write, and lazy as the primary reason, I am back.
Sem 5 started as community medicine commenced 2 weeks ago, but it still doesn't feel like school started but rather still in the holiday mood. Tomorrow MSK system will be commencing, and looking at the academic calendar last night has finally let some stress sink in, the number of weeks left until EOS 5 is just nice for me to do one system in a week, which for a slow person like me, is pretty hard.
I have wasted really a lot of time before this doing nothing, time to buck up now, and study hard!! I still wanna go to my PMS!!

Jilin 吉林 - Part 3

2010-01-16T13:40:00.001+08:00

The next day we went to visit 孔子庙. It's a temple to put the names of those from this town that went for the national exam in the Qing dynasty and become 状元, the number one of the national test which is organized every 3 years.

The morning view of Jilin from the bus. It's actually an industrial city, not much of characteristics of ancient China left. A city modernized too fast that it has lost it's own features.

The entrance of 孔子庙

I just like snow views

Beautiful...ain't it?

Gate of the temple

Statue of 孔子 with the entrance hall

The government obviously not doing a great job preserving the temple

And these are the 状元 from this city, the pride of town in olden times

The process you have to go through to become a 状元

There are certs too that time

This is the hall for the national exam in the palace in Qing dynasty

The place the students stay during exam, worse than prison. At least in prison you've got space to move about.

The study table for the student, such a small room, I guess it can make you go crazy when you are stressed.

One of the cheats the students did last time, writing so tiny on the inside of their shirt.

Again, beautiful snow view

The main hall of the temple, in which the statue of 孔子 stood for people to pray

The inside of the hall

The statue of 孔子, covered by curtains from my angle, as I'm not supposed to take picture of god's statues that people pray at. It's Chinese belief.

Haha the Chinese word there written no photographs allowed =P

The hall is called 大成殿

Ancient China buildings are awesome!!

Another beautiful snow view

Change a bit of angle, still nice

Increase the angle summore, now without the modern building at the side to spoil the view

Looks good when things are covered with snow

Statue of 孔子 on the outside

Jilin 吉林 - Part 2

2010-01-15T11:37:00.001+08:00

After lunch we went to this ski park. My first time trying ski, it's so fun!! And mind you, I only fell once!! Haha but I was at the learner's area all the time, didn't dare to go to the high speed zone yet =P Shall try high speed zone if there's a next time!!

The ski centre

This is another game they provide there, you go up there, sit on a float and they push you down!! And the sliding down part is not less exciting than a roller coaster ride!! And it's really cool as you really feel the chill of the wind when sliding down, with bits of snow splashing onto your face too!!

People dragging their floats

Can you see how thick the snow is?

Since the lake froze, it becomes a natural ice-skating field

Information about the ski area

Going down here is the high speed zone for skiing

The high speed zone, see the building up there? You go up there from here dragged by the machine, then from up there you ski down!! It's really fast mind you, and I saw people who can't stop in time and fell, and people who fell halfway and they rolled down!!

This is the learner's area, I guess the slope is only 10-15 degrees here, you can still slide down, but very slowly

My family

My sis and I

It's only 5pm and it's so dark already. The building on top with lights on, looks darn beautiful, but my camera couldn't capture a nice picture of it.

And this, is really amazing. It's like the building was illuminated by the moonlight from above. Again my camera couldn't capture it nicely, I tried like 10 times and this is the best i got.

A night view. Beautiful eh?

Jilin 吉林 - Part 1

2010-01-14T16:51:00.000+08:00

After the one whole tiring day in Harbin, we took bus to another city called Jilin 吉林. The bus journey took about 4 hours roughly. One unforgettable part about this is the public toilets that we had to use. It's freezing out there, but the toilet is outside, with no roof, 4 walls chest high and it's just a hole dug in the middle. It's smelly, disgusting, and freezing. When you pee, there are actually steams rising from it. =P
Well, when we reached Jilin, it was noon already, so we were brought to this restaurant to eat 满汉全席 ( I don't now how to translate it in English).

This is the restaurant

An introduction on the outside

The appetizer 冷盘

I like the fried dried shrimps there

Deer meat 梅花鹿肉

The corn is surprisingly good, well it taste somewhat different from the ones we get in Malaysia

So many dishes they stack up 2 storeys high

So whats so special about this meal? What we ate is only one small part of the whole big thing. We had about 20 dishes. In the proper meal, it consist of 108 dishes!! Well, it was what the emperor have for his meals in Qing dynasty.

Here's a description in Chinese:

满汉全席菜点精美，礼仪讲究，形成了引人注目的独特风格。入席前，先上二对香，茶水和手碟；台面上有四鲜果、四干果、四看果和四蜜饯；入席后先上冷盘然后热炒菜、大菜，甜菜依次上桌。满汉全席，分为六宴，均以清宫著名大宴命名。汇集满汉众多名馔，择取时鲜海味，搜寻山珍异兽。全席计有冷荤热肴一百九十六品，点心茶食一百二十四品，计肴馔三百二十品。合用全套粉彩万寿餐具，配以银器，富贵华丽，用餐环境古雅庄重。席间专请名师奏古乐伴宴，沿典雅遗风，礼仪严谨庄重，承传统美德，侍膳奉敬校宫廷之周，令客人留连忘返。全席食毕，可使您领略中华烹饪之博精，饮食文化之渊源，尽享万物之灵之至尊。

满汉全席以北京、山东、江浙菜为主。后来闽粤等地的菜肴也依次出现在巨型宴席之上。南菜54道：30道江浙菜，12道福建菜，12道广东菜。北菜54道：12道满族菜，12道北京菜，30道山东菜。可惜的是当时川菜尚未流行。如果加入川菜，满汉全席将锦上添花。

And here's the menu:

第一宴席	第二宴席	第三宴席	第四宴席	第五宴席	第六宴席
白扒四宝	八宝膳粥	白梨凤脯	百寿桃	百鸟还巢	拌银耳
仿膳饽饽	炒黄瓜酱	白银如意	长春羹	拌鱼肚	棒渣膳粥
凤凰趴窝	炒榛子酱	百子冬瓜	二龙戏珠	鲍王闹府	叉烧猪肉
凤凰展翅	翠玉豆糕	冰花雪莲	翡翠银耳	豆沙糕	炒豌豆酱
凤尾群翅	豆沙卷	参婆千子	芙蓉鹿尾	豆沙凉糕	蛋挞
芙蓉大虾	二龙戏珠	翠柳凤丝	干煸牛肉丝	凤脯珍珠	翡翠鱼丁
宫保兔肉	发菜黄花	翡翠玉扇	怪味鸡片	凤凰出世	芙蓉糕
桂花干贝	凤穿金衣	凤凰鱼肚	黑米膳粥	凤戏牡丹	芙蓉鱼角
虎皮兔肉	核桃酪	佛手广肚	红烧鹿筋	凤眼秋波	宫保鹌鹑
鸡沾口蘑	琥珀鸽蛋	佛手金卷	蝴蝶海参	干烧冬笋	桂花鱼条
金糕	滑溜鹌鹑	芙蓉鱼骨	鸡油香菇	桂花海蜇	胡萝卜酱
金钱吐丝	金糕卷	宫廷排翅	金屋藏娇	荷塘莲香	怀胎桂鱼
金丝烧麦	菊花里脊	海红鱼翅	金银鸽肉	红豆膳粥	火炼金身
金鱼鸭掌	烤羊腿	荷包蟹肉	口蘑鹿肉	红烧鱼骨	芥末鸭膀
咖喱菜花	侉炖羊肉	荷花酥	莲花卷	花篮白菜	金钱香菇
栗子糕	兰花豆干	红烧鱼唇	罗汉大虾	豢蝶大虾	金镶玉板
莲子膳粥	鲤跃龙门	黄袍加身	麦穗虾卷	黄金解	晶玉海棠
琉璃珠玑	龙井金鱼	姜汁扁豆	琵琶大虾	鸡丝荡面	桔子盏
龙凤柔情	龙衔海棠	金钱鱼肚	茸鸡待哺	金蟾拜月	龙凤呈祥
龙井竹荪	萝卜桂鱼	金鱼角	三色糕	金鸡独立	梅竹山石
麻辣牛肉	炝黄瓜衣	葵花麻鱼	三鲜鸭舌	金狮绣球	蜜汁山药
炝玉龙片	清炸鹌鹑	莲子糕	双色马蹄糕	龙凤双锤	藕丝羹
肉末烧饼	秋菊傲霜	明珠豆腐	随滑飞龙	奶油菠萝冻	清蒸鹌鹑
三鲜瑶柱	如意卷	母子相会	糖醋荷藕	清炒鳝丝	群虾戏荷
酥卷佛手	如意竹荪	千层糕	芜爆山鸡	如意乌龙	三丝驼峰
糖醋鱼卷	双色豆糕	日月生辉	芜爆鲜贝	烧瓤菜花	沙舟踏翠
桃仁鸡丁	四喜饺	松鹤延年	喜鹊登枝	酥页层层	松树猴头
网油鱼卷	太极发财燕	豌豆黄	杏仁豆腐	万年长青	棠花吐蕊
香桃鸽蛋	檀扇鸭掌	五丝菜卷	燕尾桃花	卧龙戏珠	五丝洋粉
熊猫品竹	熊猫蟹肉	仙鹤鲍鱼	鹦鹉莴笋	绣球蛋糕	香爆螺盏
鸭丝掐菜	绣球全鱼	香露苹果	油攒大虾	一品官燕	象眼鸽蛋
燕窝四字菜	雪月羊肉	小豆糕	御龙火锅	玉板翠带	雪里藏珍
油焖鲜蘑	雨后春笋	燕影金蔬	鸳鸯酥盒	鸳鸯哺乳	玉盏龙眼
御扇豆黄	玉掌献寿	薏米膳继	芝麻锅炸	云片鸽蛋	鸳鸯鱼枣
炸鸡葫芦	云河段霄	玉兔白菜	抓炒大虾	芸豆金鱼	芸豆卷
芝麻卷	春卷	枣泥糕		珍珠雪耳	抓炒里脊
抓炒鱼片

Amazing eh?