I've always been amazed and fascinated by the myriad of interesting and strange things that we can find in the world. All my life, I've always been attracted to anything that's about the paranormal, supernatural, world mysteries, strange human conditions...basically anything that's out of the norm.

Almost everytime we're given an opportunity to present anything we want in class, I would pick something from these. Like back in high school I gave an oral presentation on the Bermuda Triangle and recently for my CCS presentation about the strange and weird conditions of some human beings.

I don't know but at times I feel frustrated at people for not appreciating such amazing and fascinating occurences around us. Their ignorance. Like they'd rather not know these things. I mean, we all live on the same planet. Wouldn't it be interesting to know about the remotest parts of the world? Or what lies in the deepest parts of the deepest oceans? Or what extinct animals look like?

Last week I got this book out of the public library that's about this girl who sees numbers, words and sounds in various colors and shapes. The characters and story is fictional, but the condition is a fact. It's actually a neurological condition called synesthesia. Generally, people with synesthesia have specific colors for numbers, words or sounds. Some even experience a certain taste in their mouths at the sound of something. But it varies from individuals.

Before this, I have no idea at all that such condition exist. I'm just so amazed by it. Wouldn't life be so much more colorful and fun to have colors or tastes associated with someone's name or voice? The good thing about synesthesia is that it is harmless. It does not cause the people with it to have any negative effects.

People with synesthesia see numbers and alphabets like this:

Isn't this just so fascinating???

Anyway, if you're interested to read the book, the title is "A Mango-Shaped Space" by Wendy Mass. I got it from the Kuala Lumpur Library around Dataran Merdeka.

P.S. Pictures of my recent Langkawi trip can be found here:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=92932&id=543104925

Finally, the much awaited break

Phew. I've officially completed my very first semester being a degree student. And honestly, it isn't the same as high school nor foundation. It is tough, especially since my course is entirely assignment-based (I have no exams). A lot of research and reading is usually needed to complete an assignment. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. I actually sort of like it because I actually learn a lot more that way. I don't really fancy exams because most of the times what we do is memorize all the facts and forget about it right after the exam.

But anyway, I'm finally done with the first semester and am on my 1 month break. It's weird though, I still feel like I have something to do. I guess I'm still on the "high" of assignments. Lol.

Hmm okay...I'm not feeling very inspired nor creative today. Not gonna blog any further.

Toodles! Happy holidays to my coursemates. =)

Shipwrecked

Okay maybe I'm not totally shipwrecked but heck yeah I've been through some hell this week. In short, it was a blur and rush of events. It all happened in one week. There was the group drama performance, some desktop recorded videos, a video presentation and the worst - an essay written in the PR perspective. I don't even know what's a PR perspective like. Ugh.

But to my amaze (and everyone's), we all got through it. The experience actually feels surreal. For once, I actually forgot about myself and my normal daily activities. All I had on mind was to memorize the script, finish shooting the video and research as much as possible to finish the essay. And oh, the essay. One of the worst every nightmares I had to go through. It's so stupid that I can't believe I did it.

It happened like this:

1. Finished about 10 pages of the assignment.

2. Tried to create a table of contents using the new MS Word 2007.

3. Somehow everytime I tried, all the pages after the TOC got deleted.

4. So I thought, "Okay, better save my progress in case of emergencies."

5. Clicked Save.

6. Suddenly realised I saved it when all the pages after TOC have been deleted.

7. Dead meat.

So after frantically searching the Internet for files recovery programs and finding out that even with the recovered file MS Word can't open it (only gibberish comes out), I had no choice but to redo my entire assignment! Well I actually did sent a rough draft to my email a few days before, it only had 1 page done and the others in point form, but heck it's better than nothing.

In the end, I spent the rest of the entire night (3.00AM onwards) re-writing the whole thing. And yup, I did not sleep. At all. I finished at 6.00AM and since class started at 8.00AM, it was pretty much pointless to try to catch some sleep.

I was actually surprised that I would do such a stupid mistake. I mean I always thought such things were restricted to more....careless people. But now I've learnt my lesson. A very, very hard lesson.

Always, always, ALWAYS, make backup copies and save the file in multiple destinations, be it thumbdrives, external hard disks, online storage...whatever.

Ugh. I wince every time I think about it.

I'm thinking it's gonna turn into some sort form of paranoia. =/

Woot!

Wow, I actually feel awesome about myself today. =D

I made, BAKED, a batch of soy (or soya) milk muffins!

I don't know or how I got this sudden urge to bake but it started with me being alone at home tonight and I was wondering what should I do. So I thought of going out for dinner with a friend, but I realised I wasn't that hungry. Hence, I suddenly thought of baking.

But soy milk muffins, you ask?

Well, recently I developed this likingness (or addiction) towards a particular brand of soy milk. VSoy. Omg, those who has never tried it, please do! It tastes almost like milk! Mmmm mmmm.

Then I searched the Internet for any recipe that constitutes of soy milk and I found the soy milk muffins recipe. It looked simple enough but it turns out that it looked that simple because it was actually lacking some ingredients. I was halfway stirring the highly viscous batter when I realised that there were no eggs or butter listed as an ingredient in the recipe. So I put on my chef's hat (hehe) and improvised it.

And voila! It turned out pretty well. My dad actually said maybe I should have gone for hospitality instead. It tasted pretty healthy as well and it's cheap to make them! Weee! Maybe I'll suggest it to my club to sell it during our fundraising event. =)

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You know what I realised today?

I realised that if at the right moments you decide to just give others a chance to say something, it can actually result in something even better.

2.09AM

Ah, what is it about men's shirt (especially if he's yours) that feels so comfortable. The way how it just hangs loosely around your mid-thighs, being just the right length. There's this warm coziness that fills the space between your body and the shirt and it just feels so darn comfy that you want to wear it all day. Mmm.

* * *

On a side note, I am craving for Hawthorne Height's recent album, Fragile Future. I downloaded it last week and devoted several hours during the weekend going through it. And damn, I can say this one will stay as one of my top favourites.

Here's one of my favourite tracks off Fragile Future.

So I'm currently waiting for it finish downloading (again). I know it's redundant but I tend to do this alot. You know, with me sometimes being rather mentally pre-occupied, I'd forget to transfer newly downloaded files. Like how I forgot to transfer some important files I needed for my CCS assignment (which took me about an hour to download). But never mind, I spent another hour downloading it just now. Ha ha.

Hmm it seems as though I'm beginning to blog rather often now, no? Strange. But not necessarily a bad thing though. Doesn't keep me away from writing for too long a period.

* * *

I'm hungry. Didn't really have much of a dinner except for that garlic bread I bought from my workplace. Maybe I should get something to eat while waiting for Fragile Future to finish. ETA 10 minutes.

Yep. I think I will. An apple maybe. Healthier, no?

You wanna know what I feel most embarassed about myself? There are actually quite a few things but one of which I really, really, really detest is how easily I sweat. I'm seriously jealous of people who can experience heat without totally drenching themselves. Honestly, I break out in a sweat within a slightest increase in the temperature. Also not to mention when I'm nervous or in a hurry. Ugh, those are the worst. Imagine after getting showered, you immediately start sweating again because you're in a rush to somewhere. Ugh, ugh, ugh.

And then there's the full blown blush I get when I consume alcohol. Even before I finish 1 glass, I turn red. Not that I get wasted that fast, but it's always been like that. I read somewhere it's because my body cannot properly digest the alcohol or something. And it happens quite a lot to Asians. But I don't know, doesn't seem to happen that way to my friends? =/

Sigh. Ah well. I could go on forever rambling on all sorts of dissatisfactions I feel about myself. I know nobody's perfect, but why do I have to get stuck with 2 of the most embarassing flaws? Especially since I'm a girl. Ugh. I've already started sweating sitting here. Blasted weather.

Drinking Bees Essence

So as some of you might know, I have recently started my own online boutique! Woohoo! Please do check it out at http://chic-vigilante.blogspot.com. I've got lotsa unique pieces there and I'll be updating in these few days. So watch out!

Anyway, I fell sick a couple of days ago. Got the sniffles and sore throat. My mom thought I should see the doctor to confirm that it's not the piggy flu...and guess what, it wasn't. Yay, i guess?

And then my mom made me drink some sort of herbal soups and something called calamansi juice. But the worst was...the bees drink my mom made me. Yes I drank bees essence! Ugh. The drink was boiled with bees and some sort of salt.

At first when I saw these floating black thingys in the liquid, I thought it was those herbal flowers so I took a sip. I was expecting it to taste sweet but it was salty...and smelled sweet. Kinda like salted honey. So I asked my mom what it was...and she said it was bees. Only then I realised those "flowers" were actually gigantic bees!

Eeewwwwwww. *pukes*

I ran down to my dad and tried to make him persuade my mom not to let me drink. But he too said it was good for me. :( Sigh. So yes I drank bees. I can't believe it. 

Ughhh.

It's Weird

Hello there. I'm in the mid of my mid semester break. It's Sunday today and I woke up at 2pm. Niceee. ;) 

It feels weird today. Not anything physical or tangible. Just some weirdness about the day. Doesn't feel "normal." But it's not a bad weird either. Just odd.

I have this strange urge to head out somewhere today. Just go somewhere. Anywhere. I've asked my friend, but she's a bit tied up today. I even thought of driving over to his place to catch him for a few hours before he wakes up and leaves for work. But ah well, doubt my dad would be approving of it if he finds out. Sigh... "..I miss waking up next to you. (>.<)"

Hmm but another thought comes to mind now. Maybe I should go to the library. There's something about the library that is so calming and peaceful that always attracts me. I love the atmosphere, the smell of yellowed books, the pin drop silence...and basically anything to do with the library and its people... except for the blasted freezing cold air-conditioning. But still it feels like a great place to be in.

But if I should want to go there, I will have to wake my dad up from his nap to ask him. I did try just now, by prodding his arm a little, led to no avail. Maybe I should try harder, as literally poke him harder. Lol. This is such a weird post. It feels like I'm just typing out my thoughts as they come to me. Haha. Okay I'll go down and poke my dad again.

------

Ah okay. I didn't poke or prod him. He woke up on his own. And yes he said I could go alone. So goodbye, I shall go to the library now.

My new haircut and hair color. You can't really see it from the pic. But it's called iridescent light brown. =)

Welcoming The New

(Note: I actually started this post more than a month ago but didn't finish it then.)

So yup, like the title suggests, I'm about embark on a short literary journey on embracing and welcoming the new. What this means is not only little things like the newest hairstyle or the newest music genre but rather the bigger, more crucial picture. Like for instance, accepting new ideologies. For many people especially those belonging in the older generation and conservative culture, accepting today's new way of thinking, ideas, opinions, lifestyle may seem absurd.

Hmm I actually got the thought of writing this when I heard my friend's, Kenneth, speech for a public speaking competition and also because of what happened in the first class of my degree programme. Kenneth's speech was basically about how many of us Malaysians still maintain a drab and backward mentality where anything of the new is seen as utterly absurd and taboo. We can't seem to appreciate novelty and apprehend just about anyone who is daring enough to step over the long-drawn line. 

We are known to thrive upon familiarity and tradition while turning our backs against the new and unfamiliar. I suppose this can be good and bad. How can this be good, you ask? Well okay, maybe not necessarily "good" but it keeps us away from deteriorating as a society. Today I learned a new word- chav. It's a term used on young people in the UK. Chavs are typically white aggressive teens who dress up in immitation branded sports or casual clothing. It is generally comparable to America's "white trash." 

Chavs only came about during the 2000s, which is very recent. Chavs are thought be some cultural evolution of some previous youth subculture like skinheads or mods. 

Anyway, back to what I mentioned earlier about the tendency of us Asians to sidestep the new yet it can be somewhat a "good" thing. The example is as above. The people of the UK and especially the US is widely known to have a very "open" mindset. Underage alcoholism, teen pregnancy and delinquency in the US and UK is not unheard of but rather common. I suppose this is due to the very free and open culture they live in.

So yes, we Asians are still not there yet but...I think we're catching up soon. Anyhow there are some things that we Asians should learn to embrace. Like the example Kenneth gave in his speech, our methods and ideas for advertising. For decades and decades, we have seen the same ideas and concepts repeated over and over again. Are we that stubborn in our ways that we perceive creativity and novelty as inappropriate? Perhaps we are afraid of what may come in the future, that too much of the new might corrupt the minds of the younger ones. But what with globalization, I have a feeling that the efforts of our elders will be futile. Although small but there are evident advancements in our Asian society, people are becoming more daring in voicing out and expressing their ideas. We are stepping out of our comfort zone to explore the new and make something of it. But at the same time, we cannot deny that times are getting bad these days. The worst side of human beings are surfacing everyday. Perhaps it's a plus minus thing, where with the good comes the bad.

I don't know...we will know soon eh? 

[Alright, I'm running out of things to say already. So I'm gonna leave it at that. Til' the next post then.]

I Wish...

What's happening to me? Where has it all gone to?

Where was I? How did I get here?

Why so?

Sigh.

I wish I never lost it. The yearning...and the enthusiaism.

I need inspiration. Desperately. Or...I'm gonna hate what's gonna happen.