Example #1: Revenge of the Parents...

Image credit : Washington Post

Kids, ye bewarned...
Never, ever leave your Facebook/Friendster/MySpace/Youtube account unlocked and in plain view...
...*winks*...

Have I ever mentioned...Zit comics are completely classic??...hahahaha....
Thank God my parents ain't that cruel...
*fingers crossed*

A confession...finally...

Just a short post before heading to the gym...

This post came to my attention yesterday night...and I nearly fell out of my chair reading it...

'TEACHERS GOING MAD TEACHING SUBJECTS IN ENGLISH, SAYS REP'
- theStar newspaper

Excuse me, but at this moment, while our teachers are 'going mad', I am sure the parents of the future generation are already mad, so are our students...and I stand next in line...

Before I continue, do let me state clearly, that I am aware that I do have errors aplenty when it comes to usage of English grammar and wat-nots...To be completely honest, I never learned grammar back in school...I have no clue as to how adjective works, how verbs and nouns co-join to form a beautiful sentence, what are the difference between conjunctions and prepositions, etc...

I learned English through a lot of reading in the past...haha...I still remember, that as a child, while being potty-trained, my dad would stack up books after books for me to read...I ended up sitting in the freakin' potty for 3 hours!!...had a nice red circle mark on my bottom, and couldn't move for a while after that...lack of blood circulating my butt...*grin*...

So excuse me for all grammatical errors in my posts...but coming back to this issue...

How in the world, did teachers without a decent command of English, get hired to teach English subjects in the first place??...(I bet its just to fill the quota system...)

This really brings out the worse in me...why would our government be willing to gamble with our children's future, by offering this people jobs of this sort?...I feel as if we are bringing our future back to pre-historic years (excuse my extremism)...instead of bringing them a foot forward...tying a slab of concrete on the students' leg, pushing them of the boat and into the sea...waving goodbye while watching them sink...

It saddens me to see that it has become an accepted trend nowadays...for people to join the teaching profession...not out of passion...but due to lack of choice...some who is looking for an easy way out...some looking for a stable salary cum benefits from the government...

Teacher who were once seen as a beacon of light...deserving respect of the highest order...have dropped so many levels, thanks to uncommitted people of sorts...There are undeniably, many gems among the rocks...but they are now a rare find...and difficult to come across...

This is definitely a mortification and chagrin of our Malaysian Education system...to want to abolish teaching subjects in English, just because many of our teachers are unable to be proficient in English...and "it does not bring any success, thus its a loss for Malays"...some have even lowered the minimum passing mark of the subject, "to ensure a rosy picture is painted of the move"...*sigh*...the very words of our politicians...such mentality...

Oh, damn...I just got sparked off again...in times like these, I feel that no words came describe my feelings than a license to curse...why the h*ll would we want to look good in statistics...when the truth is, we all suck??!!...does it secure us a prominent career in future??...will it gain us the respect that we so hunger?...will our self-confidence be boosted up or torn down??...what the teachers and the government care about, are the good images on the outside...but I bet they have never given much thought about the substances on the inside...what quality of education are we providing our future generation??...

These scumbags of a government...still hiding behind a beautiful, yet worned out picture...those cowards...It really feels as if they have not matured and nor gone through puberty at all...I would understand if little children were to sweep issues underneath the carpet, to avoid being scolded by papa...but the people whom we trust to run the country, has got chicken guts to admit that somewhere in their education...something went wrong...is downright shameful...

I have to head for the gym now...with the fire fuming within me (not for the right reasons, though), its going to be a good workout for sure...

The Little Shop of Horror...

"TELL ME WHAT YOU KNOW, PRIVATE or join your fallen comrades in the darkness of the abyss!!"...

I stand resolute and silent, determined not to give in to the demands of this wretched animal...I look into the eyes of my team mates, trying to find in them a flicker of strength, as mine was waning...we never really had a chance to know each other to a personal level, really...I mean, we all have our day jobs...I am a musician...and a music teacher...the guy with a swollen jaw and in chronic pain, is a cook down the street where I lived...the lady standing beside me...I see her occasionally, bringing her daughter to the playground in the evenings...and many more...the eyes of my fellow brothers mirrored how I felt...how we are fearful within...wanting to piss our pants...how we were tempted to surrender to the ridiculous expectation of this insane villain to save our neck...but we were here together on a mission...and we will see that it is accomplished...no matter what the cost...

All of us, awaiting our fate with our arched enemy who dragged us to this House of Death...

"WHERE IS THIS I.R.S. BASE??!!...TALK!!!"...he screams at the top of his lungs like a mindless lunatic...going all manic, while all his servants look on from where they were standing...

A slap landed on my face...with a force so strong, I was flung to the left corner of the room...my nose started to bleed profusely...my breath heavy...

"Still quiet, eh??...Well, we have special ways to make people talk..."...

Still silent...

"To the torture chamber!!"...he roars, so close to my face, I could smell his foul breath...his two assistants grab my arm, shoving me quite roughly towards an intimidating room...I know that room all too well...many of my fellow mates went in...some made it out barely breathing...others, I've yet to know their status...I raise my hand in protest...I am perfectly capable of standing on my own two feet...gathering my courage, I insist on retaining my dignity and walking upright...instead of being dragged on my knees like a whipped cow...I must say, that I thought I felt my heart flutter an irregular rhythm...butterflies in my stomach, thinking what they would do to me...I wish they would gas me, so I could skip a level, and join my fallen brothers in heaven...but no such luck...they know that death would only be to easy...and they needed me to talk...

There it was...that chair...innocent looking to a child's eye...but we all know what happens to the poor soul who entrusts his/her life on it...the light on the ceiling shone upon it, giving it more attention that it deserves...otherwise, the room was cold, musky and dark...yet, I am not deceived...hidden in this room somewhere...were tools/objects with different degree of sharpness...some were drills, meant to puncture a hole in your skull, so that they could enjoy your brain juice...and is that an electric switch with some electrodes on it??...I can't really see clearly...maybe it is...but I sure hope its not...saws of various kinds, some to cut off a part of your body anatomy...others, just enough to make you bleed to death...axes of different size...sledge hammers...swords so long, and shiny...they seem to glint in the dark...and I'd bet a hundred dollars that those barrels standing quietly in the corner were acid cyanide...I felt a chill run down my spine and shuddered...there are blood stains everywhere...undeniable evidence of excruciating torment and butchering of my mates...Even now, I can hear agonizing screams of my brethren in the next room...God bless them all...

And I am next...

Without an invitation, I take my seat on the chair...the assistants takes my hand to each end, and ties them just in case I put up a struggle...or so they wish...I promised myself, that I will never bring shame to my family's name...promised to face the agony without a flinch...I will stare at the fear and evil, dead in the eye...I will have my victory some day...I will not give this Sadist a chance to gloat and cheer in my expense...

My torturer comes in...snickering and grinning away...

"So how is my 'patient' feeling today??"...he sneers mockingly...

Not a squeak from me...

"Are we both ready for some fun?...I know I am!!"...he laughs in glee...more evil sounding than the devil himself...but I keep my silence...

He wears his rubber gloves...and lowers the upper half of my chair so he can take a good look at me...

Be still, my heart...Pain and other emotions can be controlled...you just disconnect it...at least, that is what John Conner's father said in the 1st Terminator movie 20 years ago...

"Why so serious??!!!...Let's put a smile on that face, shall we??..."

This sadistic butcher looks hideous even in the dark...his facial scar that stretches from his right eye to his lower left jaw...his wrinkled and soulless eyes...almost void of emotions...bad breath, black and blue spots on those broken-sized ugly teeth....his pimply moon-crate faces...leaves much to be desired...plus the fact that he was perspiring, left an unpleasant stench in that already unpleasant room...

The assistants holds me down, one with a gun to my head...another, a knife to my throat...The spotlight is burning into my eyes, so I close them...say a prayer...and embrace myself for another session of 'friendly interrogation'...

I hear him start the drill just above my ear...

"Well, well, my friend...shall we start??"

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Just so you know, my 2nd visit to the dentist wasn't all that bad...beside my nerves being an extreme wreck, my visit was some-what fine...the lady dentist wasn't all that wicked and irrational sounding as I pictured her to be...And she DOES NOT have bad breath...of course not...quite a sweet petite lady, if I may say so myself...the room quite bright and relaxing...the music soothing to the ears...(though quite annoying, as it was on repeat mode the entire time)...

3 fillings, and I was out of there...quite relieved, actually...that discoloration on one of my back tooth have been bugging me long enough...I finally managed to get it off my back today...and the old silver fillings, I had them replaced, so that the colour matches the one of my tooth...it does not stand out so much...the vain-pot that I am...

I am still quite nervous just thinking about the ordeal...I remember the dentist constantly having to remind me to breathe through my nose, instead of my mouth...as my hot breath was creating moisture on her small mirror every time she was working on me...

And to be honest, at that time, I could not even tell for sure...which I was doing...breathing through my mouth...or nose...

But I made it!!!...I didn't cry for my mum as I thought I would...I didn't flinch as much as I would have had years before...and I walked out of that dratted room with not more than slightly wobbly legs...

That is quite an achievement, wouldn't you agree??...*grin*...

I am reminded of something my kindy teacher once told me...

"I can forsee you being a dentist in the future...you have such a talent in causing pain!!"

I rest my case...

Now, if I could only summon my courage that easily...to see my hair-dresser for a new hair-cut...not so soon, though...I need to recover from my recent experience...

Stay tuned!!

Smoke in my eyes...

The best way to get a sexy smoky eye is to trace black eyeliner heavily along the top and bottom lashes before bed. In the morning, after a shower, simply clean up where needed with a cotton tip and voila! Perfect smoky eye!!!

- Cleo magazine beauty tips, according to make-up artist Rae Morris,

...You've - So - Gotta - Be - Kidding - Me...

The only look I'll get at max, especially in the mornings would be an undignified sleazy eyed, oriental roadkill...and a slash of black smudge across my face...and pillow...and my little Po-Po (this cute teddy that my boyfriend bought me...*grin*)...

'Nuff said...

Granny loves me...

My grandmother won something during a lucky draw this week...She was all excited about it, and wanted to share her gift with me...It wasn't something all that expensive (if it was, you'd bet that she would keep it to herself)...but I was the lucky one among her grandchildren to be chosen for this gift...

Since I am far from my hometown, I politely declined, and suggested that she gave it to my brothers instead...Funny enough, she insisted the it wouldn't do, and that only I could use this gift to the fullest...

It started to spark my curiosity as to what this gift was...that even my own brothers were not allowed to touch it...

I asked my mum this morning...she gave me two clues...

Firstly, it was an electronic subject...

Secondly, it produces sound...

Even I got all excited...tonnes of images ran through my head...

A blasting room Audio system??... (for a while there, I forgot that she mentioned the gift wasn't expensive)...A handphone??...A synthesizer??...I've been dreaming of one for dinosaur years...

I was THIS close to the answer...half correct, actually...

It was....
A toy keyboard...

*sigh*.....

The Great Wall of Chinese Writing...

I've done it...I had to give myself the almost impossible challenge...of the many things I've learn so far for leisure, this is by far the toughest...It first started with swimming...(yes, I started swimming at quite a late age, but we'll go to that later)...then it was charcoal drawing...followed by cross-stitching, etc...but now, I've just topped it...by choosing to conquer reading and writing in Mandarin once and for all...why, learning HTMLs to build a website now sounds way easier!!! (though I've yet to master that at all...gave up learning the codes after awhile...found that it didn't really interest me that much)...

(Note : Yes, so now you know I am a complete 'banana'...A Chinese living on a white skin...Am I to be held responsible that my parents would decide to send me to a national school, which deprived me from learning my mother tongue??...And so what if my mum did offer to teach me conversational Mandarin after I graduated from high school?...I was happy with the way I was then...So I refused...besides it was a complete struggle, trying to string a sentence and cracking my head open to do so...and it doesn't help when your friends are entertaining themselves at your expense...I just want to be able to converse, without rambling and feeling foolish... furthermore, I was proud...and rebellious...and stupid...there I said it, you happy??)

What I have learn so far :
1. The writing system is completely HOPELESS...
I've seen many of my friends pen down strokes after strokes of Mandarin words...and when they wrote their names using the calligraphy brushes, it is pure ecstasy...The Chinese characters, originated by images are both intriguing and fascinating...Hence, I've decided that I won't be happy learning just conversational Mandarin alone...I would have to learn to read and write as well...

It is said that one has to learn at least 2,000 words for basic literacy (reading Chinese newspaper, etc)...I've learned 10 words so far...10 out of 2,000...that makes it 0.005% of my target...all adjectives...definitely not enough to function literally...not even the Mandarin translation of 'Peter and Jane' books...And to think that to form ONE word, one has got to learn 26 freakin' strokes...and having to write them from top to bottom, left first to the right...Why won't my Chinese ancestors just stick to normal basic alphabets???...A-Z comprises of 26 alphabets...mix them together...and voila!!!...you can write a thesis on it...but Chinese characters??...just understanding the strokes would make my eyes cross...let alone form a word...

2. Trying to pronounce the Mandarin phonetics is a joke...
Every vowel, consist of 4 distinctive sounds...With all the classes of ear training that I had to go through during my music college years, you would have thought that differentiating the vowels would be a piece of cake...But the first pronunciation and the fourth sounds almost the same to me...and I am still unable to tell the difference between the second and the third one as well...

3. Looking up the dictionary for a Mandarin word, is pure torture...
While using an Oxford English dictionary is completely user-friendly, looking up a word in the Chinese dictionary is definitely what I would term as 'user-hostile'...in fact, wading for high elusive characters in a welter of unfriendly lexicons would only be for individuals with exceptional stamina, fortitude, determination and other classical disciplines...

Usually, a dictionary would be arranged alphabetically...but in Mandarin, one has got to figure out the radical character of the word...then you will have to go through the homonyms to find the right character with the right meaning...to make sure it is the right word, you will have to count the number of written strokes required and radical identification...which of course, is beyond my comprehension...man, this way it will take me a much longer time, than if I were to learn...Braille and the Dewy decimal system altogether!!...
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So learning Mandarin has yet to make a mark on me...*sigh*...but I am determined to hang on tight...this issue has been lugging in my head long enough...its high time I either sit on it...or I move on...

My mission is to be able to read the proper Three Romantic Kingdoms (that would require knowing 4,000-5,000 Chinese characters, mind you)...not the one with comics and English dialogues...that's just pure baloney...I also want to be able to appreciate the beauty of Chinese poetry...I have heard it many times before...and even though I never understood it, it was music to my ears...and last, I want to be able to read Confucius' original writings...but, that is another task to breakthrough...

I'll have to save that for later...

This state of affairs have been disheartening to me so far...especially for me who is impatient to devour the vast riches of Chinese literature...so far, it has been nothing but boring and bland diet of pre-school books,(which I can't even make out the instructions, let alone understand the exercises), textbooks and carefully edited kiddy books...it certainly looks like I'll be bound to this for the few years to come...I feel as if I am being on a weight diet...painful...and depressing...

I think I've over-done it this time...I've given more than I should, and now I am feeling the heat...sometimes I think that it does not pay to be a nice person...no matter how or what you do for your students, there are many parents who fall short of appreciating it...I'm not a baby, that constantly requires praise and compliment...what I do for my students...whatever extra I give my students, are on my own initiative...and that is when parents start on their list of demands...I would give in to their demands, if it suits me...but I can't possibly give-in to all of them...and now, I feel as if I am being treated like trash...they would not even bother to call in to give me a heads up, when they are not able to make it...kept me waiting and wasting my time...and they demand that I replace the class, or they won't pay the studio their monthly fees...

Give me a thousand kiddos to teach than a parent of these character to deal with...

Being a music teacher or a teacher is no joy-ride, that's for sure......you've got to major in counseling, human resources, people-relationship, childcare, business administration, secretary, student pedagogy and music all at the same time...

I am exhausted...mentally and emotionally...

Lights out...

Confessions/Secrets...it goes either way...

When I was young, I used to keep a small little diary...where I would share my deepest secrets and wildest imaginations...of course, at that time, it used to be about how I would want my future house to look like...my illogical infatuation with some guy down the street...who I would want to be when I grow up, etc...to keep little busy-bodies away (friends with a keen eye for secrets), I used to encode it...so no one will ever find out, nor will they ever know...lest they will laugh at me, and shatter me of my childhood fantasies...of course, I encoded it so well, that my older self have never been able to decode it, ever...hence, my dreams died along with the young Lessajinomoto...now that I have an online blog, I am tempted to share my secrets here as well...have been struggling within myself...debating if I should or not...just in case my mum goes berserk upon reading my blog...or go to the other extreme, and laugh at my sport...but heck...this is MY blog...I should at least be able to practice my freedom of speech right here...

So mum, if you're ever reading this...I guess that you will learn that this is one part of your daughter you have never known...bellow your anger/frustration if you want...laugh and even cry if situation calls for it...Just as long as you promise you would not squeal on me and tell dad...

Here goes...

1. Have been considering gettIng myself a pet snAke...if you were to read My profile, this should not be of aNy surprise tO you...Most of the people I knoW hates snake...

If you ask me, this is a typicaL situation of 'shooting thE messenger'...The unforgivAble act of tempting Eve in the GaRden of EdeN has stereotyped the mInds of people, iNto believinG that anything that slitHers and crawl on the grOund, is completely undeserving of tender loving care...but here is the breaking neWs...

There are many people like me, who love snakes for the very same reason people haTe them...these creepy crawlies, as I called them when I was a kid, was amazingly designed...tO be able to adapt to all kinds of enviRonment...the elegancE in their 'footsteps', side-winding...is just incredible to look At...Some people tries to kill them, but enDs up getting bitten insteAd...All the more reasoN to give them the respect that they Deserve, doesn't it?

2. Tattoos are another thing that intrigue me a lot...I have always wanted to get my oWn tattoo the minute I received my 'golden key' (Its a Chinese tRadition...we receIve a 'key' once we reach the age of 21...symbolizes freedom to acT on one's freE will)...

But the act of plungIng a needle into my ever-so-delicate skiN, would be anything but a divine experience...yea, call me a chicken, but I aM afraid of the long term effect, if I were to get a tAttoo...will it age me terribly?...also, I don't thiNk I am comfortable with the iDea that it would be something permAnent, that I would carRy for the rest of my life...I would lIke to get a bird or a hamster tattoo...but I am sure my taste would chaNge along with fashion (yea, laugh now...see if I care)...I may not like birds so much...probably a snake then,why not??!!...and I don't think that my bird/hamster tattoo would like to co-exist with a snake tattoo, you get my drift??...


*whispers*...snakes have birds/hamsters for their early breakfast...

Ah, will you look at the time?...I'll just have to leave this here...and continue with my spelling later...

The Parody of A Royal High-Mess...

[ Legal Disclaimer : A long-winded post below...It started as a short one, but that was during the pre-heat...whatever that is written follows..is a 'once-in-a-while-brewing-steam' moment..if there is anything I wrote,that one may find offensive,or incorrect, I would appreciate it if you will let me know..if not, bear with me..]

I have not written much about my point of view as far as Malaysia's political turmoil is concern...

Reasons being :
1. I've not been following the political news of late for a few months now...therefore, I dare not write in detail nor comment any further, just in case I may have missed a bit of news, that could bring me into shame later on...

2. If you noticed, my rants about Malaysia politics are usually about the foolishness and stupidity of the politics...and sometimes the obviously biased rule/statement made...I rarely would complain about the changes made in the Malaysia's NEP (New Economic Policy), etc...being frank, I must confess that I can hardly remember nor understand fully the inner dealings of the government...whatever I know about the governmental policies, are either 'sped-read' in the newspaper, or hearsay...both, which I feel cannot be considered as factual...

Reasons for not following political news :
1. It sickens me to the guts to see how the operation works...the government intertwined and laced with very strong, arsenic hints of money exchange...

2. I've never heard of any positive news about the government's handling since last year's general election back in March...the politicians, I feel...has forgotten its people...they are just merely taking the seats for the power and integrity...hence, all the slandering, back-stabbing, name-callings...completely childish and immature...and if I may add...somewhat depressing...

3. News from other countries were more interesting, not to mention, inspiring...the heated election of the US presidency, for example...the historical moment...the Israel-Gaza war...not that it is inspiring, but it sparked off concerns of the heart...and distracted me from my country's state of wretchedness...
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I've always considered myself a Penang-nite...and yes, that was out of bias-ness...I was born in Penang, and raised in Penang throughout my childhood years...so the very making of me, started in Penang...for my brothers, it is a different story altogether...I was almost 12 years of age, when my dad shifted us to Ipoh...by then, while I was approaching juvenile age and tendencies, my brothers were merely micro-toddlers, good for sitting on...

But having said all that, I have spend all my teenage life in Ipoh, Perak...I have found in it, life-long friends to grow up with...good memories to keep, bad ones to toughen me up...the place was not all that great, in terms of food and government...but it was home...

Hence, I felt completely short-changed with the recent political scenario in Perak...

We were governed by the opposition, PKR (People's Justice Party) for almost 10 months now...sure, there were many issues of disagreement...of money laundering within a one or two members of the Parliament...while I'm sure nobody agrees to any of that act, we are willing to close an eye...as I believe we have one goal...as Barack Obama would say..."A Change We Need"...

We have been long under the hands of BN (Barisan National)...and we have seen little progress in Perak so far...it is still under-developed...and while our nature's beauty is still very much 'intact', we have been extremely side-lined when we come to the issue of economy...

On paper and report, Perak have been allocated gazillions of money...but as a fellow Perak, besides a conventional fly-over, over-loading of useless street decor over the past 8 years...I've yet to see how the money is spent...Oh ya, silly me...there is one ENORMOUS multi-million dollar building that was errected years back, to bring together all the government offices...it now sits as a white elephant...completely empty and abandoned...they have since shifted...a great display of how unorganized the previous Perak government was...

So, we wanted change...and in the latest election, the opposition won 31 seats in Perak (someone please correct me, if I'm mistaken)...and Barisan National won 28 seats... close competition, but a clear one nevertheless...

Note : for exact chronology of events, check out this site...

And just a few days ago, we lost it again...Jamaluddin and Osman, both PKR representative and members of the Parliament from Behrang and Changkat Jering respectively, went missing for a couple of days...before re-appearing to announce their intention of going solo independently...only to pledge loyalty to Barisan National several days later...

For your additional information, these two froggies, were facing 16 corruption charges worth RM180 million just last year itself...if you ask me, it is my wildest guess that Barisan National offered them complete pardon and million dollars more, if they were to hop over and belch/croak their loyalty to them...sounds completely familiar, doesn't it?...and it becomes even more convincing, now that they have done their disappearing act again...by not showing up for their trial today...probably in hiding, until the heat is over, and BN to erase their name of the black books?...(the latest news, just hot off the oven...the corruption case, which was scheduled three days from now has been postponed to June 15...haha...now am I right, or am I not??)

Anyway, one of our trusted politicians of Perak, have done her disappearing act too...I'm really ashamed to say, that Missing In Action, seems to be a common practice among people messing in the government...Ms. Hew Yit Foong, another PKR representative and exco could not be contacted, just after Chinese New Year, creating much speculation about her 'jumping ship' and joining the BN...for an extra sum of money, of course...The same old story...resigning with the 'sincerest' intention to become an independent...and was found happily shaking hands and sitting side by side with the BN...

Her action was the last straw, that caused our opposition government to topple and fall...in situations like these, one would have expected the Sultan to hold fresh state re-election once more...but much to our disappointment, we were dead wrong...Not only did our Sultan Azlan Shah refuse a state re-election, he gave consent and support to the formation of a new government by BN, when the existing government has not been resolved...to add insult to injury, a new state representative has been officially selected and sworned in (all in less than 12 hours) while the existing one is still in office!!...

This is a complete mockery to our intelligence, I tell ya!!...I have had Malaysian Studies during my college days, and I have learn that State Representatives can only be removed by State Assembly by a no-confidence vote or via the dissolution of the whole State Assembly...(man, hard to believe that all the countless hours wasted in the college lecture hall actually paid off!!..*grin*)...

BN, completely lacking in originality...is buying Anwar's (PKR opposition leader) previous idea, when he encouraged what I would call, 'political hopping'...only difference is, in their desperation, BN revised it a bit to make haste the 'hopping'...and introduced 'political buying' instead...I'm not a big fan of Anwar, if you'd ask me...but I am more inclined to see him as the lesser of two evils...If we are really honest, I'm sure you'll agree with me that political integrity is hard to find...In fact, it is almost impossible that the word 'political integrity' can co-exist together...with Anwar, openly ambitious and being so impatient to form the new government last year, we are now watching him being beaten in his own game...

Any attempt to save the current government has been faced with accusations of treason, revocation of honourary title, arrest and detention by the ISA...reasons being that we should honour and respect the Sultan's decision...if "we were to look at it from the point of royal customs", says a BN representative...*sigh*...I must say, they are completely re-writing the definition of a democratic institution!!!...

In my opinion, BN is on a self-destruction mode...making one mistake after another...if blatant corruption is not enough, slandering and empty promises is added to the pot...PKR has lost the battle...BN looks as if they have won...but I would consider this a victory that has forfeited itself of its honour...they may have come out 'triumphantly' in the battle, without much lost except in the finance department...yet the war has yet to be conquered...that is the trust of the whole nation, who is looking at this situation in disgust...I can't wait for the next election in year 2012...it will most certainly be an interesting watch...wouldn't you agree??

Original Malaysian Movie...

(updated 10th Feb : source from Mob's Crib)

I absolutely love this poster!!!...this 'movie' screened live all over the news in Malaysia, describes our current political scene and the chaos...

Stay tuned to see how much it cost, to buy people over...(at the average : RM30 million per pax...or so I have read)...man, I hope I am wrong...these money are of our tax-payers!!!...

All I needed to know, I learned from the tube...

When I was a kid, back in the 80's, my friends would be in their own world pursuing constructive endeavors such as attending Kumon classes, ballet, piano classes, etc...I, chose to watch cartoons...

Now, before you start pointing fingers at my mum, for allowing me to be 'baby-sat' by the mindless tube, let me explain, that I use to be a pain in the neck, constantly looking to be with my mum, even when she is working...so the tube and books, were my only distraction, to give her some peace and allow her to get some breathing space...

I never forgot any of those cartoons, even till now...I mean, I can't really say that I can recall each and every detail of the cartoons that I have watched...but now that I come to think of it, many of the cartoons have taught me a valuable lesson...

For example...

The Smurfs
One elderly blue male in the red hat, who has no real power, but it is generally understood that he was a respected leader of the community...One female in the entire population of blue males with white pointy hats...

Everybody has a house of the same size...no bigger, no smaller...Everyone has equal authority and power, and no one gets side-lined...Everyone has a special talent that is used to contribute to the harmony of the community...they look the same, dress the same, talk the same, live the same...and they are all united in fighting the mean old Gargamel and that hungry, misunderstood Azrael...

The most important lesson I learn : COMMUNISM actually works!!!...Can you believe it??...China and Russia must have really gone wrong somewhere...

Transformers
Robots from an alien world, has chosen our earth as their 'playground', the good fighting the evil...Robots with capability of transforming into vehicles...the good ones, usually transform to old-fashion commercial transports such as lorries, family cars and wat nots...the evil ones usually take on vehicles of a higher level...helicopters, and jet planes...Robots changing into bigger robots...then they combine powers together to destroy an even bigger robot...and usually they are successful...all in a day's work, isn't it??...ah, who could ever forget dear old Optimus Prime and the Autobots??...

The most important lesson I learn : One : Never judge a robot by its cover...it is usually "more than meets the eye"...Two : If I don't behave, the Decepticons will kill us all...

Popeye The Sailor Man
If you want to win the love and affections of your leggy, tight-skirted Olive Oyl, one can of spinach will do the trick. It always starts with a losing battle between Bluto and Popeye...and Popeye would, with much pain and agony crawl towards an available can of spinach conveniently lying around the corner...Sure, as we kids know, spinach never tasted as good as lollies, ice-cream and cheese...but man, it is so full of essential vitamin goodness, that it is bound to make your biceps explode like canons...then it will be followed by Popeye's gusty, yet short and sweet 'fight' with defenseless Bluto...and Olive Oyl with come to Popeye, smothering him with kisses...forget it that Olive was a complete bimbo, with flirtatious character...having fallen for Bluto a few times, for his 'macho-ness'...

The most important lesson I learn : One : Eat your veggies...Two : Muscles can be build in seconds...Third : Protein shakes are shit, veggie vitamins will do...

Note : I would love to share more examples, but it is starting to eat into my time...hence, I have to cut it short to just a couple...

Now, would you mind sharing a few of your 'lessons from the tube' with me?...*grin*

It was nightfall...we were in Penang, staying on top of a hill, that faces the rough sea...for some reason, it was peaceful that night...and, if you were to really lie still and concentrate, you could hear the crickets sing their songs and the frogs croak their symphonies...but of course, we all know that is way beyond my capability...

Still, I looked out of the window...the sky was deep crimson blue...not many stars out there, despite a clear sky, I observed...and the jungle has lost its mystifying beauty...more than half of the hill, was bald and exploited...after years of constant abuse, it has changed into a concrete zone...trees were uprooted, and now 3-story houses stood in their place...the ones next to where I lived were still under construction...they looked extremely bare and desolate...lonely...and outcast...

That's when I saw a small fireball some distance away, that dropped down from the sky...and sizzled off, as it landed on the deep blue sea...and then there was another one...and another...I looked up...meteorites!!!...well, at least I thought they were comet fragments, the way they shot across the sky...

It was a rare occasion, I'm sure you'll agree with me...yet, I did not budge from my seat to alert my other ex-school mates...I sent up a prayer of thanks, and made my wish...(yes, I happened to believe that wishing upon a star will make one's wish come true...go ahead...say that I've lost my marbles...see if I care...*grin*)...then I returned to the room where the others were, listening to a pastor preach his sermon...

As usual, I made my way to the back of the hall, where the rest of my friends were 'hiding'...we, young immature people of 20s and below, are most well-known for doing that...cause everyone knows that it is sitting at the back, that is the safest...away from point blank target of our parents' watchful eyes...where one can fall asleep, without worrying that it may insult the preacher...or pass cheeky notes around...or chat in soft whispers, without getting a disapproving stare from one of the elderly...I learned that one of my cousins were adopted by the preacher's wife...funny...I don't recall any adoption taking place at all...plus, it feels really weird, hearing the preacher's wife referring to him as her 'son'...

One of my friends suddenly gave a loud shout and pointed out the window...everybody's attention was distracted and off the preacher for a moment...they raced to the window to see what the fuss was all about...I knew, of course...but still, I joined the others...just to see more fireballs fall, at a more consistent rate...thank goodness, we were surrounded by sea waters...they just swallowed those little babies whole, and they sunk deep into the abyss...completely oblivious to all possible dangers, we continued watching from our 'sanctuary'...

It was one of the fireballs that struck the roof of one of the houses, that brought us back to reality...the flames were licking up everything in their way ferociously...then came pitch darkness...the power station must be burning too...instinctively, I tried to get help...it was difficult...there was no light to aid my footsteps, and to make things worse, the situation turned chaotic, with people running directionless, trying to escape...I somehow managed to scramble my way to the phone, and started dialing 911...the numbers were jumbled up, and in my moments of panic, I kept pushing the wrong buttons...when I finally got through, an operator answered my call...described the scene, gave the address of the place I was in, and asked for the fireman to hurry...probably it was my voice that didn't sound urgent enough or something, the operator didn't believe in my report and thought of me as a prankster who called in to liven up their spirits...she didn't give me a chance to explain, and hung up the phone...I was getting more desperate...in my desperation, I accidentally dropped the phone...and the phone cable got disconnected...it was almost impossible to find the telephone and cable in the dark, so we all rushed out...I struggled to make my way through the mess, while calling 911 again, through my handphone this time...

There was no network, damn it...and the fire has given us no choice, but to head for a pavement, that leads to a huge waterfall, that drops off a mile away...I looked around to find my family...my two brothers, mum and dad, and grandma...amidst the chaos, people were pushing and screaming...children crying for their mothers...finally I heard my mum call out my name...I answered in relief...when she handed me the bad news....

My brother didn't make it, my mum told me...people said that he managed to escape to the main road before the fire engulfed the building...but while he was asking for help, he was shot at by an ice-cream man riding a motorbike and robbed him of his money before speeding away...

I didn't believe it..searched for my dad and found him after a while...his blank eyes and stunned look spoke a million words...I fell to the floor and cried...I could not breathe...I wouldn't let anyone touch me...I was mumbling words...but couldn't make out what I was saying...I wished for death to have taken me instead...
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Darn it...sometimes I wish Mr. Sandman could leave me alone...my dreams have a bad habit of turning into melodramatic soap operas, which leave me more exhausted instead of well-rested...my mind is still in hyper-active mode thanks to him...

Man, that felt so real...the pain of losing a loved one...I could feel it with every cell of my being...I thought that someone just chopped off half my body, I could not feel them...I can remember it even now as I am writing...5 hours after my waking time...

Perpetual Sickness...

Nobody likes me, everybody hates me,
I'm gonna eat some worms.
Big fat juicy ones, Eensie weensy squeensy ones,
See how they wiggle and squirm.

Chomp off their heads and squeeze out the juice
And throw their tails away
Nobody knows how I survive
On worms three times a day...

I learn that song back when I was a kid...kindergarten teacher taught me...sang it throughout the 2 hour ride for a holiday, and drove my parents crazy...taught MY students how to sing it...and play it on the piano...and THEY drove THEIR parents crazy...ah, those naughty, naughty devils in disguise...all in a days work, isn't it?...*grin*

My body sure does hate me for some reason...Every single time I think I am about to recover, my body decides to pick up the same illness...sometimes with more vengeance...annoying, really...Throat feels raw now...my nose is blocked...and it does not help, the fact that it is still Chinese New Year...which means I am not able to smell the sweet aroma of my dad's cooking...and it also means that the majority of the Taoist people are still burning joss sticks, and paper money...the thick smoke is starting to settle down and merge with my mucus...(imagine you having a stuffed nose, and an ass-hole of a guy, smokes his cigarette and blows on your face...I would have punched him, I tell ya)...
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Well, just to describe my Chinese New Year in a nutshell...

We didn't get to enjoy our usual Chinese New Year feast...grandma claimed to have lost one of the three pairs of shoes she bought...and has turned the whole house upside down to find it, and still failed...caused a bit of tension in the family, as she was consistently muttering accusations that one of us must have taken/stolen them...Dad finally defused it, by taking her to buy a new pair of shoes...spent a day or two hunting for that specific model...drove my dad insane...finally told my grandma, to either be happy with a different pair of shoe, or to forget about it...she chose to be happy...unneeded pain in the neck...

Grandma insisted that we should all start our cooking a few days ahead, despite having been told time and time again, that it is best to keep the food fresh...too much stress and pressure, we felt...completely unnecessary...so my dad decided to abandon the cooking mission...we all had KFC for reunion dinner instead...and Pizza Hut the night after...
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Grandma got mugged twice in a week, at the same spot and about the same time...once before the CNY...and once after...she lost quite a bit of money and some jewelry during the first time...but did not sustain injury...second time, not so lucky...first robbery, she claimed the thief took her house-keys, which we then promptly changed the locks for our house...only to find out later, that she actually left her house-keys back at home...the second robbery, she remembered her house-keys this time, which she placed in her hand-bag...and that got stolen...so we had to change locks for the second time...
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Referring to a previous post I wrote...the person I'm referring to...let's call her *Charmaine...I didn't get a chance to settle things with her...she decided that by not making time for her, I have hurt her...and therefore, she has decided to send me an SMS in the wee hours of the morning...to cut off the friendship...just like that...I responded by sending her a message, expressing my disappointment in her selfishness...and she begged to have our friendship back...it made me feel like a 6 year old kid...were friendships that cheap, that it can be taken apart and mended through an SMS??...I decided to stick to her decision of cutting the friendship...cause I just feel this emotional burden, one that hangs on my shoulders all the time...and I just don't need that right now...I think, if she doesn't respect my need for privacy and having other friends...it would be difficult for me to accomodate her...so it happening now, can prove to be a good thing after all...

*Note : name changed to protect privacy...
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Maternal grannie fell down a day before CNY...had an open wound on her head...so it required some stitches...fractured her left wrist too...plus the fact that she doesn't not have the strongest set of bones, its gonna take a while to heal...
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Paternal grandpa seems to be losing weight drastically...my last visit back in Dec '08, he weighed about 52kgs...and looked much healthier, despite me being aware that it is merely a deception...it was his steroid meds intake, that made his face as round as a moon, and as smooth as a baby's buttocks...now that the doctor has removed him from steroid meds, he has sunk...literally...to a 43kg...that makes it a 9kg weight loss in two months...makes me fear, at times...that he may not make it through the year...*touchwood*...

Just reminds you, doesn't it...how precious life can be...one may have the whole world in his hands, all the money he/she can spare...but nobody can make it past mortality...a good knock on the head, to remind us...that though at times we act and think we're gods...we aren't...
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Am facing some changes in my life...certain cross-roads...need to re-think my priorities...make a check-list...most importantly, I need to sort out my thoughts...I've been almost ignoring every problem hurled at me the past week, thanks to CNY...now I find that I am all jumbled up...can't seem to focus...darn...