Births & Deaths

Was just talking to a friend at work and he came up with the topic of "birth and deaths". Apparently, he shares the same birthday as Michael Jackson and Nicholas Tze. I was very much intrigued. He told me to "wikipedia" my birth date (its 9th of January by the way), to see what results I get.

Most of the famous people born on 9th of January are, sadly, not very well known. However, I did in fact notice alot of royalties, politicians, sports figure and musicians. Here are a list of few famous people:

I share same birthdays as:

1) RICHARD NIXON (1913) - 37th President of the United States.
2) JIMMY PAGE (1944) - lead guitarist of the rock band Led Zeppelin.
3) GENNARO GATTUSO (1978) - Italian footballer, currently playing for AC Milan.
4) AJ McLEAN (1978) - member of the boyband Backstreet Boys.
4) SERGIO GARCIA (1980) - Spanish golfer.

10 Things You Don't Know About Chungy

If you knew everything about the "multi-talented" Chungy, *cough cough* then you'd be lying. Here's what I came up with at 6.02AM in the morning:

1) Despite lack of enthusiasm and evidence: Chungy actually loves studying - especially history books - IF it doesn't involve exams or any sort of grading.

2) Chungy can't exercise without music (no... really...) from his trustworthy Sony MP3 Walkman. Listening to plain threadmill whinning noise and feet thumping will drive him crazy and kill his determination.

3) Chungy gets rather grumpy sometimes when he doesn't drink coffee in the morning.

4) Chungy never had long hair; and don't intend to in the near future.

5) Although Chungy loves to cook; he is lazy and hesitates when it comes to dishwashing.

6) There's a near invisible strand of long white hair which grows subtly from Chungy's forehead, which he has to trim once in a while.

7) After rugby (first place): Chungy's favorite sports are skiing (second place) and football (third place).

8) Many people own pencil boxes and multi-coloured pens: but Chungy goes to university with only 2 x Pilot G2 (0.7) blue ink-ball in his right jeans pocket.

9) During his peak fitness: Chungy bench-pressed a personal best of 95KG.

10) Although some of you might find this hard to believe, but... Chungy had his first kiss at the tender mature age of 18... In his car. -_-"

Decoding THAT Dream

Oh yah, was going to interpret that wierd dream, almost forgot. I'm actually quite intrigued about "dream-reading". I think it can actually be approached by scientific methods and come up with sensible explainations. For example:

1) The fact that I dreamnt about archaeology then drifted off to drama and acting might suggest that I;m in favour of something more interesting than archaeology at the moment. Pretty true I guess - I'm pretty sick of revising for exams recently.

2) The fact that I'm pictured as a supporting actor or "kea-lae-fae" as we say in Malaysia: I think it really shows my insecurity and weak confidence. Again, must be due to the upcoming exams which I'm dreading to face.

3) The scene where I'm crying with a gun pointed under my chin surely suggests that I'm feeling very stressed and pressured. Now let me guess... Could this be linked to... -_-"

4) The praising bit might indicate that I'm in need of reassurance and attention. True. I've been lacking encouragement and very depressed lately.

Not a bad interpretation coming from a soon-to-be BA(Hons) ancient history and archaeology student I reckon. ^^"

I'm Multi-Cultured

Just found this picture from last year's University of Manchester Malaysian Night. It's the first time I wear a Malay traditional costume.

[Yeah, gold is definately my colour... ^^]

Weirdest Dream EVER

I'm not prone to dreams these days - I'm too occupied with studies in my mind to even fantasize about anything. However, last night... I had a terribly weird dream. Better type it down whilst its still fresh - I just jumped off my bed right now at 8.56AM to actually talk about it.

I was at some archaeology trip involving my archaeology lecturer Dr. Tim Insoll (he was a fantastic lecturer and his class was my favorite by the way), and then the whole class ended up as some sort of a drama class on stage.

Apparently there was a white guy and a white girl on stage performing, and Dr. Insoll casted me as a supporting role for the scene. The guy played as a criminal; and the girl was my wife. The scene started with my wife pointing a machine gun at him; which somehow ended up as the guy pointing his "assasin silencer" type of pistol at me. Here is how the conversation roughly went:

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My Wife: (Pointing machine gun at the criminal) "Don't come any closer... Or I'll shoot!"

Criminal: (Pointed his pistol at me) "You see what you made me do? You made me threaten to blow your f***ing husband's head off! It din't have to end like this you know..."

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So there was this tense moment when I was pressed against the wall with the pistol tight under my chin. Since I liked acting; and both of their acting were fairly average only: I guess I must have stole the lime light after this. I pretended to be really afriad and was close to tears. Then finally when the criminal gave up and regretted on his actions, I burst into a quiet sob and tearful face, you know: the typical traumatised victim, sliding his back down the wall into a sitting position with his arms around his head.

Just before the credits started to roll, I took the script one step further by adding in another scene. All of us stood up and sat on the edge of the stage, pretending to be sitting on the edge of some roof looking at the sunrise. Here's how the conversation sounded like:

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Me: (Looking weary but contently at the rising sun) "This morning I woke up, looking at the sun, thinking if its ever going to be same again... Thinking what the future holds for us."

[As my wife leans towards me, I put my arms around her shoulder and rests her head on my shoulder.]

My Wife: (Staring into the distant horizon with me) "I wonder, if we are going to be the same, I wonder what the future has prepared for us."

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Then, the scene stops with a ear deafening applause. Guess what I did next? I went backstage to make myself a cup of coffee... -_-" Anyways, Dr. Insoll came up to me and said:

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Dr. Insoll: "What the hell are you doing here?"

Me: (I thought I got into trouble for stealing the lime light) "Erm..."

Dr. Insoll: "That was bloody marvellous. You should be working for the CBBC! You know what I will write you a nice recommendation letter. You just apply to Sky Digital."

Me: (Surprised) "Does this mean I get to work in BBC Manchester? Great news! That means its just opposite where I stay! I'll never ever be late for work! And I can even pop by the university to have lunch with you!"

[Both of us laughed.]

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This was certainly weird. Maybe its some sort of premonition, perhaps its telling me I should apply to BBC Manchester. ^^

I will probably be interpreting my dream in my next blog. Now, I need to get more sleep. Tata.

Recent Happenings

A few interesting thoughts provoked my monotonous mind these days.

Firstly, I wonder if my old habits are kicking in: I seem to be losing steam and enthusiasm; giving up almost entirely on revision only 1/2 a month away from completing my BA degree. I gotta say, my dissertation, (due a month ago) has inevitably taken a big chunk of my energy and strength away from me. Now, I'm left lifeless and tired and deflated like a leaking balloon. God, please grant me the last of my strength to carry on for another 1/2 a month. Besides, seeing how hardworking my girlfriend is makes me feel rather guilty. =(

Recently, I chatted up with an old friend. She said I've grown much more meaner. After having deep long thoughts: I realised its not that I've grown meaner; I'm not as nice as before. Now before anyone condemns me saying "its the same..." Its not. See what the horrid world has nurtured me into? As the old saying goes, "when the going gets tough; the tough gets going..."

What else... Hmmm... Oh yes...

I know I'm not much of a procrastinator - but I really do wanna procrastinate now: I'm feeling extremely fat and unhealthy these days, and its affecting my self-confidence. Looking back at those photographs of my boarding school days always makes me sigh continuously. Gone were the days. My dieting regime and exercise program have already been set up, and I'm ready to salvage whatever that is left of my fitness. Hopefully, in time for Cyprus - gotta get a drop dead gorgeous beach body. =P

Time to get back to revision. Until next time people. Ciao.

Top 10 Things I Desire Now

They are:

1) Finish my exams; get my degree over with - can't wait to throw that graduation hat sky high.
2) An interesting and motivational job in UK with a high salary.
3) Move to a new 2 bedroom flat with my sister for a nice change of environment from the mucky student flat; for a refresh start in the corporate world.
4) Although I, for one, doesn't procrastinate - I'd die for a monthly gym membership complete with health spa and swimming pool, and then rebuilding those muscles and shed 10kg.
5) A relaxing 1 week holiday to Cyprus with my girlfriend.
6) Return to Malaysia to attend to the essentials and catch up with friends for old times sake.
7) A new/second-hand plasma widescreen TV for the new flat.
8) A PS3. (refer to no.7)
9) The ultimate gamer's desktop. (if no.7 and no.8 fails to become a reality)
10) Beautiful surround sound speakers.

Happy Mother's Day

If I were to sum up my dominating emotional feelings this year, it would definately be irony. Irony: that's the theme of 2007 for me.

Yesterday was Mother's Day. Yes... I din't call home. No... I did remember it was Mother's day.

My mother treats all her children equally. She's blunt and straight-forward; right most of the time. Every mistake; even a simple thought which has skewed off track - would be forced back on track; like wiping up every single drop of split milk on the table. There's no room for mistakes even though making mistakes are arguably just part of our daily human lives.

However, what my mother doesn't acknowledge (or probably just refuses to comprehend), is that her each and every one of her children grew up differently, and should be treated differently. The old fashioned "follow exactly what the pendidikan moral book" treatment is not applicable to the society today. Try and help an old lady cross the road and you might find yourself getting robbed with a pair of knitting needles stuck through your head.

Ironic case 1: I've inherited my mother's zero tolerence when it comes to conversation. If I think A not B; I say A not B. Not that I leave no room for compromise or discussion - but I do make a firm claim on my views. Some might say its a fairly respectable characteristic of a person, maybe my mother should be proud of her genetic trait after all.

Ironic case 2: It's impossible to have a proper civilised adult conversation with my mother anymore. Everytime we talk, it will definately lead to an argument. Just comes to show when 2 people speak their mind openly: there's bound to be conflict and misunderstandings. Problem arises when: I'm the one doing all the listening and no talking; my mother does all the talking and no listening.

Ironic case 3: It's not that I refuse to call my mother out of any resentment. I still love and care for her as much as before. However, it hurts me to call her on Mother's Day, knowing that our conversation is going to lead to another argument. Call it tough love.

When my mother caned me when I was young, she told me it was called "tough love" and I would understand it in the future. Perhaps thi blog post is my way of showing my affection on Mother's day. Sorry for not calling or even sending a text message (my mobile phone no longer does international texting), hope you'll understand the reason that I did so, is to preserve whatever is left of our good memories for each other. You might not understand this right now; but if you do read this or realise this in future - maybe you'll understand... It's tough love.

Happy Mother's Day, mummy.

Adult Matters

I'm deeply frustrated. I'm overwhelmed with irony.

Ever since I was young and mischevious, my parents hoped I would grow out of my immaturity into a fine young man. Ironically, they still treat me like a kid.

There were some decisions made (decisions which I hesitate to share due to family privacy) totally without my consent. The whole point is: these decisions concern my full resposibility and future, and yet, I had to hear it indirectly from other sources.

I do accept the fact that these decisions were made in my best interests; but it would be quite nice if they'd share and discussed before laying down the responsibilities like *wham* right in front of me, AND expect me to fulfil it as part of my duty as a son. Of course as a matter of principle, of course I'll try my best.

Oh the irony: I'm an adult hence I need to fulfil these responsibilities; but as an adult my opinions and views were totally taken for granted. On what grounds to they declare these? *whips out the almighty ultimate authority passport* "Because we are your parents and it is your duty to fulfil these responsibilities as a son - plus its all for your own benefit..."

I'm sick of all these bullshit. I don't care whether it concerns me or not: whether its buying a car or installing a new carpet - its not a matter of how big the problem is or the hierarchy of the family tree; its the principle of being decent and mutual respect by being considerate which really counts. This is most unacceptable.

Guess what, instead I got told off for getting pressured for these responsibilities... As if its my hobby to feel pressured. There's simply no room for communication anymore - and they wonder why I don't call home. I'm really ticked off by this traditional "I talk; you listen" ideology, its not working anymore.

Someone once told me: "societies change and evolve; if we don't follow suit, we will be stagnant and eventually be rejected." This advice, I kindly return as a favour.

24

24 seconds ago...

I was standing motionless in the shower, half asleep and feeling tired after a long night at work. As the water flowed down my body and washed the foam clean from my skin: I begin to wonder how much more of university life do I have to endure. Not that I hate being a student; I just can't tolerate the expectations expected of me anymore. I'm very weary and emotional. I just want to get this done and over with.

24 minutes ago...

I insulted someone; and I got insulted by someone. I insulted someone by being insensative and rude - unintentionally. I got insulted by someone because that someone stepped over the line and pushed me around - intentionally.

24 hours ago...

I had a very heartfelt chat with someone close. The appreciation of being understading and communicative made me feel extremely secure. Probably had my last late night fast food craving ever.

24 days ago...

Felt like the world was going to end with the amount of academic pressure on me. The biggest challenge and critic in my life was perhaps myself. I knew I felt that this moment was either going to make me; or break me.

24 months ago...

Still completely oblivious to the feelings that I would be feeling today. Life was easy going and the possibilities seemed endless. If I knew my destiny was creeping up on me like this, I'd have had a different way of doing things then.

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24 seconds later...

Start typing away at (fingers crossed) the last essay in my entire life. Hopefully expecting a late night, short but sweet phonecall. Hopefully, able to stay awake with the amount of caffeine that's orally consumed into my blood stream.

24 minutes later...

Hopefully my supply of coffee powder would last me though the night. Hopefully get at least 1000 words down on my currently empty spread sheet. Regretting why I actually spend precious time blogging instead of getting my head down now.

24 hours later...

Hopefully hear some good news from my sister regarding a new place to stay since my flat contract ends pretty soon. Heard about this nice 2 floor, 2 bedroom, 2 toilet and a reception area near the library - gotta say, it sounds pretty good.

24 days later...

I would no longer be a university student; and my worse nightmare/sauciest dream would be over. All I've got to look forward to is: my graduation day and a nice holiday in the sun.

24 months later...

Makes me wonder if I'm still going to be wandering in UK. Probably got an average job with an average pay; a nice humble flat and a nice simple life. Yeah, I'd like that.