Double Take (2): 2011 in 270 Words

More or less.

Not wanting to be finicky, 2011 has been a good year. Not great but it ain’t bad either. It’s taught me some valuable lessons and ways to handle... well, face setbacks and take it in my stride. Easier said than done, really.

This year saw the passing of some bad people, but I’m not holding my breath. The vacuum will always be filled and that’s how history always rivets me – there’s never a short supply of evil characters.

Tear-jerking YouTube videos are plenty this year and the most memorable one has got to be Stranger, again. To please some real-man-don’t-cry activists out there, maybe the theme of nice guys finishing last would besuitable.

Even the countdown to midnight puts into perspective the oft-heard expression “for every beginning, there is an end”. Hey wait! Every ending, it seems, is a new beginning. That said, the desire to go back to a certain date in 2011 and relive the moment is unmistakable.

All in all, the year’s been a love-hate ride (weren’t the past years similar?). Hate’s too strong a word. More along the lines of like-dislike.

The lineups for 2012 are: the general election and my school’s 160th anniversary homecoming dinner. Come to think of it, my life’s rather low-key, eh? Heheh!

Speaking of school, I think I should top the last post of 2011 off with a marriage proposal I saw a few days back. Dude’s from my school (no wonder he looks so familiar, must’ve seen him queuing up for the delectable food at the canteen) and I heard he’s made a name for himself right now. Way to go!

Happy New Year, people! Be blessed!
            

Double Take (1): Feeling Hopeful and Empowered by 2011

We'll usher in the new year in less than 9 hours; with fireworks, booze, and loud music no less. New year or not, things remain the same. There's always work to be done and the incessant knocking and drilling a few floors down from where I am bear testament to that fact.

The next person who asks what my new year resolution is will get "1024 x 768" for an answer. I haven't had time to look back and evaluate this very eventful year. Contrary to what some thinks, 2012 is by no means the last year of us living creatures. Someone said to a few weeks back that "the end of the world" isn't like what was portrayed on the silver screen, rather it's the beginning of the end. 

Well my friends, the beginning of the end has already begun way before 2009.

On the here and now, events in 2012 will be a continuation from 2011 where corrupt regimes and system the world over were uprooted and burned to ashes. If those weren't the case, Death had a hand on a few occasions. What I'd like to see in my country is the doing away with the extremists in the Malaysian society as well as those bankrupting the nation. Also, 2012 should (hopefully) mark the demise of a morally-corrupt governance based on [the now trite] cronyism, nepotism, and flagrant violations of the Constitution. 

My role? I have a small space on the ballot paper to make an X. And I plan to do just that.

            

Cheerio and Frosted Flakes to You

[or] frosted cornflakes [in this part of the world] are my favourite but I have to watch the sugar intake. My Christmas wish came in the form of a comment and a text message (thanks Kak Mimi) a few hours ago.

Then more cheers in the newspaper and the zoo (in the newspaper). And then there's the story about how a military organization called NORAD (short for North American Aerospace Defense Command) and its predecessor began tracking Santa.

"Since that time, NORAD men, women, family and friends have selflessly volunteered their time to personally respond to phone calls and emails from children all around the world."

Wow. Christmas to me centres on a figure much bigger (pun unintended) than jolly Santa. No one knows the exact date when Christ was born and Christmas originates from the pagan holidays. But we know that there's a day in the year that this one person – fully man and fully God – was born into the world to ultimately give His life to atone for the sins of man.

Now, that to me is the "reason for the season". If the story of Santa and the reindeers, or the prospect of partying till daybreak appeal to so many year after year, the story of the "babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger" remains a revitalizing one to me.

It's neither imaginary nor delusionary.

Merry Christmas!

That Truly Treasured Time-out

Weeks and months of wearing drudgery, I'd like to think that I'm on the final lap. During my intermission in the past week, I had the time to mope about the mall to see if I can find something suitable to add to the existing wardrobe.

Wearing the same clothes for two or three years, it's time for a change. Not that I mind but it's the skin showing at awkward places that makes for an unsightly glimpse. Despite the "SALE", it costs so much. I went home with images of "DISCOUNT" and "-00.00" swimming in my head. But the thing that lingered on was the music. Put "Santa", "baby", "kiss" in a sentence and ta-daa! Horrendous.

Reindeers, candy canes, bells, and snowflakes abound. So this is Christmas.

On an unrelated note, I finished a movie-length video. My first in so many months. It wasn't A Christmas Carol (unrelated to Christmas remember?). It's WWE Tribute to the Troops! Yes, yes. I watch wrestling. It was our favourite pastime (watching pay-per-views in our richer classmate's home) back in school. Executing those moves seemed silly now but it was great fun then. Lucky we didn't break anything; silica- or calcium-based).

I don't have cheesy Xmassy songs to share but I have Nickelback's When We Stand Together. The theme song for WWE TTTT. Nevermind it was (and still is) make-believe. Kayfabe. Scripted. I treasure this 120 minutes of staying away from my keyboard and having occasional flashbacks to that time when we "layeth the smacketh down".

The live performance by the band, and the video montage and oral tributes to the US troops were moving. President Obama made a taped appearance too.

Enjoy the song, people. It's one of those rare occasions I enjoy "noisy" songs like this one. Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

That Much Needed Gaiety: A Sequel to Mile Marker 418

The participants of ICMSM 2011 are already pouring into the island but I don’t really care. They’re either the avaricious academics I so often denounce or Facebook-addicts in lab coats. The latter are a common sight in most labs from 9 to 5 each day; present company excepted.

Included – in the exodus of the educated – are two very special people who worked shared their life together with us more than a year ago (and still do, virtually). Meet Kelvin Swee, the dude who says ‘yes’ to everyone and the same guy who spent an inordinate amount of time cleaving MUNANA using neuraminidase to yield methylumbelliferone. The two groups of people in paragraph 1 should be ashamed. Boy, is he a sight for sore eyes when I walked into the lab during lunch hour. Didn’t know he’d be there today since I’ve agreed to meet with the other fellas.

Immediately, that marketplace feel I missed since their departure came back. Funny how the situation quickly turned out to be like speed dating on epinephrine and it was cacophonous at time. Handshakes. Pats. Lots of laughter. Conversations in English, Hokkien, Mandarin, and Malay. Rarely anyone completes two sentences in one language. I wonder what the Syrian dude, who was with Kelvin, thought of us. I wonder, too, what 'rojak' is in Arabic.

As I’m typing this, some of them decided to get together at Straits Quay. I’m giving that a pass since I’d be meeting Kelvin and Wen Tyng (the second dudette who will be giving an oral presentation) during the congress’ opening tomorrow. Due to the inept handling of my registration and payment (processing took 1 month!), I was told two weeks ago that payment didn’t go through yada yada... And I found out today how much they have to worry about spending for work-related activities: imperceptible. USM 0 — UM 20.

Hopefully, meeting them and attending conference together as presenters would alleviate that feeling of despair. I’m optimistic about this ☺. I should turn in now. Too much jocund repartee, guffawing, and a hot afternoon are giving me a raspy voice.

A sequel to Mile Marker 418. I ought to think harder about the title next time.
        

Shoot!

The euphemism for sh*t.

Spent half the day before realizing that it's December. Already. No rest for my weary mind and my phalanges. And evil people too.

I've been getting the same questions lately; inquiring about what my future is like. Short answer? A Picasso. You know, the one that you stare at for hours and finally something begins to take shape. 

Just before you scream "Elephant!", you saw a giraffe. That same giraffe then turns into something else. What is it that you saw, really?

I think I'm one of those people for whom the destination is the travel itself.