Tak Pernah Berubah

Tempted to make a post in Malay but decided to hold off until later.

Tak Pernah Berubah, the title of the song by Suki Low (of One in a Million fame if you didn't already know). YouTube video of the song at the end of the post. Not sure if it's just me or there's really a hint of, for lack of a better word, poignancy throughout the song but relaxing nonetheless.

Never Did Change. I reckon that to be the correct translation. And I'd like to think that I never did change too; well, not over to the dark side that is. My view of the local academia remains: that a good percentage of them are selfish and avaricious people seeking office and high praises. But try forcing them back to reality and you'll see a showcase of 'faux intelligence'. In any case, I'll be facing this bunch of people in my thesis defence on September 3. Can hardly wait!

Anyway, I'm quite certain that I can finish the slides before Kak Mimi's engagement on the third day of Aidilfitri. Events such as this do make all the slogging worthwhile. After the defence, I'll look forward to Asyura's wedding on the 16th.

Yours truly with Syura and Kak Mimi. Note: this is 3 years old so what you see ain't what you'll get

Thereafter, interview by for a job with the Ministry of Health (nice way of saying government hospitals/public laboratories) in October. Lastly, a project report at Universiti Malaya in November organized by the Malaysia Toray Science Foundation.

For a moment, it's only natural to think that we have everything drawn out. Plan all we want but it's foolish to be too certain of anything that will happen in the future. The one who trusts in him-/herself will scoff at the notion that nothing is ever certain – or at the idea of a sovereign being – and human knowledge trumps everything.

James reminds that "you do not know what tomorrow will bring". And asks, "What is your life?" (James 4:13-17). Taken out of context, mockers will only be happy to say that it's the slogan of the unambitious. Oh well, I'll be the judge of that.

Drumming the Postmodern Way

I've come a long way since the last enjoyable Friday. And tonight I have Coldplay's Yellow covered by an iPad drummer to kick it off. Way to go!

Of course, if anyone fancies the good ol' percussion sans touchscreen technologies then look up TreCool30 on YouTube for a blast.

Drums are nice but a bit out of place especially if you live in a high rise residence all your life. Consequently [and naturally], I like wind instruments better. Then again, why'd anyone care what my inclinations are? Hmm...
  

Night Falls

The night falls and the greater light ceded duty to its lesser counterpart. As I prepare for nightfall, it marks the beginning of yet another 'day' for many – man and other creatures alike.

Perhaps it's been so many nights (more than a week) filled with that greyish tint of a somewhat acrid scent that I find tonight especially beautiful. Rain in the past two days, twice today, did seem to freshen things up.

The Milky Way and a tank on Lemnos Island, Greece. (Credit: Konstantinos Vasilakis)

I saw the stars sitting pretty before the blue, night sky (yes, night skies are blue) limited by the size of my window. It's enough.

For from this calmness burst forth a thousand voices. Yet, as I hit my make-believe F5 button, I saw what I had seen moments ago: calm and quiet.

So, be it a flutter and a flurry, or a lull and a hush, I'll take them into my REM sleep knowing things are indeed in control. From the rotation of the Earth to the teardrop from that deep yawn.
 

Chasing the Dust Bunnies

Ever since the last posting more than a month ago, I could only stare at the collected dust day after day before deciding that I should just put something up here today. Begone, ye binary dust! I had so much planned for the blog before the weekend but Murphy's Law prevailed. There's nothing much I could do.

April is the birthday month of some wonderful people as far off as Минск. Just saying...

I thought the following song was good when I first heard it. Thanks to neungy1 who put up the English translation on YouTube, I now understand its content and find it rather poignant. Ha!

Stream and enjoy.

Unloveable by Mild

Now, I don't spend my time on the net looking for Thai music but some videos, being viral, will eventually catch your attention. Bell Nuntita sang this song as one of the two-song remix during the audition for Thailand's Got Talent.

I must say, a good performance. And sweet-looking too. Before anyone thinks that I support the cause of the LGBT community, I have made my stand some time back. That said, I won't stand in the middle of the street and scream "God hates fags!".

To do that would be presumptuous and assumptive; playing God and being sanctimonious. This group of people misrepresent the nature of God to serve their confrontational methods; cherry-picking from the Scripture whilst conveniently overlook the others.

On another matter, I would have no problems marching in the BERSIH rally to make a stand (BERSIH 3.0 will be a sit-in though) against all things immoral perpetuate by the government of the day.

I should get back to work now.

Phlegmatic Days

These days, the vision's clear but appeared out of focus. Voices seemed shielded, spoken from behind some fabric. Muffled. It's even harder to try to process mood of the whole affair.

How nice if we'd just agree to everything: life's principles, finances, decisions. Yes, you and I. Our thoughts effortlessly meld. We nod in a split seconds. Kiss and promenade in the dreamy rays. When hunger sets in, we take a bite out of each other. The thigh today. The arms tomorrow. Careful, it's a little tough there. The ribs the day after. Yes love. The world's ours.

Oops! Too much Walking Dead I reckon. And it's not even possible that two people are the same. Guess everyone's gotta work hard where the heart matters.
           

A Hand Job on February 14

What better way to spend February 14 than to accomplish something some at my favourite spot: the coffee table. Some preferred the dinner table, work table, and even the countertop (I suppose people get easier access to necessary stuff like whipped cream or napkins).

Cream: for dessert, that is (FantasyStock on dA)

I intended to stay dry so I made sure to work calmly. As the forgotten-who-said-it saying goes, "It's all in the wrist". I have two hands so it's half the time needed. Theoretically.

It took almost half the day before everyone's satisfied and go for a shower. Sweetness! I could remember the last moment before it was over. It was preceded by a sustained increase in heart rate and the anticipatory tremor. Getting there.

And then, that gush of happiness.

A diligent and dexterous digits are the only requirement. The thumb and pinky gently pushes left and right whilst the heel of the palm functions as a support, at times doubling as a weight. The index, middle, and ring finger work their magic in all directions. The index finger teases and twirls; sometimes vigorously, sometimes cautiously. The eyes darting purposefully. Hand-eye coordination, remember?

The other hand looks for and presses at the correct spot.

What next? Clean up. And reevaluate to see if things could be bettered. After this, I have to use my tongue and my lips but that's for another time. But for now, I'm going to rest and bring respite to my tired being. Accomplishing my goals on the coffee table appears to be my raison d'être lately.

The M115 for the right hand and the keyboard for both.

         

Asians in the States

*speaking [inaudibly] in the American accent*

Not sure why YouTube stopped sending digests on Jubilee Project. Be The Change is a timely reminder. And an important one too considering how much focus one puts on a single thing when there are many more things that matter.

So yeah, Be The Change. If I could just italiciZe the word "the".

Be The Change.

Enjoy.

*wipes saliva from lips*

     
         

United Federation of Crows

They come in different forms and traits, and they usually stand in the way between point A and B; B being an objective of A.

Many are made to believe that this group people facilitates the process of getting from A to B but the truth is, they slow things down. Worse, there are times when they only function to be a barricade. You know, that one made of razor wires?

atsoram at sxc.hu

Yes, I've tried to be like a roach. Changing myself to adapt but there's nothing much I could do when there's a minefield to the left and a scarp to the right.

天下乌鸦一样黑

And yes, I understand some 谚语 but in their hànyǔ pīnyīn form. So you Chinese-ed fellas out there who love giving names like "banana" can just keep it to yourselves.

*growling*

February Already

Damn. A month's gone. Just like that. But I can be proud of myself and the effort I put into my work.

"A little more..."

"Just a bit more." I keep telling myself.

Meanwhile, reading materials unrelated to work keep on increasing but I'm enjoying it! So much knowledge, but so little time and so weak the extraocular muscles. I've grown interested in a topic which concerns us all; yet, seeing where I live right now, I'm not supposed to discuss it openly. Rest assured, I'm not homosexual. Not a closet one too.

It's on one of these "data mining" journey on the web that I learn about Jon Gomm. And his performance of Passionflower – discovered in the unlikeliest of websites – has become my favourite YouTube vid of 2012 yet!

Here you go. Passionflower by Jon Gomm

    

One the 7th Day of CNY My Mother Gave to Me...

... a plate of pie tees! Or top hats.

Stir-fried jicama and layers of egg omelette, fried dry tofu, and chopped shrimps topped with garlic-chilli (not sure how to name this). Throwing all etiquette to the wind, the only way I know to eat these savoury lil'... thing... is to lift it upright and then drop it into the mouth.

Crush it and enjoy the sudden burst of flavours; checking every now and then that the gravy from the jicama didn't dribble from the corner of the mouth. Chew them and freeze that moment.

Repeat.

My camera's under the weather lately (and I don't think it's going to get any better with time) so a little Ps magic did salvage some of the dulcet sight I beheld during lunch.

Being a Nyonya dish, untold efforts went into the preparation of each components.

For better quality pictures, Google Images' the place to go.
      

And So It's Over

Many will start work tomorrow and reports of traffic congestion are testament to that. Ten years back, I'd still be lazing on the couch facing the TV with a half eaten mandarine in my hand.

It's all in my head like it was last week. And it's a shame my mobile phone camera will no longer focus properly. Not because it was smudged by my oily, saliva-covered fingers. Speaking of that unsightly digits, I didn't get to eat kuih kapit (love letters) this year. It was nowhere to be seen and nobody brings them.

Prelude to an epicurean overindulgence: Steamboat for the dinner before New Year's Eve dinner at my uncle's.

It all seems to fizzle out way too quickly. A prayer of thanks. Dinner 1 (uncle's). Dinner 2 (potluck at another uncle's). Dinner 3 (at your truly's). I don't have to start work tomorrow (not in the employment sense, not yet) but I have my work cut out alright. When I'm nearly out of my reticent shell, I will be back to being surrounded by the four walls in a quasi-asylum milieu.

It's all peace and quiet (punctuated by the occasional screams of that spoiled brat below) on the outside but there's a flurry of chicken feathers in my head.

And so, it's over for 2012. Aww, maaaann !

             

Going Home for Dinner

Wait! I've always been home. And I could only imagine what it's like to celebrate new year in a foreign land.

Some are still on their way. In time for lunch on the first day of new year. Some has gone home and mope around until dinnertime. In any case, meal time's over and it was a blessing. I didn't snap any pictures tonight but I did so last night. Yes, yes. We have had dinner two nights in a row now. *ha!*

This one's a foreign TVC about homecoming. Not bad.

Daughtry's Home ain't bad too. Ah, me and videos!

Boom! There goes the opening salvo marking the Chinese New Year and time to sign off. Everyone's home. The American troop's home from Iraq. Truly, home is where the heart is.

Gong Xi Fa Cai !!

Stuck in a Rut, I Went to Town

Need to break out!

Ever since the victory at Water-flu, I went back to the countryside and retired to a life of monotonous routine. Instead of growing tubers, weeding the garden, and tending to the chickens, I invested in some black and white seedlings sold under the trade name "Standard 102/102 Microsoft Natural *". I was told I'd reap the rewards in about 3 months from the day I finished planting them.

Daily, I obediently got up and selected the "seeds" to be sowed. This morning was a departure from the norm. I went to the town hall to support a fellow "farmer", also a war veteran, in his bid to obtain certification for his produce from two goodness-knows-who appointed officials.

Witnessed by representatives of the village chief and friends, he gingerly detailed his farming techniques and at the same time flashed rough sketches of the root system he'd made. Nobody knows if the occasional nods from the officials signaled their comprehension or an exercise to relief pressure on the neck.

I held my breath when the inquiry began. My farmer friend was quizzed about the Five Wives and One Husband **. One by one he answered them all until they came to the Husband. Try as he might, he couldn't seem to satisfy the inquirer. By now, even the cat that was lying by the wooden barrel began to walk away – uninterested.

The bell tolled and I guess the season's harvest wasn't quite what everyone was expecting. Apparently, some in the hall had already made up their mind on what they wanted even before descending upon our town. They wouldn't compromise. It doesn't matter that there was indeed a product. They were looking for a certain shape, size, colour, and weight.

A modern "reenactment" of that medieval scene at the "town hall"

Sadly, the colours olive, emerald, jade, lime, turquoise, teal, moss, chartreuse, pistachio, and avocado aren't green. See, he said green and they said, "Moss and teal". Never mind they weren't in agreement. The farmer's got it wrong alright.

Ah, soon I'll be sitting on that chair facing my own demons. When the time comes, I hope I match my shades of blue correctly. Absurd? You bet!

_________________

* Keyboard [layout]
** What, When, Where, Who, Why, and How?

Wednesday. The day I went and lend support to my friend who has to defend his thesis; an oral examination also known as - to be pretentiously genteel - viva voce.

    

New Year, New Intruder, Same Old Response

The new year brings with it new, and previously unknown viral particles; at least to the men and women of the armed forces garrisoned within. I'm wondering how they got to me since I've been home the past few days.

I look a little better (Source: The Columbia Sun)

Post-nasal drip when I lie down and an "outward-nasal flow" when I'm not; they're driving me nuts. Now the tear gland's acting up. Soon, as the battle rages on, the aches will become more pronounced and my strength will eventually ebb away.

Things to do when the battle's over: wipe my keyboard and phone. For now, a little peace and quiet.

La Garde meurt mais ne se rend pas! We shall overcome the Battle of Water-Flu.

     

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!

Righteous Among Nations

I'm so tired I can't sleep, and my eyelids they twitch.

So I thought I better do some reading to sort of slowing that overactive mind on overdrive for the past week. One thing led to another and now I got more intrigued; not because it's new but because of the details.

Being lazy to yak away, I decided to rehash that part I read. I realized it's on Wikipedia too.

You want to know about my motivation, don't you? Well. It is the kind of sentiments anyone would have when he actually sees refugees face to face, begging with tears in their eyes. He just cannot help but sympathize with them. Among the refugees were the elderly and women. They were so desperate that they went so far as to kiss my shoes, Yes, I actually witnessed such scenes with my own eyes. Also, I felt at that time, that the Japanese government did not have any uniform opinion in Tokyo. Some Japanese military leaders were just scared because of the pressure from the Nazis; while other officials in the Home Ministry were simply ambivalent.

People in Tokyo were not united. I felt it silly to deal with them. So, I made up my mind not to wait for their reply. I knew that somebody would surely complain about me in the future. But, I myself thought this would be the right thing to do. There is nothing wrong in saving many people's lives... The spirit of humanity, philanthropy... neighborly friendship... with this spirit, I ventured to do what I did, confronting this most difficult situation – and because of this reason, I went ahead with redoubled courage.

Another piece towards the completion of my learning puzzle readying for my trip to Oświęcim and Jerusalem. Not forgetting Washington, DC. All those places in, at least, 5 years time. Early preparations wouldn't hurt though.

               

It's [the Umpteenth] Friday!

And I'm still loving it.

Went out today and stared at people. It's only a matter of time before I get a slap from some folks offended by my keen and attentive gaze. I figured no one would be interested to know about my risky venture so I'll just skip over that.

Long ago, my friend posted something about equations and plots and their connection to friendship (I think). Mr Bonehead here decided to build upon that idea but it soon fizzled out. I can't even locate that particular entry now.

As some sort of vindicatory gesture, I hereby put up this funny picture I found whilst trawling the net. Now I can go back to being lazy until bedtime and work on my graphs tomorrow on SigmaPlot.

Mathematical curves in motion

By the way, I wasn't staring or perving. Honest!
       

Looking Upwards

Literally, up.

Last night seemed to be a good night. The temperature's just right. Humidity too. Of all the things I do, I decided to turn to my left...

Yesterday morning started without breakfast. Downed a glass of water and headed out the door. yes, I've showered and brushed my teeth if you're wondering. Went to town to look for a set of spark plugs and the spark plug gauge. Got the plugs but not the gauge. On my way back, I got caught in a terrible jam.

All those time running around and simmering in the jam, the sore on the left side of my neck got more noticeable. Fast forward 6 hours, I was nursing a bothersome ache and retired early.

... I went "argh!" and exhaled loudly. The pain was most excruciating. And then, it disappeared; that is, until triggered again. You've guessed it, the sleepiness' long gone and I'm left in the darkness with eyes wide open. It was then that I decided to do some reading online. My previous reading of the Iran-Contra affair and the life of Ernesto Guevara were heavy so this time round, I'd just blog hop.

And post something here.

Some random pics (of skies) from my mobile phone make good embellishments.

One forgotten evening

Another forgotten evening. But I remember the place at which this picture was snapped. An 'ugly' place.

One of my favourites

It's not feeling nice even when I Believe (Blessid Union of Souls) is playing. Wasn't great too when Extreme's More Than Words were playing.

But am I glad that I gazed upwards. Too bad, I have limited neck rotation. Temporarily.

  

Visiting Kingston Town for Some Reggae Goodness

Oh Kingston Town,
The place I long to be
If I had the whole world
I would give it away
Just to see, the girls at play

If I had enough money, I would give it away for a ticket to Glasgow. Oh wait, this song ain't about me or the place I long to be.

  

White November: Recollection and Recounting de novo

Even if it's hot and humid here, Malaysians experience the occasional whiteout caused by a really heavy downpour especially now that the monsoon season is upon us. Elsewhere, it's pumpkin, candles, and snowfall.

September and October have said their goodbyes (good riddance!) and I'm welcoming November. And I can feel the noose tightening around my neck. Anyone realize that time somehow moves faster when we're hoping that they'd just slow down? Maybe it's just me dwelling in the past.

For so many reasons, I wish to be stuck in May and maybe, July. With each passing month, it becoming more and more difficult to complete this arduous journey. One made worse by the vista of decadence (huh?) and the filth emanating from it; all sustained by a stream flowing from that deceitful heartland (what?)

I can't think straight at the moment but my hope for November is... I wonder if there's anything I should look forward to.

The good feelings from six months ago? Is it the carefree days of June? Wait! The felicitous upshots of July? Those were the [more recent] days, and were being the operative word.

All I know is that the alarm has been set to go off at 8 and I have a huge amount of debt to settle – sleep debt accumulated from the past few weeks, that is.