So.. 2009 huh?

So... 2009 huh?

2008's been amazing.

Let's have a run-through of how things have been.
Note: I actually took the trouble of going through every picture I had in my computer from this year and took the best and most memorable ones.

----====----

I celebrated more birthdays than I usually do annually and I actually enjoyed a majority of them. (Not all are pictured. Same case for the rest of this post.)

Swarna's.

Maish's and mine.

Niresh's.

Dharsh's.

Chittesh's (notice the absence of Chittesh from the above picture)

Wayne's.

----====----

High School this year has been one of, if not the best schooling years of my life thus far. I picked out a bunch of pictures schoolmates that read my blog will be able to relate to.

The M.A.D.

(Most of) The folks that made 4 Dinamik 2008 an unforgettable endeavour.

The Editorial Board. (see that guy positioned 3rd from the right? He's our Editor now.)

We had our fair share of fun away from school grounds.

Such a lovely picture. Debating in KL.


Make no mistake, we had our fair share (biggest understatement of the year) of fun in school too.

----====----

I must admit that "Scouting Life" this year was fun, primarily in the early part of the year... what with two awesome camps in a span of 3 months.

There was Pantai Kerachut...

and ATC.

----====----

One of my childhood friends got married late this year. First one of the ten.

----====----

Though very hard, I managed to sneak in a few outings/meetings with some old friends.

Haneesha

Mahisha + Gang

Tanya and Akshay

Laureen and Siew Chai

Wen Jun

----====----

I've gained some very cool friends this year as well.

Shukla

Chulan

Divya

Trish and Roobini

Michael Tan (lol)

----====----

When it comes to real fun... "legitimate, pure, out-of-the-house, with-friends, no-parents" fun, I must say that I've had quite a bit of it, excluding parties.

We hung out at the Queensbay round-a-bout. :)

We hiked (sort of) to Teluk Kampi

and we enjoyed the World Music Festival.

(No there weren't just three occasions. Lots of pictures, so little time.)

----====----

So that brings me to where I am right now. Sitting on my chair at 2.57 am completing this post. (Mind you, I need to get up in three hours for a hike at Bukit Gambir)

Recapping the year has been fun. I want this year to end, simply because it has been one hell of a year and I don't want anything to ruin that now, especially on the last day. So good riddance 2008.

As for celebrating the arrival of the forthcoming year... I don't really see what the big hoo-haa is about. Wanna know what I'm doing? I'll just be at home with family friends. Might probably listen to the radio or something of that stature for a proper countdown.

----====----

Cassie from Skins once said, "I would like to leave home, grow a beard and join the circus". Personally, that idea doesn't seem too bad right now. But then again, it is 3.07 am, I am very sleepy, and I am not thinking straight... in fact I'm not thinking at all.

Night. xoxo.

December 26-28 Greatest Hits

With three days of 2008 left...

You COULD call this a TAG. However, I was not "tagged" by anyone... this "tag" idea came solely from my eagerness to hear...read your opinion on the matter at hand.. a matter I will make clear to you shortly.
I've decided to do a sort of 'Top 10 Hits of the Year' thing. Not songs... but occasions ... significant happenings of 2008 that are worth mentioning one more time before the turn of the year.

I've thought long and hard about my Top 10 and here it is:

My Top 10 of 2008

10. Watching Manchester United become the Champions of Europe LIVE on ESPN.

9. Debating in Kuala Lumpur in accordance with the HELP University College National English Debates 2008.

8. Narrating 'The Patriot', Penang Free School's official sketch for the School Drama Competition 2008.

7. Being accepted into the Editorial Board of Penang Free School.

6. Experiencing the joy and jubilation that existed (almost) everyday in my school class, 4 Dinamik.

5. Building the YMCA, a two-storey tower made entirely out of bamboo, tekko, and raffia string during the Annual Sea Scout Training Camp 2008 / Camping in Pantai Kerachut with fellow members of the 8th Georgetown (South) Sea Scouts.

4. Birthday parties, namely Chittesh's birthday party at Sunset Bistro, Wayne's at Wayne's house and Mahisha's, Swarna's and mine at Century Bay... back in the happy days.

3. The World Music Festival 2008 at Quarry Park, Botanical Gardens, Penang.

2. Watching President-elect Barack Obama's acceptance speech in Chicago, Illinois after winning the Presidential Election.

1. Befriending a handful of individuals that I now feel I've known for more than just a year, namely DIVYA, CHULAN, JANICE, AIDA, Sheema, Wayne, Dhivia, Varun, Natasia, Moto Moto and well... Chittesh, whom I never really knew personally up till January this year.


I would really appreciate it if the following individuals would take some time and make up their own list comprising of their 'Top 10 of 2008'. I personally, am very interested.

- Chittesh
- Divya
- Chulan
- Haneesha
- Narinder (that elusive 2nd post has been anticipated by many =P)
- Aida
- Stephen
- SaTah
- Wen Jun
- Dhivia
- Mahisha
- Alex
- Deepak
- Niresh
- Nisha

To be honest, any one of you that both reads my blog and has a blog are welcomed to form their own list. Please do let me know if you do.

----=============================---

I'm pretty sure this will be my second-last post of the year, the last one being on the 31st.
If you don't know already, around 200 of my Windows Live Messenger contacts were deleted by accident. I need you all to just add me on WLM again with the email spike_slayer19@hotmail.com

I was given a suggestion to make a new email... seize the opportunity that presented itself after I deleted those 200 contacts. Make no mistake, I do have an email that I will switch over to some day. I've had it for quite a while now but I don't need to make the switch just yet, for the time it would take me to add all of my contacts one-by-one, sort them into various groups and label those groups will be close to three or four hours... three or four hours that can be used to deal with more pressing matters and struggles.

After all, every person desires a clean slate to start on at the beginning of a new year... a fresh start to almost everything, in almost all ways possible. Seeing that there's only three days left in 2008, anyone who needs to handle certain issues ought to do so soon, myself included.

Enjoy what is left of the year, people.

After Christmas

Ever wanted to learn some simple Chinese in just under a minute?
Here's your chance! Thanks for this Daniel al Nahian :D

Are you harboring a fugitive?...............Hu

Yu Hai Ding?
Stupid man.............................................Dum Gai
Small horse............................................Tai Ni Po Ni
That's not right?.....................................Sum Ting Wong
See me ASAP?.......................................Kum Hia
Stupid Man.............................................Dum Fuk
Did you go to the beach?.......................Wai Yu So Tan
I bumped the coffee table.......................Ai Bang Mai Fa Kin Ni
I think you need a face lift......................Chin Tu Fat
It's very dark in here...............................Wai So Dim
I thought you were on a diet...................Wai Yu Mun Ching
This is a tow away zone..........................No Pah King
Our meeting is scheduled for next week....Wai Yu Kum Nao
Staying out of sight.................................Lei Ying Lo
He's cleaning his automobile..................Wa Shing Ka
Your body odor is offensive..................Yu Stin Ki Pu
Great.......................................................Fa Kin Su Pah

-===-

and if you did not get it, then there is no hope for you in life.

December 25th!

2001 - My place

2002 - Aunty Bina's place

2003 - My place

2004 - Uncle Wong's place

2005 - Genting Highlands

2006 - My place

2007 - Aunty Bina's place (before Austria)

2007 - Vienna, Austria.

2008?

---====---

MERRY CHRISTMAS! to the normal people,

and MERRY CRIMBO to the players of The Kingdom of Loathing.

Have a great day :)

December 23-24

#100

I love my new phone. I'm typing this with this uber small QWERTY on-screen keyboard thing. Anyways, now I'm back to typing on my computer. I made it passed TWO sentences okay.

So it's the 24th. Have you guys done your Christmas shopping? I sure haven't. I'm supposed to get my mum something today. I haven't the slightest clue what she wants. I don't believe in getting presents for someone without letting them know what it is. Wouldn't things be much simpler if a person told you what he/she wanted and then you just got it for them?

Anyways, looks like I'm going to get to meet Chulan after all. So here are the details (for Chulan, Singh and Chittesh?) Confirmed ones.

My place. 49 Tingkat Pantai Jerjak. (stalkers proceed)
This Friday (26th)
We'll start at like 2 or 3. Come by 2. We'll chill for a while.
You can go back whenever you want.
We're watching Into The Wild and The Emperor's Club.
Yeah that's about it.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow. Meeting up with childhood friends (for the second time in three days fyi). Since I was really bored, I looked for a photo of us from as long ago as I could. 2005 was as far as I could go in a hurried state. (Since you know.. I've got better things to do with my life.)

2005 - UPR

2008 - Mario's.

Niresh(black collared T-Shirt person) looks EXACTLY the same in both pictures... even what he's wearing looks the same :O

juju.

December 20-22

The List
1. Get a new do done for my hair. This long curly/wavy hair of mine is unmanageable.
2. Hang out with Wen Jun and Sartah MORE than once.
3. Pass Aida the entire Skins series somehow.
3. Get Chulan to come over to my place to watch The Emperor's Club, Armageddon and Into The Wild. ( in no specific order ) Hopefully Chittesh and Narinder join this movie watching as well.
4. Meet up with Divya
5. Meet up with Dhivia, Varun and Keshen (not necessarily but most probably together)
6. Become a table tennis pro (this is kind of extreme) (I just meant get better at the game) FAIL
7. Paintball.
8. Camp.
9. Reach Level 50 in the Kingdom of Loathing.
10. Spend a ridiculous amount of time at Mahisha's place FAIL
11. Complete my undang test. (decided against it)
12. Get a part-time job somewhere in Queensbay Mall. (decided against it)
13. If in KL, meet up with my wife, Ashereen and our seven kids. FAIL
14. Try, just TRY to attend the Combined Training Camp. FAIL
15. Hang with the gang. (Chittesh,Paalan, Narinder Jerome)
16. I NEED TO HANG WITH HANEESHA WHOM WHICH I HAVE NOT CHILLED WITH FOR A LONG TIME :D

-------===-------

Three days to Christmas.

I'm getting my new phone today. I finally chose the HTC Touch Viva. It's going to cost me RM200. I can't help but feel sad for my old phone, the Nokia 6610. I was forced to use it about a year and a half ago after my Sony Ericsson w710i was stolen from my schoolbag. I've no idea how I've been so patient with this phone but all in all, it's been great. I've dropped it countless times (I'm sure most of you have barewitnessed this phenomenon) but it's still survived. One of the best parts about this phone was nobody could give a damn about stealing it. I would sometimes leave it in my schoolbag and I wouldn't have to worry about it at all because well... the phone was that pathetic (in a good way).
Whatever it is... I'll miss my 6610. It's been in the family for almost 6 years now.
I'll still use it I guess... when I go to school because there's no way in hell I'm taking my HTC to school. Nonetheless, it'll always be second choice now :(

Sad sad.

xoxo.

December 15-19

Yo. Yo yo. Yo yo yo.

Ssup.
Word.

While I've been absent from Penang, nothing significant seems to have happened, except that my room ceiling has been given a new coat of paint. If you think that little piece of information was not important at all, then you are wrong... for I am right.

'Not In Penang' was fun. I've spent a whole bunch of moolah on clothes (z0mg totallzz girl) and food. Really. I got a Christmas present for myself, seeing that I won't nor want to get presents from anyone else. Seriously to those out there (and the few that have asked me), I do not want a Christmas present. I know giving presents is a part of being in the Christmas mood and all that, but unless you're my mum or dad, I really really do not need you to waste money on me.... not now at least. Call me a mood-kill. No exceptions for my birthday, btw.

Deciding on a phone can be a strenuous task. I've never really gone so in-depth in searching for the right phone for me. In 'Not In Penang', cousin Harish and I spent time looking for ideal phones. I'm down to three choices:


Sony Ericsson w760i

Sony Ericsson w910i


HTC Touch Viva

Currently, I'm leaning towards the HTC Touch Viva. I'm taking into consideration the fact that Moto Moto has told me about how Walkman phones tend to lose steam after a while... not to mention becoming outdated. So many new Walkman phones are coming out and eventually, there will be sleeker looking models than the w910i. The w760i is good. That is all. Nothing more, nothing less. The HTC Touch Viva felt so good when I had it in my grasp yesterday. I'm not going to get another phone in at least a couple of years. I'm thinking college, and how useful a PDA may prove to be in a year's time. So really, at this point of time I do not know for sure which of the three I'm going to buy. Thoughts, anyone? (yes, Chittesh you too)

-----=======-----

Now... Here's To:

someone; who is going to help me get Chulan's contact number. (seriously I NEED THAT NUMBER)
someone else; who is going to help me get in contact with Jerome
Moto Moto and CW; for the time spent with me at 'Not In Penang'.
Ryan Anasdass Arokiasamy; whom it was so good to see after close to a year.
Hannneeeeeeeeeee; whom I want TO PUNCH AND KICK AND THEN HUG so badly.
Harish; for that amazing last-stitch effort to get me to the station on time.
Tanya; whom I miss oh so very much.
and
Janice; for pretty much everything else. Seriously, thank you velly march.

-----=====-----

Moving on, I like my Christmas present velly march two. You one two no watt eat is?

I see no reason as to why the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot ;)

Good investment, in my opinion. I don't need to worry about masquerade parties anymore.

xoxo.

Almost forgot,
I'm back, bitches!

xoxo.

December 14

I am leaving Penang tomorrow.
I doubt I will be able to update while I'm there.
I will be back by Friday, hopefully with pictures and a brief description of what I did.
I will miss you, blog.
It'd be nice if you let the song on your left load completely and you got to listen to it. I've been listening to it all night.

Goodbye till then people.

December 13

Because I know you people read my blog...

A friendly reminder to Paalan.

This has to happen at least one more time before we move on to 2009.

And to the four of you...

So does this. Meng Jeang can come too lol. Oh and Chittesh does not need to be drenched.

December 12 (2)

Of the many things that one can do, this is possibly one of the most versatile in terms of reason and purpose. The act of being alone can occur in many different ways and take many different forms. You can be alone in a crowded room, or simply alone in your head.

A common image of alone is that of a person without whom they can share themselves; the lack of a significant other. This is definitely a valid view (and one that I can relate to). In this instance, being alone may or may not be a negative thing. Many times, this state is one not chosen actively, but one simply of bad fortune and/or situation. Other times, it may be a purposeful decision, which I will talk about shortly.

"Being alone" does not imply loneliness. While that case may be true some of the time, it is by far not the only definition. To be alone is often times an actively chosen state, not a passive occurrence. There are many reasons an individual would choose to be alone. One may choose to be alone to assemble their thoughts, take something into consideration, or just simply have time to themselves. They may also desire to be alone because they are hurt, depressed, or overwhelmed -- as the case may be when one has been dumped or rejected (in my case... retrospectively) or is over-worked.

Introverts also fall into this idea, as they thrive on having time to themselves; they find such an activity rejuvenating and reinvigorating. A need to be alone for an introvert is especially important after being with a large group for a period of time; interaction and sensory overload lead the introvert to the need to be by themselves.

In many circumstances, being by one's self can often be a combination of these things. It can be fantastic, or it can be absolutely awful (or somewhere in between). In the end though, no one is alone forever and that is something everyone can rely on.

I've brought this up because I've been meaning to make a point.

I am me. In all the world there is no one else exactly like me. Everything that comes out of me is authentically mine, because I alone chose it. I own everything about me: my body, my feelings, my mouth, my voice, all my actions, whether they be to others or myself. I own my fantasies, my hopes, my dreams and my fears. I own my triumphs and successes, all my failures and mistakes. Because I own all of me, I can become intimately acquainted with me.

I know there are aspects about myself that puzzle me, and other aspects that I do not know of... but as long as I am friendly to myself, I can courageously look for solutions to the puzzles and ways to find out more about me. However, I look and sound, whatever I say and do, and whatever I think and feel at any given moment in time is authentically me. If later some parts of how I looked, sounded, thought and felt turn out to be unfitting, I can discard that which is unfitting, keep the rest, and invent something new for that which I have discarded.

I can see, hear, feel, think, say and do. I have the tools to survive, to be close to others, to be productive, and to make sense and order out of the world of people and things outside of me. I own me, and therefore I can engineer me. I am me, and I am okay.

Do you see what being alone can do to even a person like me? To be honest with you, during these couple of weeks in which a lot of significant things have happened to me, I've liked being alone. In fact, at times I really love being alone. Never once have I found a companion that was as companionable as solitude.

12 days to Christmas, by the way.

December 12

I'm not proud of it but these pictures made me 'lol'.

fufu.

December 11

Riddle me this.

Look at the picture and the caption.

The wheels on the bus go up and down.

Get it?

Also, to Tapsy. I knew you for 8 years yet I didn't get to know you very well. Nonetheless, I know somewhere deep inside I will miss you very much :(
R.I.P.
Deepest condolences to Niresh, Nisha and Aunty Bina.


xoxo.

A friend told me.

A friend asked me randomly yesterday, " If three elephants had an orgy, what would happen if a fourth elephant joined them? "

The correct answer to that question surprisingly has no connection with the question at all. Go ahead and guess. I'll let you guys know in a couple of days. The first one to get the correct answer gets 10 points.

Coincidentally,( I am not making this shit up ) another me enlightened me with a fun fact today morning when we were talking about me sneezing in my sleep. Did you know, it is impossible to sneeze with your eyes open without either damaging your neck or your brain?
That's pretty fucked up right? I've always had this urge to do things normal people wouldn't do, IE sneezing with your eyes open. Gotta scratch that off the list now. Next on the list is ' swallow a spaghetti strand through my nose ' . I'll update you when I'm done with that, whether you want to know or you don't.

I still do not know Prem Joshua's age. I've visited numerous sites in the past few days but none of them have his age stated in his biography section. Why's it such a mystery? Seriously, if anyone knows his age, do tell me.

I am going to be in Kuala Lumpur from the 15th November onwards. No idea when I'll be back yet. Looking forward to this trip because...
a) I'm meeting Ashereeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen
b) I'm meeting Ashereeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen
c) I'm meeting ASHEREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNNN :DDD
d) I am HOPEFULLY meeting CW and Moto Moto :DDD
e) Ashereeeeeeeeeeeeennnnnnnnnnnnn

Did you like my display of colors?

------------------------------================-----------------------------

Moving back a couple of days...

The beach was interesting. It was interesting because of the company I had. Moto Moto, Wen Jun, Aidaaaaaaa, Satah and Shen (briefly). Truly, one of the better days I've had in the past week or so. We talked on the beach. The only thing missing was a bottle of wine :( , right guys? :P (inside joke)
I helped start a fire (ooooh) on the beach as well. Not sure how that turned out though. Met an old scout. Pretty interesting. Okay moving on.

Went to Gurney Plaza after the beach, at which point we lost the company of Satah and Shen. Still, driving there was really fun. Ultraman ftw! Gurney Plaza's new wing isn't that great, honestly. There's no real KICK to the place. Perhaps its because a majority of the shops aren't opened yet. I'd like to believe that.
We settled at A&W, a place I've not been to for a very long while, for dinner. Service? PATHETIC. There's this trend starting to form, specifically in the new wing. I recall mentioning the pathetic service of the new Nandos a few posts back. A&W was no different. Why don't fast food chains have spare change? The girl at the counter COMPLAINED when I didn't have small change.
" Tak ada duit kecil ke? " *sad face*
" Tak de, bitch. "

So that was A&W. I'm not going back there again until I'm at a position where I'm forced to either 'GO TO A&W' or 'make love to my bolster'. Actually, making love to my bolster seems like a more satisfying option. MOVING ON.

After a bit of convincing, Moto Moto and WJ decided to go for the Jazz Festival. This was an indirect ploy of mine so I could get a free ride to Bayview Beach Resort without needing to pay for bus tickets. ( I'm KIDDING gosh )
After a combined 13 pestering calls from Pavitra and Luvenia, I finally reached. The festival on the whole was good. Below this are some pictures I've stolen without the approval of Shukla Chittesh and the approval of Moto Moto :D

This lady reminded me of Queen Latifah. She was really cool though. Big Momma ftw!

Hitched a ride home with Moto Moto and WJ and Aidaaaaaa again. Stopped by a Nasi Kandar Subaidah 24 Jam somewhere along Tanjung Bungah. Discovered a new NK drink. Milo Ais Dinosaur (I swear that's what it's called). It's HUGE. I think Moto Moto estimated that it would be able to fill up 6 or 7 regular Iced Milos.
Milo Ais Dinosaur. In Nasi Kandar stalls near you.

Reached home at around 2. That was a good 11 hours out of the house. Enjoyed every bit of it.

UPDATE: New pictures.

Moto Moto.

She who did not make funny face with I


Look at the size of that thing!


*back to present day*

lulu.