Goodbye 2007! Hello 2008!

And the last day of 2007 is finally here, and here we are, welcoming in the new year at midnight tonight. It's been absolute ages since my last blogpost, mostly due to the fact that I was on holiday with my family and when I came back to Kuching, I was just too lazy to blog. Too lazy to sit down with my trusty sidekick El Laptop and type type type. But I'm back, at least for today, and it's time to get back to the normal blogging routine. I've got so much to say, some pictures from the vacation, but for today, I'll just focus on reviewing the past 12 months. I remember doing something like this last year too, so let's try to make it into an end-of-year tradition or something.

Esther's Significant Events of 2007:

January to April - This was the second semester of my sophomore year in Unimas, and it was also during this time that I started getting caught up with the Heroes craze.

May and June - A period of total bliss! The 2-month holidays for all Malaysian public universities started, thus marking the end of my sophomore year. I was quite busy, going for church events, having slumber parties with my buddies, catching movies at the local cinema, and overall having a good time.

July to October - I entered my third year of TESL studies in Unimas. This semester was probably the most hectic and busy semester I've ever had. But we managed to pull it all off - crazy assignments, so-hard-you-can-cry exams, and the play production. The play was especially important, as I wrote the script and directed a group of 45 coursemates. This semester was also a special one for my debating experience. I was part of the Unimas A team that won the Yayasan Sarawak World Style English Debate Competition 2007, and it was a thrilling and memorable journey. We helped create history by becoming the first institution to win the championship trophy three years in a row. In the finals of the debate competition, our team was the Closing Opposition, and I spoke in the position of the Opposition Whip. I also won the Public Speaking Competition, also organised by Yayasan Sarawak. We made the news in 6 local newspapers, and to this day the memory of winning still makes me smile. Heroes Season 2 also aired in the USA, and I spent a lot of time and energy (not to mention disc space!) on each precious episode.

November - Holidays again! Went to Hornbill Steamboat twice, the first with some coursemates to celebrate the end of exams, and secondly with triSh and Vivian.

December - The best family vacation ever! 8 crazy days of shopping and walking and eating and laughing and touring the fabulous night lights of KL! I also turned one year older (horror of horrors, I'm 22!), and of course, beautiful Christmas! A new shopping mall called Boulevard opened, and for the first week of its opening it seemed like the whole of Kuching was concentrated into that one building! Traffic jams all over!

And there you have it. Memories of another year fading into a few pages of diary paper. In a matter of hours it'll be 2008, and the entire cycle begins again. It's funny how time flies by so quickly. Almost like blinking and realising the traffic light has turned green and all the cars are zooming past you. But anyway, below is another list to add to my blog!

In 2007, I discovered...

• Heroes
• Adrian Pasdar
• Bleach
• Cecelia Ahern
• that flowers can make me smile
• that I am a 'romantic sentimentalist'
• that dried roses are still very beautiful
• that I still can't finish reading Tolkien's LOTR
• there's nothing like a cup of hot tea on a cold rainy day
• an icy cold can of Coca-Cola is also really good
• I still like instant noodles
• spicy Korean noodles
• KimGary restaurant in Midvalley Megamall
• Shakey's Pizza serve pretty good pasta
• I never get bored of pasta
• I cook really good creamy mushroom soup
• DoTa
• the digital camera is a blogger's best friend
• you can debate in your T-shirt and jeans and still win
• "On The Street Where You Live"
• Facebook
• sloths are beautiful creatures
• kedondong juice
• belachan goes very well with kedondong slices
• that if you talk/eat too fast, you might bite yourself and get a terrible ulcer at the very spot in your left cheek where your upper and lower molars meet
• that if you smile suddenly in an air-conditioned room, your lips might crack
• cracked lips are painful
• that the colours pink and purple are really pretty
• that I get a headache at night if I don't take a nap in the afternoon
• too much sleep will kill me
• too much shopping will kill me
• too much Cola still hasn't killed me
• the words "empath", "cryokinesis", and "yatta"... all thanks to the Heroes obsession
• you always feels safer when you're holding a torchlight
• I still like little stuffed toys
• sometimes the simplest things are the ones that make you happy

And this is it, people! The end of 2007, the beginning of 2008! I can't believe this past year has flown by so fast! Too fast, almost. But then again, there's always tomorrow to look forward to! See you next year! Cheers!

I don't get it!

Very serious WARNING: Big time Heroes Season 2 spoilers ahead! Skip this blog entry (seriously!) if you don't want to have your fun spoiled by knowing what happens next.


"Why does Nathan always die at the end of each volume?"

Not that I'm saying he's dead yet. But I've just finished the entire Volume 2 of Heroes fame, and I'm left devastated and heartbroken... again. Those of you who've been reading my blog long enough know how crazy I am over the entire Heroes franchise. And that my favourite character (the ultimate favourite over the other favourites) is Nathan Petrelli, aka the Flying Politician. What happened at the end of Season 1 (and thus Volume 1) was this: Peter, unable to control his powers, was about to destroy the New York city, and everyone saw only one way to save New York - kill Peter by planting a bullet through his head. So Claire raised that gun, crying and shivering (Peter was her darling uncle after all), and Peter closed his eyes, ready to die... Until his brother Nathan came swooping down from the skies above and promptly rescued the entire population of NY by flying Peter up into the skies, to explode in 'safety'. Of course, the only way this would end was with Nathan's death too, but he flew Peter up, and as the other heroes watched, the sky lit up with a nuclear explosion. And I was left heartbroken, because the writers of Heroes had killed off my two favourite characters, just like that. I remember staring at the black screen of my laptop for a few moments after that, completely shocked, and entirely devastated, almost to the point of hysterics. That was it. The end. No more Peter, and more importantly, no more Nathan. No more Nathan, no more fun. The end. Finito. Vamoose. Nada. Adieu, Nathan.

Or so I thought.

Season 2 opened in a mess. Everyone was everywhere, except Nathan. Nathan was nowhere to be seen. Until several moments later, when they revealed how he had escaped imminent death. After the explosion, Nathan was left to fall like a duck that had just been shot out of the skies, with the only exception that the duck didn't have half his body burned and blistered from the explosion. Then Peter came to the rescue, flying to catch Nathan before he hit the ground (Peter the Empath, remember?) and carrying him to a hospital. Many many many many episodes later, Nathan recovered (with a little help from Adam Monroe aka Takezo Kensei), and Esther was a very very happy girl.

And then Episode 11 Volume 2 had to happen. Nathan had to come and rescue his little brother (again!) from a big mess, succeeded in making Peter realize the errors of his ways (with a little help from Matt Parkman aka Telepathic Cop), Hiro Nakamura (aka Teleporter Extraordinaire) tackled the problem that was Adam Monroe, and all seemed well. Nathan, Peter, and Matt decided that the only way the could destroy the Company totally was to go public with their superpowers. And this is the part I don't understand. Nathan received two bullets in his chest just when he was about to say "I have the abil -- BANG BANG!" and we'll never know what he was about to say (although we can make a good guess) because Nathan crumpled into the arms of Peter, gasping for what seems to be his last few breaths on planet Earth.

And again, I am left thinking: "Oh NO! They can't do this! Not again! Not Nathan!"

Why? Why did it have to be him? Of course, I'm pretty certain the writers will think up some really cool way to make sure he survives, but can't they take some pity on a poor nearly-22-year old girl stuck in the pathetic island of Borneo? Can't they consider that maybe it's time Nathan was given a break? That maybe too many near-death experiences aren't really very healthy? That maybe Nathan has suffered a little too much already? So, to borrow and modify a few lines from the ancient Greek play Oedipus Rex (and the script to the same play), here's what I have to say:

"Spare Nathan! Let him live!"

And thus endeth Volume 2. Let Volume 3 begin!

A night out with my buddies!

So I finally managed to go to Hornbill Steamboat with my buddies tonight! Man, I've been wanting to go with triSh and Vivian for the longest of times, but somehow we never did go together... But tonight the three of us did manage to go! Our schedules were right (no exams, no uni, no work!), and our moolah reserves were quite alright too ($$!), so at about 7 pm we reached the place. It's a good thing we arrived when we did, because it was only a matter of minutes before the whole place got crawling with people. So we got a table situated a little further from the bustling crowd (somewhere near the exit), and we turned on the gas... I must say I've never gorged this much or this fast before. Heehee. We finally finished eating at about 8.45 pm, but no, the night was still, and definitely not over yet.

So we zoomed down to Everrise in town to browse a bit, then went to pick up Jenny (a good friend of ours from church) at about 9.30 pm. We then had our second dinner at one of the coffee shops at the Choice Daily area. Or rather, triSh and Vivian had their second dinners. I was just too bloated from all the fried sausages, nuggets, lamb, and soup (which triSh force-fed me with). We had a good chat, my friends had a good makan, and then we went on a little ride around Kuching to pick up some stuff and to pump some petrol. Then triSh and Vivian kindly sent me home at about 11 pm.

As usual, I didn't forget my trusty sidekick, Le Camera, and so here are some snaps of the night:

Evidence we're not alone - that's Vivian's hand on the left and trishie's hand on the right.

See the steam? Burn baby, burn! You can see what I'm cooking: nuggets and lamb!

Seafood galore! Crabs, prawns, and clams!

Some of the usual condiments that can be found in any usual steamboat eatery: crabsticks, fish cakes, fishballs, and more fishballs.

See Esther's plate. See Esther's food.

You know, all this while I thought I was a 'great' eater. And then tonight, my buddies snatched the title away from me. Part of their second dinner - some noodles in thick gravy or something.

Also part of their second dinner, barbequed chicken wings with chilli sauce. My friends can really eat.

It was definitely a great night spent hanging with my buddies, and yes, I would recommend doing it again, although I think my friends are quite sick of steamboat. Oh well. I'm sure I can convince them into a second round... Right?

Cheers!