Steamboat in the rain

Well, not quite, but it was drizzling and there was quite a bit of wind. It was a very impromptu thing, just something Cynthia suggested while we were in class. So the four of us, being the steamboat enthusiasts that we are, agreed and proceeded to drive through the rain to get to our favourite hang-out spot. Right from the very beginning things were very exciting. For one, a bird flying through the area decided that Phek Hung's food looked really appetising, and decided to swoop in and snatch the food off the griller. Only thing was Phek Hung's portion of the griller was also coincidentally where the flame burnt the hottest, so the poor bird let out this enormous squeal that none of us had ever heard before, and all of us ended up choking down our laughter, which of course confirmed what the other diners had suspected all along - that here were a bunch of crazy lunatics just released from some mental asylum. You'd think that would be the highlight of the evening, but no, Angeline discovered that some of the other diners at the next table kept staring at our table. So for most of the evening after that, we were paranoid that the next table was trying to pick a fight with us. By the end of the evening, Cynthia declared our table the winner, simply because we ate more.

As for me, I thoroughly enjoyed myself, even though I was suffering from a mini headache caused by lack of sleep. Surely a little headache wouldn't stand in the way of our tradition of visiting Hornbill Steamboat at the beginning and end of each semester, especially as this is our last semester as university students. When we've parted our own ways, I'll definitely miss our dinner adventures. There's nothing quite like getting bloated with a few good friends, and when you add in the risk of food poisoning, it's just too fun for words. Here's to more steamboating, people!

P.S. Due to my 'trusty' digital camera going bonkers on me, I'll be using my handphone to snap pictures from now on. So yes, I know I shouldn't be posting pictures that are blur/out of focus/not sharp, but I just can't stand the lack of pictures here, so just humour me will ya? End of P.S.

Winter in Kuching

Officially, it's Week 3, but for me it's only just Week 2 (due to the extra one week I took off, hehe) and already I can't wait for it all to be over. The only thing that's put a smile on my face this past week or so is the weather. Isn't it just lovely? I just love the rain and cold. This is the least sweating I've ever had in a week. It's like our version of winter, only there's no snow, and in its place is rain, and lots of it. I wish I had my camera to snap some pictures. But I think it's getting warmer now. Still rains frequently, but not so heavily. It's always kinda cold, and the sun doesn't really come out, and even if it does it's always for a short time and then it's shady again. It's nice, all this. So now we poor snow-deprived people can stand anywhere in the world and say "Winter? Yes, we have winter back in Malaysia." Cheers people.

First week of lectures

Well, lectures here in university have officially started. I've only got three registered subjects this final semester, and one of it is my FYP, so that means I only need to attend classes for the other 2 subjects. I thought with this significant drop in the number of subjects I'd have more free time. In reality, that's what the whole lot of us thought. But no. Trust them to leave the hardest, most thought-provoking subjects to the very last. It's almost as if they wanted to watch us go mad and self-destruct just when we're so close to graduating. Already we've got approximately 7 assignments to worry about. I just wanna bury my head into the sand and cry. You can see almost everyone of us TESLians going around with this really dazed expression on our faces, like we can't believe it's really happening. You guys might think I'm exaggerating, but trust me, I'm not. So at the risk of making you depressed, I'll end my blogpost, right here and now. Cheers, I think.

Ode to Hair

Three long years
lots of time
to know you
to love you
cherish you
treasure you.
Days may pass
quick and swift
but you were
always there
my constant
loyal friend.
You were there
through it all
thick and thin
wind and storm
rain and shine
always mine.
But the time
has come for
you to go
it's only
natural
your shedding
your falling
getting hard
to ignore
your resting
on the floor.
They say it's
hard to say
goodbye to
an old friend
but I'm glad
knowing you
will always
grow back though
it'll take a
few more years.
But that's fine
take your time
I don't mind
just come back
stronger and
darker and
longer and
I'll welcome
you back with
a great big
grin and smile.
But for now
I must say
sweet farewell
and so I
must bid you
sweet adieu.

The last 'back to school'

I know.

I've been bad (very bad) at blogging this time around. It's really not through any real fault of mine though. I just can't help getting, well... distracted. And forgetting about the existence of the Internet. Really, it's true. I haven't been online in what, 2 weeks? It's just the whole holiday syndrome. There's just so much free time on my hands that I get too busy to even come online. I know it's a paradox, but it's true. So now that university's resuming tomorrow, I should be busy enough to blog more.

Yup, I'm going back to school tomorrow. It's my final semester, and I'm rather ecstatic about it. I can't wait to get out, end one chapter of life and begin another. I'm quite upset about my camera though. Like I've already mentioned, it's spoiled, so I won't be able to snap any pictures this semester. Of all the cruelest of ironies. It's the final semester that holds the most significance, carries the most memories, and here I am, without my trusty camera. Okay, so maybe it's not so trusty, but still, it's my camera. What am I going to do? I'll probably have to resort to using my handphone. The pictures from that don't look too good though. There's no flash or auto-focus, so most of the pics look somewhat strange. But still, I'll do what I can.

And that's it this time. Short and sweet. This should keep some of you satisfied for a little while more, at least until I'm next in the blogging mood. Till then, adieu!

"Yohoho and a bottle of rum..."

Back is aching
Legs are cramping
Skin is peeling
Mind is boggling

Hair is falling
Face is burning
Sweat is dropping
Smile is fading

It's a pirate's life for me.

Blogging here I come, again.

One of the reasons for my terribly irregular blogging habit is that the PC went bonkers on us, which was a problem because it was what I used to go online with. I know I can use my laptop to go online, but there's something wrong with it, and it lags awfully whenever I'm online to such a point where I actually thought it really isn't worth waiting 5 minutes for one single page to load. But now the PC's back, and I'll definitely be doing more blogging (relatively speaking).

So it's just another 3 days to go before I start volunteering onboard the Doulos ship. I'm getting really quite excited about the whole thing, because it is an experience of a lifetime, but at the same time I'm kinda worried about the workload. Like, will I even be able to stand at the end of my shift? Will I be forced to scrub the decks spotless with just a toothbrush? At least I'll have triSh to hold the toothpaste for me.

Yesterday I went to this education fair in town. I was really very excited because it stated on its promotional banner in really big words "Postgraduate". So logically, I thought it would be focused mainly on postgraduate studies, re: Masters and PhD programs. And I also thought, surely they'd have all these famous universities from all over the world, with their eager beaver attendants handing out little pamphlets with really big grins. Well, to cut a long story short, the eager beaver attendants and the really big grins were there, but the Masters and PhD programs and the international universities were not. Please, dear readers, try if you can to imagine my immense disappointment. I'd literally sacrificed my afternoon sleep (and triShie's) to drive halfway across town to this education fair proclaiming to be "postgraduate" in nature. When we arrived, we noticed that all the young people there were probably a good 5 years younger than we were. Don't ask us how we knew, I think it was pure instinct. It helped that most of them were dressed in today's idea of good fashion and that they had parents tagging behind them. So to say that we felt out of place would probably be one of the greatest understatements of this holiday season. But we thought nevermind, surely they've got something for us old folks, so we checked out the booths and our fears were confirmed when the first thing most of the booth attendants asked upon seeing us was "SPM leavers?" and that was it. Nightmares realized. And all the booths but 2 were local, private institutions. Bummer. This ended up being the shortest we've spent at an education fair - 30 minutes. So, needing to drown my sorrows, we headed to the nearest KFC. That sure cheered me up a bit. And next time, I'll be sure to read the promotional banners properly.

Some of us are planning a grand dinner tomorrow. There'll be a great cooking fiesta, and hopefully I'll snap some pics with my trusty handphone. Maybe I should hold back on the trusty title for the moment, haven't really posted up any good pics from my hp so should wait till tomorrow. I'll be having dinner at friends' tonight, so I'm looking forward to that as well. And to the great experiment titled Cooking Rice For Six. That's right, I don't know how to cook rice.

Cheers.