Movies to watch out for

The Chronicles of Narnia

It's a classic book, but I never really took to it. Thank goodness for Hollywood!


Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Watched the first 3, might as well keep going. And it's darker and somebody dies!

And Mr. & Mrs. Smith look pretty good: even if the storyline sucks (Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt not exactly good at choosing good scripts eg. the Tombraider movies and Meet Joe Black), the trailer promises lots of things blowing up and then there're the aesthetically pleasing leads to look at.
Also, the War of the Worlds: it's Tom Cruise, so it's gotta be good, right? I watched the Lat Samurai twice and was very "kan tung" (Cantonese for touched) both times. And loved Jerry Maguire.
And there's this new movie called Saving Face, starring Joan Chen, about a widow who is ostracized by the Chinese-American community for being pregnant out of wedlock....was thinking, does that actually happen anymore? I know quite a few people in Kuching who are single mothers or co-habiting without getting married, etc. but I don't think they're ostracized for it....again, I think it's the don't-ask, don't-tell or the you-know-and-I-know-and-there's-nothing-else-to-say or the no-need-to-"chap"-other-people's-"su" policy.
Not that I agree with any of the lifestyles above, but ostracizing someone for anything short of some heavy crime like murder or rape is pretty harsh and does no one any good, least of all the innocent baby. Maybe will ask my mum about this. Maybe it's an anomaly unique to the super-laidback people of Kuching.

reunions

i have officially finished my postings here,and its been good. i enjoyed my time at the clinics,and enjoyed seeing many nice diseases.i also had intersting discussions with the docs, and all were curious about how imu teaches students. now i understand about critics in the science world. when something new happens/was discovered, one will tend to disbelieve it because its out of the norm with one's thoughts. It takes a long time to convince people to adapt to changes. Everything in this world has to change, and most times change is not welcome.i will admit that bieng in imu is tough because we do not have full day classes, and you yourself have to know what to study, and to have the discipline to study, because they truly leave you at your own. and one has to take everything seriously, pbl's included. i am only recently enjoying the wonders of pbl. and the fact that we have to get a B to pass, and the lecturers throw any q's they want to. i just hope that when i grad one day, i will be good/better than the docs from public unis cos most ppl think imu is crap.

i have/am going to attend a lot of reunions with friends and family. the weekend is solidly booked. this afternoon i will be watching madagascar with a friend,and straightaway after that i'll be going to granny's hse. tmr is the same, except ill be going back to kampung. more ops for phototaking!it does feel kinda rushing for me, but if i don't see them now, i might not see them until next year, and then who knows where they'll go. as much as i agree with kuching being a boring place, but when you come back, its so relax, peaceful and wonderful that you don't feel like leaving. i think we should market that aspect to tourists.

I had a good night out with bren and angie. i guess we didn't say much because nothings going on in our lives. But i did get some good info where the other st tri gals are and what they're currently doing now. My strawberry/banana smotthie was good, but it was a trifle sweet. The best part was when we toured kuching town at night to get good photos, esp for my kl friends who think kuching is just jungle. Kuching is beautiful at night, romantic even. Its little wonder the rajahs were happy to live at the astana. the weirdest pic i took had to be a gigantic tooth. No offense to the owner, but i wonder what was in his head when he comissioned it. he prob has the same humor as me. What giant sculpture will i put in my garden next time?

Yesterday aft i finished early, and took time off to take more photos. i wonder if i can take more today. i have to take the museum and the giant cats. and some weird porno statues. Kuching rocks! i was strolling along jalan india and jalan masjid. Gawai songs are blaring and the shops were full of ppl looking for gawai clothes. To me,those shops are nothing,but to ppl from the interior, these shops are THE place to go.At that moment i felt sad, because even though i am the same race as them, i feel so detached from them. its like i am bumi, but i do not share the same lifestyle.i am not looking down at them, its just that i feel so detached from the people of my own race. And most of the time i have to initiate small talk, even with my own cousins, because they think i am too well educated too talk with them. But once i do that, they're okay.Most of the time i feel like i live in 2 dimensions,one with my friends who are modern and with the natives here where i have to remember the dialects and customs of my two respective races. Quirky, but makes me a better human.

But i do live sarawak and its people. there is no other place on earth where people can blend and make friends so easily as here. The people here are genuinely friendly, and its easy to make friends here. They are talkative, and curious. Sarawak...couldn't find a better place to retire in the future :)

Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus.

My brother actually bought the book. I think the author of the book is actually divorced. Huh.
To learn about the mysteries of relationships between men and women, just go out to the bookstore and buy any of Jane Austen's novels: it's much cheaper (around RM12) and you'll appear much smarter and well-read when you read it on the bus. Miss Austen understood how a man's mind worked as well as she understood a woman's.

Example 1: "A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony, in a moment..."
This is what the 3 of us did when we got together on Thursday night and Sarah's brain and eyes are constantly on the lookout to matchmake people, no matter how much they beg her not to. :)
I think we married off one of our friends already and are already planning our overseas holidays in which we'll be staying at her place. Hey, nobody ever said that matchmaking was a purely altruistic deed that she's doing out of the goodness of her heart. Must got ganjaran, you know!

Example 2: "But no sooner had he made it clear to himself and his friends that she had hardly a good feature in her face, than he began to find it was rendered uncommonly intelligent by the beautiful expression of her dark eyes. To this discovery succeeded some others equally mortifying. Though he had detected with a critical eye more than one failure of perfect symmetry in her form, he was forced to acknowledge her figure to be light & pleasing; & in spite of his asserting that her manners were not those of the fashionable world, he was caught by their easy playfulness."
See? Isn't this what we all do, girls and boys? First we say don't like, then we start to secretly like, then we even more vocal to our friends that we don't like, because we're afraid that we are beginning to like. First, not pretty enough, but look quite smart & not air-headlike; body not proportionate enough, but then quite slim and slender; not classy enough, but then quite friendly and approachable. Tsk tsk tsk...A friend of mine mentioned that she hates it when the guy isn't sure about his feelings or isn't sure if he should do anything about it. Same here, girlfriend, but I suppose sometimes we have to cut them some slack. It's not like we're confident enough about our feelings most of the time, right?

Caffeine caffeine caffeine

The Nurse says that she's been sleeping an average of 14 hours a day since coming home for a short break. And I thought I am a pig. Well, I wish I could clock 14 hours a day, but I get a headache if I do more than 10 hours, so her record is safe.
I think I have to start training myself to wake up earlier and boost my energy levels to prepare myself for uni again. Caffeine has practically no effect on me anymore. Gym, anyone? I know I should exercise more, sleep less, eat healthier, but dear me, the very thought of all that sends me running to the sofa and switching on the TV. I don't even want to go out in the afternoons, because there's nowhere to go and the heat is oppressive. But I notice that the best afternoon naps are to be had when you're sitting in the passenger seat of a moving car (air-conditioned, of course).
Where are all those photos you took, Sarah? Waiting eagerly to see the giant tooth.

personality tests

Disorder	Rating
Paranoid:	Low
Schizoid:	Low
Schizotypal:	Low
Antisocial:	Low
Borderline:	Moderate
Histrionic:	High
Narcissistic:	Moderate
Avoidant:	Low
Dependent:	Moderate
Obsessive-Compulsive:	Moderate
-- Personality Disorder Test -- -- Personality Disorder Information --

Believe me, even i can't believe i have the above traits!!

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Clockwise from top: Adam Levine of Maroon 5, Josh Duhamel of Las Vegas, Prince Andrea Casiraghi of Monaco (bottom two). Yummy.

Today, I felt like having some eye-candy. My girlfriends out there will enjoy this, the boys will just have to grin and bear it.
Gosh...doesn't the Prince look like he just stepped out of the pages of a fairytale? I have more pics of him, courtesy of a friend, but afraid it'll just be too much for those of you who have a dial-up connection.
Good pictures of Adam Levine are surprisingly hard to find. His soulful and puppy-dog demeanour is best appreciated in videos, I suppose. And I just like Josh Duhamel because he's just so boyish in Las Vegas.

GP posting

its been two days since ive done my gp posting. and so far, i am enjoying it. now that i am near the end of the first phase, i can finally put to use everything which i have learned, including behavioural sciences. I've always thought bs WAS bullshit but surprise, surprise,there are patients who display the overly worried syndrome. I mean, learning it in class is one thing, and seeing it for real is another thing. And i'm beginning to see the fun side of just doing gp.
I've also learned that if i were to really take dermatology, it would take me another seven years before i become one. Now i'm really thinking of other options. by the time i finish dermatology, i'd be 40 years old! too old. now what shall i do?
but i have to admit derma is so interesting. i was at the clinic and i saw such a wonderful variety of skin diseases. i was also shocked that sarawak is lacking in so many specialists. the state only has one dermatologist, one endocrinologist etc. amazing... i guess everyone went overseas.This is sad fo a population of 2 million people. ah, what to do.... what to do in the future.....
My cold is getting better, but now i;m developing a sore throat. and i forgot to buy my lozenges. i went to a clinic today, and the guy dr. fodzer used to be my dad's old mentor. yikes, as dr lim , who was also managing the clinic said 'now its a complete cirle' !
Dr. Fodzer is an interesting guy because he was one of the first few surgeons in sarawak. his mother was famous for being a feminist and against polygamy. i am told that both his parents are indians, but he looks like a euro, and a good-looking one at that. i shall be meeting him tomorrow, but i am scared because he might compare me with my father. today i also saw a lot of diabetic cases, and its scary that diabetes is on the rise in malaysia, and all over the world as well. And the worst thing is that it can be inherited in families.
The doc in charge of me is very nice, they all take the time to explain stuff to me, even though at times my face might be blank (cue derma!). I've also learned that many doc's kids are at lodge, and a lot of ppl from kuching are studying in imu. the docs couldn't believe it when i told them the passing mark was B. This is due to all the stress caused by partner medical schools.
i've just finished watching the movie salem's lot,but i have yet to finish reading the book. so far, i havent' been dissapointed by any of the stephen king books i read. hopefully it stays that way!

Sleepless nights

Looks like Sarah's going to be busy the next few days spending time and catching up on the latest news with her family. I hear from the Nurse that'll she'll be going back to KL on the 30th, before Gawai, though. So there's the deadline for the 3 of us to meet up and exchange gossip.
I've not had a good nights sleep for about 2 nights now, don't know why. I get insomnia now and again, but this round might have been caused by the heat. My sleep schedule is also pretty much screwed up since I came back from KL 2 weeks ago- because I don't have to wake up at 7am to go to work anymore, so I go to sleep around 2am and wake up at 10.30am.
Being a bum is also no good for my general health. Every time I come home from uni or work for a short holiday, I'm bound to come down with the flu or headache spell, etc. Probably caused by all the inactivity.....but I never learn my lesson, so I just popped a Febricol this afternoon and my nose has cleared up.
Speaking of medication, does anyone know of the name of a travel sickness pill with the side effect of putting you to sleep or will any travel sickness med do that? Every time I fly long distance, I can never get a satisfactory amount of sleep, so I need chemical help. Yes, yes, I know it's bad for my insides (those healthy healthy organic veg eating people would be horrified at the way I pop pills), but I'd rather let my liver handle the extra filtering than letting my mind and the rest of my body go into zombie mode after 24 hours of being hauled halfway around the world. I let that happen the last time and man, I looked and felt like crap.
I was one very unhappy camper.
So me and my drugs are going to be inseparable this time.

star wars

its good to be back!!! I finally made all the needed adjustments to this blog. okay, bren and i have both watched star wars. i can tell you my heart was really breaking for anakin. instead of despising him, i now pity him. The part where he duelled with obi wan, and the result of that duel is so tragic. another haunting moment was when he went back to the jedi temple to decimate all its inhabitants, children included. I do agree with bren that he has had that evil side all the while, ever since he was young, but its always been controlled by obi-wan. and i do agree with what padme told him, that deep down anakin is still a nice guy.Ultimeately, it was the weakness of his heart, and also his greed for greater power, and his distrust and jealousy for the jedi council, taht brought him down. Oddly, the jedi council reminds me of catholic priests.

The defining moment of the movie was when darth vaders mask was put on, and his heavy breathing was heard for the first time. But hats up to george for the amazing cgi displays. the best thing about all the star wars movies is that they propel us to another universe, where different sp of beings live. General grevious was great. The sad part was when all the jedi were killed in cold blood. And Yoda! The first time i saw him i thought he was just a little scamp. but he is the Master Jedi.

I agree with the critics too that the 3rd episode blends seamlessly with the older star wars movies. now i'm trying my best not too watch the older 3 movies again. i have lots of other things to do.... but i am planning to see madagascar and war of the worlds. HOuse of wax, anyone?

kuching

Finally, i am back home. it honestly does feel funny to be home after i've been away for so long. The airasia flight was packed with revellers going back for the gawai fest. thank goodness i managed to sit next to a mother and son. The plane was filled with young iban guys. i do not want to be sitting anywhere near them, sometimes i just dont' like how the local guys can be so flirty. The lady sitting next to me was so nice. seeing that i didnt' take my lunch on the plane, she offered me two kit kat bars. Her husband is working in kedah, and from what i gather, their kids haven't been back for 5 years. Whats worse is that they speak like semenanjungians!! But sitting on the plane with all of them, it just made me realise that the bumis in sarawak, esp those in the interior, really are unfortunate in that nobody has teached them how important education is, and how it can break the cycle of poverty. I know most of them work in the timber industry, and that most of the children in longhouses have no intention to continue school, they prefer to find jobs instead. I am now thinking of what the malaysian studies teacher said, and it is true. its funny, but on the plane just now i was thinking how lucky i am to have the life i am currently living. i somehow wish in the future, if i am able to help them, i will.

2 family gatherings in a day

Just realized after posting yesterday's blog that it's a tad long. Sorry,all...I am very aware, as you all will be, that I have a problem with verbosity, so today's blog will be as short as possible.
This afternoon, went to one of my aunt's place where The Aunts were having High Tea. The Nieces and Nephews (my cousins and I) were all there, so I got to see the new additions to the family, baby Tammy and baby Gerard, both less than a year old, but they were both very big for their age. One of my cousins remarked that baby Gerard looked like a sumo wrestler, and I have to admit, he does. Is it me or are babies these days getting bigger and smarter? Must be all the baby formulas they're drinking, enriched with all those vitamins and proteins and what-not. One of my niece is almost 2 years old and she's really quite clever for her age. She speaks and talks back to you in 2 languages- English and Mandarin. She's very self-aware and because she's cute, she can twist you around her little finger. In other words, she's smart and she's spoiled, and I really don't envy her mum when she gets older and starts breaking little boys' hearts.
The 2nd family gathering of the day was a BBQ at my own house, with a different set of cousins- the ones from my mother's side. We had the usual chicken wings, rojak, etc. My brother did all the hard work and the last chicken wing has now been BBQ-ed, most of the plates have been cleared away and everyone's settled down in front of the TV to watch The Apprentice.
Isn't it funny how Malaysians always get together with food?
And Donald Trump has finally chosen a female Apprentice. Complete spoiler available in the papers today. And the Toto Jackpot has reached RM15 million. Anyone interested in starting a blog gambling pool?

Happy Wesak Day to all celebrating the festival!

A New Beginning

Hello all, this is Brenda. My friend Sarah has given me the honour (which will be her ultimate folly, I think) to contribute to her blog. And as usual, I have writer's block and am underperforming under pressure. Everyone wants to get-off the starting block with a bang with an exciting story about their exploits and the stupid gits that they meet in their daily lives, but I've decided to start with a whimper. Here goes:
I went to watch Star Wars with my brother last night at Star Cineplex (in Kuching). For those Star Wars fans who have not watched it yet because you're afraid you'll be disappointed with it like Epi. 1 and 2, have no fear, it's quite good. The cinema was packed. But the main point of the blog is not about the movie, it's about the cineplex (they still do the tickets manually, by hand! With those big red crayons!), the shopping centre (if you can call it that. There're 3 floors, the food court is closed so that took out about 70% of the retail outlets. Essentially dead. Anyone visited Kuching Plaza lately? It is beyond repair, don't even know where to start to describe it now.) and Kuching (we have a new flyover. When you go up the flyover, look out to the horizon. What do you see? Nothing? Exactly. Flat and green.) in general. While I was stuck in KL (the past 4 years), I'd always thought that once I graduated, or done my one-year try-out there, I'd be more than glad to come back to Kuching and continue life here (bearing in mind that I have a Physics degree and Physicists aren't exactly in demand in Kuching, but I was hopeful I'd get a job. Not picky.) . But the past 12 months shuttling between Kuching and KL, and trips to the sad sad shopping malls in Kuching has made me think: hhhmmm....maybe not. I used to hate KL: it's noisy, it's too congested, it's too busy and without my own transport, too big too get around in and visited those cool places like the bars Dida always goes to (oohh. I can sense Dida readying her 9mm right now). But nowadays, I can't help but feel a little stifled by Kuching. Of course, I don't try to compare it to the dynamism and colour of KL, but when I'm here, I'm in my comfort zone and I don't want to do anything other than sit at home and channel-surf Astro...because there's nowhere to go and no one to see and nothing to do. Shopping is non-existent, bookstores in Kuching are dying and one can only go to Coffee Bean oh-so-many-times before you start to realize that designer coffee gives you the same buzz as 90sen kopi. I wonder if my other friends like Dida feel the same? I'm pretty sure Dida does because she comes back to Kuching a lot a lot less than I do, and she'd never be able to have those "adventures" and do her "exploits" here in quiet little Kuching, under the watchful gaze of her parents. :) For a full accounting of Dida's personal life, plus a little embellishment here and there to spice things up by yours truly, visit her blog at livejournal.com/users/nemesis_on_fire. (Put the gun down, Dida. Nice and easy, ok? I'm doing you a good thing. There'll be more traffic to your blog now, right?)
On the other hand, I really do not want Kuching to become a city like KL. On the outside, Kuching is a small, quiet city with a nightlife that's barely alive, but the people of Kuching are well-informed and well-traveled people, where everyone knows almost everyone else (which might be a bad thing especially if you've a new bf or gf and every relative or family friend can report to your parents that they saw you there on so and so day with so and so's son/daughter).
Which is more than you can say about KL- it's a "world-class" city, but I have met people who have never had a passport, never traveled to even Sabah or Sarawak, never had friends of another race, never spoken a language other than their mother tongue and God forbid if you talk to them about religion or world affairs. When I was an innocent teen, whenever I read in Time or Newsweek about the "racial tension" or "discrimination" that exists in our country, I pooh-poohed it all because I'd never seen it with my own eyes. When I went over to KL, I didn't have access to Time anymore, but I experienced it for the first time how we discriminate against each other, against other Malaysians because we were not of the same beliefs. Example: a friend in UM messaged a friend of another race (from St.3 also) to ask if she had any tips for a paper they were both taking, but did not receive a reply. On the day of the exam, the 2nd friend confessed that they had been told not to give any tips to the others. In a "funny" twist to the event, the others scored the only 2 As for that paper. Huh. Is this the growing up I had to do?
So I'm glad I still have Kuching to come home to. I have friends of every race and religion here, my good friend Madz calls me from Ireland to wish me Happy Easter (my reply would be: "Ha?It's Easter already?"), and we all speak the universal language of English and the most volatile or sensitive our jokes can get are about sex and err, Dida (I couldn't resist, Dida! Sorry!). It's my oasis of calm, although some days, I fear that it will go the same way as KL (a lawyer, whose office is right opposite my dad's, was gunned down a few months ago. In Kuching). I'm pretty sure that most Kuching-ites want Kuching to remain "backward" or progress as slowly as possible, because we're happy the way things are (slow and easy) and if we're bored, we can always just fly off to Australia or New Zealand for a short getaway. So many Kuching-ites have PR there, they can create their own small town or settlement.
As it is, I've been living out of suitcases for 4 years and will be doing so for another 2 years at least. It's not what I had in mind when I started university 4 years ago. I didn't have a plan then, except that I hated KL and I couldn't abide by the thought of working and living there. Well, just goes to show how you should never say never.
I'm off to see the rest of the world for another 2 years, finally leaving KL and who knows if I'll ever come back to Kuching and make it my home? Am ever so thankful to God for giving me this opportunity to experience this, and with fingers tightly crossed, hope that it will hold more good than bad and that I will learn whatever lesson I have to learn. I read Paulo Coelho's "The Alchemist" yesterday (everyone of you who feel uncertain as to what you actually want to do with your life from here on, or you just want to read a good book, read this) and this sums up the whole book nicely:
"To realize one's destiny is a person's only obligation."

No worries, folks, I'm rarely this comtemplative when I post up stuff on the Net. Go to Dida's blog to see how my maturity goes down to nil when I have her as a punching bag.

angels

I think some people have had a very bad past few days, so the title is aptly named. if you feel that life can't get any worse, just remember that god is always looking out for you.

i am happy to report that i have 2 humongous pimples that look like staghorns on my forehead. i'm very sure the renal exam didnt' have anything to do with it. it has also been attracting the attention of lots of people. i wore all black yesterday, and it was quite exhilarating. i didn't exactly feel evil, just morbidly nice, and now i know how goths feel like wearing the all black ensemble everyday. if anyone of you knows the cartoon character little emily, i was feeling like her yesterday.

i'm feeling a bit down now because one of my really close friend's father has stomach cancer. i don't know how advanced it is, but i do know the feeling of losing people you love from cancer. the worst part is the advanced stage where they rapidly lose weight. But like my mom says, you grow stronger from all the obstacles that grow in your path. for me, that experience has made me more mature, and made me realise about the world for the first time. i mean, the only care i have in the world now is to study and pass, but i'm glad i have had this experience.

On another note, the infamous nurse will be coming back, and i can't wait to meet her (and her special dvd collection). Hats off to weird people!!

heaven

my feelings of euphoria are due to the presence of richard loh in class just now :) i have just finished my lectures, and it finished fast. part of me is happy;part of me is sad. He still has that funny habit of raising his eyebrows every time he wants to stress something important, and that makes him look funny. Anyway, he looks older than usual;could be due to all the stress!!
I also have to say that i feel like i am in deep shit now .apparently the lecturer in charge of this system is going to set off killer questions. i have already been feeling stressed out since the cheerleader came to my house this morning and was giving me warnings about this exam. i shall now have to constipate my brains for this. earlier on in the morning, i was about to comment that my brains feel like it farted. now its much worse!
The scariest thing i have witnessed today was the male catheterization. Man, its really scary. thank god i will not be doing it alone when i am a house man. it is scarier still for the patient... but i really cant imagine inserting something up a patient's urethra. What if i push too hard? what if i make things worse?? i am definitely not going to be a nephrologist. Scary.
i have also watched miss congeniality 2. Its pretty lame, except for one funny thing sandra said. When the stylist told her she needed to wear a better bra (?) she commented 'how would you like an electric taser gun to your penis?'That would be the best one liner in the entire movie. I'm sure dida can relate to the experience. haha!
i have one more week before i go back to kuching. i can't wait to go back and play and watch tv nonstop. And go out and eat lots. Whew

annoying bastards

i will talk about yesterdays weather first. God, yesterday was so heavenly!It reminds me so much of kuching. for the first time, the skies were cloudy, the weather was cool, and there was a nice breeze. its just like in kuching during the rainy seasons. Speaking of which, i realize kuching is always like that. God forbid that peninsular malaysia is so hot!

these past few days have been quite hectic. i realize i've become this sort of psychiatrist/psychoanalyst which everyone turns to. two nights ago one of my friends came to my place to inspect my new apt. When we went into the room, we had this talkfest for about two hours where she told me about her stresses etc. Then last night i went to a friends place to collect something, and once again, when we were sitting down, she told me about her problems. Eh? Mind you, me being the very 'kepo' person,i do enjoy giving advice (who doesn't) but its quite intruiging why people suddenly come to me for advice. I probably give psycho vibes.

i am also irritated by the above title, and i shall not say much, except one particular person really vexed me today. people seldom vex me, unless they are really god-awful, but i really don't like people who center everything on themselves. Even thinking about it right now makes my blood boil. Speaking of which, i read in the papers yesterday about this education minister who said 'i have the power to sack people'. this was about the upm case where the v-c is in big trouble. in case i get ISA-ed, this makes me think even worse about politicians in general. this is also another reason why some people from borneo detest working in peninsular m'sia. I do agree with the students and lecturers that upm should resolve the matter by itself. Whether the v-c will get sacked or not, we just have to wait. Shit, i really don't want to get isa-ed for this.

UFOs

I've just come back from the dialysis center.Its quite informative, and it brings me back again to the real world. I was just telling a friend that when you study it, its like nothing much. But when you see things in real life, you are aware that there is so much power in your hands. I will say it is tortorous having to go for daily treatments. The patients arms are swollen due to the daily injections.I myself hate being injected so i can't imagine how it will be for them. I'm sure they are immune to the pain, but the hassle they have to go through is bad.The taximan got lost on the way, and it cost $18 for us to get there. Pretty expensive, considering the usual fare is around 10. I went to section 14 after a long period of time. I truly miss that place. Went to sinma to look for some hair bands, but none of them suited me.

It kind of sucks,cos the nice hair clips cost a bomb, while the affordable ones don't suit my taste. I thought of having lunch with everyone at the mamak restaurant near masjid jamek, but some of them were ill. That restaurant cooks the best beef and briyani rice. on the subject of food, i do like the manhattan fish market's butter rice. My mom ordered chips, but she was digging in to my rice! That's how good it is. The next time i'll try the seafood platter. The salmon i had was nice.
I also wanted to mention this last time but i forgot. At 1-utama we had ice-cream at this shop Gelare. Marg ordered vanilla with choc chips, and i had butter pecan. both were good, but the butter pecan was too sweet. At the end, i had to force myself to finish it. Worse still, i was scooping marg's ice cream. i have to go there again. The vanilla choc was heavenly. But do note that the chocolate icecream made from organic soy was bad. Yech!Whats the point of eating bad icecream. Dieters lead a hellish life!

I was just telling yvonne yesterday about how some people believe in ufo's and why i never seem to see a ufo in my hometown (the whole of malaysia too). it always happens in the west. Then i went on to say that i've never heard of the rest of asia being ufo-mad. Well,i shot myself in the mouth cos just yesterday in the news, this guy from china claims he was married to one. She looked just like a human except she has 3 or 6 fingers. He was put on a lie detector. It seems that a growing number of people in china and korea claim to have seen ufo's. A psychologist says that these people are basically lacking in the spiritual department.Many of them claim that the ufo visits were 'spiritually awakening'.I dunno, but when i see tv, and the video shoots claiming to be spaceships, some of them really can't be explained. I just wonder why the aliens are so biased. They never come to malaysia.
And seriously, i am waiting for my ufo experience.

Brain

Whew, i finally had a good weekend.today's musings is dedicated to brain, who will be leaving malaysia pretty soon. The bloody bitch is going to the U.S, in san francisco, for two months. And get this, she'll be going to do her summer postings in stanford. I'm going to kirim some things for her to buy. I wish i could ask her to buy levi's, but the jeans there are just too long for me. I'm so jealous. she'll be staying in singapore for the next two years.So, in a way its glad i met them yesterday.

We went to one utama, and i'm already loving the place. it has so much more variety of clothing that at mid-v, so if i'm gonna do my shopping spree end of this month,my first choice will be there. the phasing out of my wardrobe will take a few more rounds of shopping.And already i've got two offers to go shopping, hehe. Next stop, klcc to reupdate my trousersa and jeans. Sem 4 rocks!

we all had brunch and lunch at this vietnamese restaurant. the food was good, and i love the way they do their beef noodles. everyone asked me what i planned to specialise in, and when they heard it was dermatology, proceeded to mcq me over the types of antibiotics used for face acne. boy, i definitely felt stupid. i mean, i know antibiotics and stuff, but i never really bothered about what type they used for the face. Its good to know a lot of women here have some sort of skin problem, so i'm assured my clinic will be doing well :)

Its good to see all the faces i haven't seen for so long. Initially, i didn't know what to say to them but after we went to check out this dog show, we were back in business. June still has the bestest legs i've ever seen ,and she accentuated it by wearing a miniskirt. I'm surprised to learn that marg is doing the economics of engineering projects, and that june is still studying.The worst thing is that since they are working, they can splash out on whatever they want to buy.

We wanted to watch the movie kingdom of heaven, but unfortunately there were also lots of orlando bloom fans, so there was a full house. Next, we went shopping, and it was a parade show of clothes. Brenda's menacing streak came out, and she ordered to dida to try the clothes that best suit her. i must admit tho, that bren's taste is good. And for the record, i do pity kieran because of the physical torture he undergoes each day. if i were a guy,i'd be taking cold showers everyday. i managed to get a black skirt that i really liked, and i think the best place to get nice blouses is nicole and rest and relax. i've already earmarked these shops for pillaging during the mega sale.The FOS at one-u is superbly stocked too, unlike those at other places. But i still think the best places to get trousers would be at klcc.

Then, we proceeded to check out the shoe shops, and i think that if i were to buy sandals, i would go to nose rather than vincci. they've got more variety. Most of the talking was done by dida though,and of all of us girls she has the most interesting life. i finally realized, to my dismay, what a sad life i have, its almost terminally zero. When i listened to dida talking, i was imagining my classmates studying at the library everyday, and continuing at their homes. it just makes me more sad to know that when i am in year 3, my social life will be a negative instead. But, to my surprise (and joy), i found out that except for dida, the rest of us also have 0 life. its probably cos their working times are quite bad, and at the end of the day you just want to go home and sleep.

i also got reexposed to bren's sarcasm and wit, which i missed very much, and i was practically laughing the whole day i was with them. I found out that dida is still very much scared of marg (she doesn't dare abuse her like she abuses me!) . i think that's probably the reason why i sat with marg in form 5. till this day she protects me from dida;s claws, hehehe.

overall, i really had a smashing time, its great to be with friends who have the same sense of humor and it was great to see them again. And here is my review:

Best legs: June

Best social life: Dida

Best dry sarcastic wit:Brenda

Best bodyguard:Marg

Best laughing machine: Yours truly

i would now like updates from the cheerleader and yvonne on how their weekend went. iwonder if they took any funny shots

I also have to get updates of the cf camp. Apparently everyone thinks that i went.

review

Wow, its amazing how one week can fly so fast. I am itching to do my usual weekly review of what's hot and not, but so far my muddled brain can't think of anything nice. Sometime what people say are true: there are particular times during the day when you just have so much stuff to write down, and the next moment the mood for it is gone. The things i was supposed to write was about ayurveda and mapping the human genome. but now i'm too lazy to do so.

I had a bad PMS last night, and it totally spoiled the mood i had for church. It seems i wasn't the only one suffering;i'm surprised men undergo it too! It was ultrahot and humid last night, and us eating out on the streets didn't make matters better. The place we went last night, sri murni, is quite unique. apparently they serve their juices in really big bottles. Its those kind of bottles that mums always use to store coffee etc. The best thing last night was the hawaiian chappati. Really ingenious. One thing good about malaysian mamak is that they always make good, oily food. The cheerleader tried his skills at driving last night, and surprise, surprise, it was okay. I didn't get thrown out of my seat or anything. The car we had was really old, i think it stopped for about 5 times. Really scary when you're in a massive traffic jam and are in the middle of the road!

I finally arrived home at around midnight, then had to move my ass in the morning for the histo class. Renal is so fast paced, just yesterday we finished the pathophysiology. I'm still blur as to what its all about. But the histo class this morning was good. I heard a 2 sad stories last night about end stage renal patients, and i am beginning to see how important the kidney is to us. Then at church, i was reminded of a scene in the hospital. i was only 15 years old at that time and my grandma asked me to accompany her to see one of our distant relatives.

He was dying of lung cancer (i think) and if i'm not mistaken, it was too much of cigs. When we arrived, all his family members were there, and he was terminal. all he could do at that time was to breathe raggedly through his mouth. I stil remember the rosary that was on the top of his bed. There was nothing anyone could do except to stay by his side and accompany him. And he was very young, around mid 30's to 40's. It was a really touching scene, and i remember it to this day. The stories i was told were similarly touching.

Anyway, one of the more interesting news i read was that this scientist is going to try and prove that all of us on earth are related to each other,and that we come from one father, Adam. It will be sponsored by national geographic and will take 5 years to accomplish. He will be taking samples from 100,000 indigenous people worldwide, including the orang asli here. This was one of the things that made me so attracted to genetics.I think this is a very interesting project.I've always wanted to know where my ancestors came from. I'm secretly hoping they were from the plains of mongolia.That would be cool!

Lalat King

The com labs today are a flurry of activity. Too many people fighting for too few pcs. Btw, imu is spending lots of cash on upgrading furniture. i wish they'd also use some cash to have more pcs.

since i've had 3 days of holiday, i managed to finally read Lord of The Flies. Yes, after a long, long while i mustered the excitement to read it.And the funny thing is that after i read it, there was the movie being shown on astro. Deja Vu indeed. Long ago a friend of mine encouraged me to read it. she said it was one of her favorite books. i myself was wondering how could someone love a book with such a disgusting title?? But after i watched battle royale, and the back of the dvd said its worse than the said book, i decided to check it out.

For a supposedly sec school literature book,i find it to be very deep. There are so many things that the author conveys. I do understand piggy's feelings, and how just because you're different people pick on you. The strained relationship between jack and ralph can also be seen in the adult world. One is good, the other is a hellraiser. It also reminds me of the natives in Papua new Guinea. I think, this is how civilization is years ago, before modern society stepped in. its also scary to think that those boys didn't even give a thought of being saved;instead they were just concerned about surviving and become the ultimate group. And of the natives in papua, they still practice cannibalism, and i really wonder how they feel like eating their own species.it is now also the most dangerous place to live on earth, because of the total lack of rules on the island.

The part where they killed simon was disgusting, and it really made me hate jack even more. On the whole, its a very good read, and i'm glad i read it at this age. if i were to read it when i was younger, i wouldn't appreciate it.