Listening to: Theme Song, Monsters Inc.
Thinking of:

It might be good she says... Perhaps! I'll be heading to Notts tomorrow along with most of the Malaysian Soc. for the annual Notts Games. This time, I'm not banking on meeting any acquaintances and old friends. Heck, I didn't even tell Raves I'll be heading his way.

Somehow what I would love to do is impulsively buy a fast car and just drive away from this spot of life, most would consider a minor pothole. But tomorrow, volleyball it is! I know I screwed up the team selection by leaving it so last minute and not making it well known. Fingers crossed and hoping we'll just play with our hearts on our sleeves and well, just enjoy ourselves no matter who our opponents are. That’s how its been for the previous 3- 4 tournaments, so why should it be any different?

London is calling my name, for friends whom I've not met in ages and people I ought to keep in contact with. Things to do, things to see and most importantly... things to eat!

"Should one ever be bored of London, one is bored of life" anonymous

I remember reading that when I was in London for the first time in my life... 7 years ago. Somehow I don't believe it... but in essence, the multitude of things to do. Ah well...

Listening to: Cheek to cheek, Frank Sinatra
Thinking of:

-Brit is world's best Santa-

A British man has been declared the world's best Santa after winning the 'Father Christmas Olympics' in Sweden.

Englishman Ron Horniblew after winning the Father Christmas Olympics in Sweden /Degerman Bild AB

Ron Horniblew, 69, impressed the jury with his reindeer handling, present wrapping and sleigh driving skills at the competition in Gallivare, 60 miles north of the Artic circle.

Contestants also had to try their hand at abseiling down a narrow chimney.

Ron Horniblew on his way to winning the Father Christmas Olympics in Sweden /Degerman Bild AB

Ron, an upholsterer from Luton, beat 50 fellow competitors from Russia, Estonia, Spain, France, Denmark, Finland and Sweden.



He said: "It's the first time I have taken part in the Winter Games and I certainly did not expect to win, not against some of the veterans that are here from Denmark and Sweden.

"Being Santa is about bringing fun into everyone's lives, not just children's. I don't get paid for what I do, seeing the enjoyment on everyone's faces is reward enough."



All participating Santas had to prove they are jolly and generous, and can 'Ho Ho Ho' with the best of them. They can also be disqualified for drinking or smoking in front of young children.

The Father Christmas Olympics had to be officially renamed the Father Christmas Winter Games at the last minute after the International Olympic Committee threatened to sue.

-Story and photos thanks to www.ananova.com-

Somehow they sure didn't test them on eating cookies with a glass of milk... Oh well...

Listening to: Snakes, US3 (some modern jazz, funk, hip hop stuff)
Thinking of:

I suppose its been a long while since I wrote anything on the blog. These days, I'm still as busy as ever. However, be it any consolation I'm now on my 2nd last assignment save the presentation in week 10a and yeah, somehow I've been negating a lot of life, I just realized...

With my trusty laptop (now with spanking new antivirus software) camping out at the library while the couple of me sneaked a snog (not very good sneaking I suppose) :S. However, tonight is X- Raya (formerly known as Krisvali) and well, though admittedly I'm not looking forward to it, I guess its a chance to meet people and show my face. Tomorrow I've got volleyball practice and to be honest, I'm reluctant to go off to Nottingham this weekend as well. If possible, I'm going to hitch the train back as soon as I can. I miss some people terribly but well... its me and the trusty laptop it is.

Now that I've gotten rid of the annoying sad stuff, Jean and Justin are around in Coventry... For those not in the know, they were my housemates in 2nd year and I had a blast that year. Its always nice to see the 2 of them and all... Jean's heading back on Monday :( while Justin is gonna be around for a while. Met them today and I do intend to see them before Jean flies off.

This time of the year, I'm not looking forward to heading back to Malaysia, I suppose I'm caught up in this wave of work and really... Time isn't on my side. I suppose that since others have gone through this before and came out the other side with a scroll, I don't have an excuse if I stumble... Oh help me God! The photo in the previous post was taken this morning... I noticed the mist and all as I walked into the kitchen. Dashed right back to my room, grabbed the camera and dashed out into the frigid cold... Needless to say, I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawed in the morning.

Adlina brought up the topic of Malaysians with non- Malaysian accents on her blog and yes, it did bring a smile to the face. (Oh, finally... the couple in front of me has stopped making out) The number of weird looks I've got when making an order at Burger Kings or McDonalds back home... Seriously, its as though I've got a third eye on my head or a big sign that says "Stare Here" or something... It doesn't help when I explain why I speak "funny", people just either laugh or with an upturned nose go "Oh, one of those..." Sigh, Malaysians... We're a bizzare bunch, but yet strangely unique.

Max no. of words: 4.5k
Expected no. of words: About 3k...
Done so far: 900+ (approaching 1k)

The days are getting shorter and the temperatures are dropping again. I know it's that time of year and I've gotta keep the motivation up... which unfortunately is easier said than done. Oh winter... with the cold, you bring realism and nostalgia...

Angels and Devils... I want to know whats through the mist and it to be clear to see. Are we ever gonna learn to fly?

Uni, now! 

Listening to:
Thinking of:


-Like the dying flowers on my window, thats how i feel-
anonymous

Listening to:
Thinking of:


-Like the dying flowers on my window, thats how i feel-
anonymous

Listening to:
Thinking of:


table style='font-family : Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; border-collapse: collapse; border: 1px solid black;' cellspacing='0' cellpadding='2' align='center'>

What do people really think about you? by Raven319
Name
Age
favorite song
Parents think	You're lazy
Strangers think	You're smart
Friends think	You're a slut
Quiz created with MemeGen!

Listening to: Latin Note, St. Germaine
Thinking of:

The past few days have been really fantastic. Thanks loads to friends who are like family... For the sacrifices that they've (you guys) made and the fun, wishes, laughter and not to mention, good food! Truly a 22nd to remember.

I mean a committee meeting that ends with a cake, a trip from london, staying over in leamington, the dinners that were so painstakingly plan and made and most of all, the good company I've been indeed more than blessed with. I've not even started on the gifts. I can be sure when I say I am truly humbled by all of this... Just thinking of it all, I'm lost for words.

For the many having birthdays around this time as well... Happy Birthday! We might think we're Valentine's Day mistakes... But hey, we're not the only ones.

Listening to: Fool to Think, Dave Matthews Band
Thinking of:

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
9 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: 10 If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! 11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? 12 Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Listening to:
Thinking of:

Matthew 6:34
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Listening to:Days go by, Duncan Sheik
Thinking of:

The first duty of love is to listen.
Paul Tillich

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.
Thomas A. Edison...

I want to hide and avoid both of the above... Enclose myself, part from the world... Disappear. *Blink*

/>*What dreams are made of... Lambo. Murcielargo Roadster, Pagani Zonda S Roadster* 

Listening to: Just Tonight, Jimmy Eat World
Thinking of:

It's strange how we keep hurting the ones closest to us. I do wonder in the sense of closeness, do we tend to exude a sense of vulnerability to the other side and then in a moment of clumsiness, or in the heat of the moment, maybe (I've been told it happens, in the throws of passion) someone utters a careless word or a random statement that would cut and bruise the emotions, thoughts and feelings of the party though we're locked in conversational death grip, of whom we truly care about.

Trying to comprehend the whole idea, I wondered if the frailty and inconsistency of our character added with the fallibility which comes from our human nature actually play a large part in this sort of falling out. Needless to say that most of the time, one party or maybe even both would be thrown into the pit of guilt and need to be helped out. The strong ones would naturally apologize, but with that nature... I tend to wonder if the apologies were actually meant, instead of being a natural impulse. Well, there you go... Human nature at it again.

On the other hand, in an almost Freudian like manner, how we feel the need to be defensive during moments of vulnerability comes almost like a shadow in the night, the unconscious need to exert a greater sense of control over our partner or some other being may contribute to the behavioral change. However, while fearing the lash back, we tend to control it to a certain extent and hint towards our aggressive nature. I tried relating this issue with the Freudian concept of how a male child would always try to exert control over his mother in both a non-sexual and sexual manner only to be thwarted in fear of the force and control placed by the "uber" male, the father. So yeah... I don't know.

However, another simple probability is that one is stressed and the other just either a) doesn't know about it and steps on the toes (ouch)
b) Blames it on stress and continues babbling without even taking into concern the reactions of the opposite partner.
c) Something is going on, but in defense, one becomes defensive...

I know that I've been all those situations before both on the offending side and the receiving one... Some actually coexist with others together at any given period. I'd like to always say that I'm just human after all and am prone to failure. On the other hand, I can't really make excuses up for the offences I blatantly execute without a care in the world. On the other hand, sometimes I'd like to hide under the bed and wish that someone would just find me to offer a reassuring presence without the mention of any words, especially hurtful ones.
I suppose we're both tired of something and need a source of relief and on the mad rush out the door, we trampled on our toes, ending up walking out that door feeling bruised.

Listening to: If I Didn't Have You, Billy Crystal (OST Monster's Inc)
Thinking of:

3 Down! 3 to go... Thats the status of the assignments.

However, the last assignment completed was really thanks to several great friends who gladly helped whenever I got stuck. Well, it's maths... Have you ever heard of an engineer (yes, I'm an engineer by qualification) that hates maths?! Well there you go! You're reading his blog.

Anyway, one of them reminded me of the way dad used to teach me math when I was 15 and 16. He didn't give me the straight answers but took time to explain each concept and made sure I understood it. That goes for the computational part as well. Uncanny, I thought. But in its strange little way, I felt guilty if I didn't pay attention and made the effort to actually understand the knowledge that was imparted to me. Occasionally, a couple of good laughs and the occasional hair pulling when the written program generates and error message that can't be figured out. Damn computers!

The past few days have been nightmares especially for the lab I had to do regarding optics and IR proximity sensors (Anyone who knows theory about this, e-mail me! PLEASE!). Well, for starters... one person came in late. Not by a couple of minutes... By a whole freakin' HOUR! The lab was 2 hours long. So basically he didn't help in the set up or taking the readings or in the brief discussion. Merely took our readings but the final one. Somehow, when he tried getting himself busy messing about with the wires, giving us strange readings... he also knocked the machine out of calibration. We tried in vain to get the same spot and to continue the experiment but well, as fate would have it... it never happened and hence the need to restart the experiment with less than an hour to go. The other guy was selfish and demanding... I don';t even want to go into that.

MSA volleyball this year looks bleak. We've lost crucial members to graduation and the new batch are not even keen. Looks like I've gotta dig up the old crew and hopefully bug the new batch to see if we can find any jewels. Sigh... more work. Kapitan Uncle Chan! *shudder*

I got myself a new printer since my old one was messing up. Its the same thing as I have back in KL, its a printer/ scanner thingy! Quite snazzy... melikes! I'm going to see if I can print out photos and use them as some sort of a collage thing for my pin board. When I'm more free that is! Oh well, anyway... its time to start the day. Play that funky music white boy! (Don't ask, don't ask...)

Listening to: Heartstrings, Secret Garden
Thinking of:

Man! I come back from London and the first thing I hear is a sappy song... Anyway, sitting here at my computer sipping green tea (think I put a bit too much into the pot) with my new teapot and matching glass!



Anyway, yes! Trip to London! Well, went down to visit the charming Miss Ohinata and well... unfortunately both of us were swamped with work and sadly enough, we spent most of our time reading or for yours truly, tried keeping awake. What is it with work and its adverse effect to conciousness? So, nope! No fascinating stories this time around.

Anyway, just thought I ought to head back to my work before meeting the supervisor at 3-ish. Gotta tell her what I've done though... So yup! Shall update once I find something more interesting to write about.