Snatch.A.Life

Meritocracy: Non-existence in Lewiston

2009-11-08T20:05:00.000-08:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

According to Wikipedia, meritocracy is defined as:

A system of a government or other organization where in appointments are made and responsibilities assigned to individuals based upon demonstrated talent and ability (merit).^[1] In a meritocracy, society rewards (via wealth, position, and social status) those who show talent and competence as demonstrated by past actions or by competition. Evaluation systems, such as formal education, are closely linked to notions of meritocracy.

Let me tell you this: the whole system of rewarding based on talent and ability does not exist here in Lewiston! Allow me to justify my claim.

In an average case involving an average person, notwithstanding other variables such as family background, he is entitled to a compliment or a reward if he does well in a certain area. His effort and his hard work deserve to be recognized, and in a meritocratic society, that's exactly what happens.

In our Lewiston society however, life is not all birds and butterflies. Say, for example, a girl works hard and beats her teammate in a ranking match, usually one would expect no less of a compliment or at least a "good job" in recognition of her accomplishment. Sadly, we here in Lewiston do not live in such luxury. All she gets is "why didn't you hit that forehand crosscourt?" This is utterly mind-boggling, as I feel that no matter what she did in the game, or lackthereof, should not be shadowed by the fact she won.

Interesting point to note here: does continuous criticism serve any purpose in promoting self-improvement? Sure, one can argue it works in wonderful ways. But in hindsight, she needs motivation to even continue to play. A continuous, progressive self-improvement will not be under way if there is no fuel to continue at all. This is something critical, albeit subtle in a way that skips "The Man"s notice, that should be given more attention.

The team is in a bad shape right now. Everyone's in bad mood all the time, there's no motivation, and there are some in the team who stir up sensitive sentiments that cause everyone else to feel even worse than they already are. Ugh...Cause? Non-existence of Meritocracy.

To sum it all up, it's time for some serious mental revamp.. Not for us though, because we are just human beings who crave for attention and recognition. Nonetheless, many are still quietly enduring the mental torture every time they step on the court. Who can change this situation?

It's all up to you, Toby :D

Love Scam!

2009-11-06T23:54:00.000-08:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

Spurred by some curious questions from friends and family, I feel like writing this post to address(:p) what's been going on..

Good love gone bad? Just like Chris Brown and Rihanna? hahaha..Not exactly, but there's a lot of rumor and speculation probably swirling about..So just in case I'm not aware of any new "conspiracy" theories out there, please let me know..haha..I'd really like to know how many perspectives the world can have on 1 issue..

To make things simple, it's just that things have run it's course, and of course, not every ending would be as pleasant or wonderful as the beginning. Take a look at Rihanna and C.B, certainly things ended very ugly for Rihanna. Ain't that sure about C.B, cuz at least that guy's still hanging around apologizing. I'm sure there's an explanation for that..

There are many things that cause the collapse of a certain relationship. Money. Love. Scandal. Time. Security. Communication. Privacy. Countless things can trigger or even accelerate the whole process. Another analogy: look at HYIPs (short for High Yield Investment Programs). A program may start off with a lot of enthusiasm and positive speculation from prospective investors. Everything is in place and perfectly set up from the get-go. Money rolls in constantly, and people are getting paid for what they put in. These are considered financial requition for their money and time invested. In a relationship, that would be requited love? haha..Then, some members start to complaint of slow or pending payment, even though the program is still regularly paying others. Admin tries to save the situation by addressing member's concern. Member is satisfied.

But that doesn't last.

The whole cycle continues after a few days, and the member starts to break down and complaints hysterically about the program. Admin starts to get frustrated. Member is still not getting paid. Everyone else starts to panic, thinking admin is not paying everyone else. How typical of human beings..Jumping after one another into a self-destructing whirlpool that was initially stirred by one single member..

Frustration + pressure start to mount. Things start getting ugly. Admin cracks back at the member openly, and member, being stubborn and hard-headed as always, feels indignant at admin's approach, starts clawing back as well. What happens then? Quarrels and fights and endless open dispute start to unveil. Over time, program's status starts to disintegrate and this inevitably leads to the foreclosure of the program.

This is not so much an issue of members shifting their interest into other programs, such as the all popular Imoneyreserve which is on fayahhhh right now, as it is an issue of misunderstanding and impatience. If only member and admin allowed more time to let things fall into place, the program would've lasted at least a few cycles more. Then it would've been a win-win situation for everyone, isn't it?

But of course, I won't rule out that there's a possibility of the members pulling out their deposits and perform a classic hit-and-run investment though..So what happens to that member now? Happily earning in another popular investment program I bet. haha..And what happens to the admin?

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Happily plotting the next successful program :D

Tired

2009-11-05T01:04:00.000-08:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

Argh..I'm so tired...I guess I'll sleep in a few minutes time..Someone's been writing to me on MSN, it's keeping me awake!!!!! LOl..hahaha...Jk...

Been listening to some jiwang songs recently, dang it's bringing my mood down..hahaha...I need to listen to some techno and digitally rendered junk to pump myself..And I plan to get a new laptop!!!!!

I've been eyeing this Asus X5 model for quite a while already..Even though the model name (X5) has nothing to do with BMW X5, both are quite the leaders in their respective industries..Haha..It costs 700$ though..Sigh..Guess it'll take a while before I can cough out the dough for it..I love that computer!!! It's everything I want..haha..I think that small, slim, sexy beast hidden in a small 13.3 inch cover is perfect in every sense!!!!

A must-get before this year ends I hope! hahaha..(gleeful)..

Here's the link to the great laptop: People who support me, say YES on my right-hand sidebar chatbox please! hahaha..or I could just go for the new macbook that was released few days ago or something..hahaha..Both are soo alluring~~~~

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002P3KMVC/ref=s9_simz_gw_s0_p147_t1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-3&pf_rd_r=13DX4DN14ZWCEVRA8BWN&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938811&pf_rd_i=507846

Look at the so-called Elites!

2009-11-05T00:20:00.000-08:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

My dad forwarded this email to me, and left me contemplating: Is this the government's fault, or is it the education system? I think it's a combination of both--the government's ignorance, failure to realize we are living in a competitive global ambience, and the education system, although it is highly effective in generating number-crunchers, simply is not adequate to produce leaders.

Anyway, here's the email:

Dear all

This is what “Boleh-land” can produce, students with straight A’s for up to 17 subjects but fail at university 2^nd year exams. If she ever gets to be a medical doctor, don’t know who wants to be her patients. No wonder my elder son was sent on a wild goose chase just for a simple leg ligament tear case! 3 doctors had a look at his X-ray but all could not or dare not give a correct diagnosis of his case. Only the doctor at the private hospital could give us the assurance.

17 A's student failed 2nd-year university exam

"The roots of true achievement lie in the will to become the best that you can become..."
The Failure of Nur Who Scored 17 A's!

I was really shocked and speechless to be informed about Nur Amalina Che Bakri.

Nur Amalina had held briefly the record of the most A's scored in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia. Upon the announcement of results of SPM 2004 on 26 March 2005, she received 17 1As - a record for number of A's received by a student in the history of Malaysian education back then. She was sponsored by Bank Negara Malaysia to study medicine in the United Kingdom, and did her A-levels at the CheltenhamLadies College in the UK.

Now I am informed that she had failed her second year medical study at theUniversity of Edinburgh. What went wrong?

Could English language be the problem? We are going back to Malay medium again and that means trouble.

Another article by Dr. Hsu

I was told that one of the girls with the most number of A's, 17 A1's, in SPM and who is currently on a scholarship in UK to study medicine failed in her second year examination.

While passing and failing examination is part and parcel of a student’s life, this case is particularly alarming, as this is supposed to be our cream of the cream. There may be other reasons why she failed , but this case typifies the trend of many of our so-called ‘top scholars’ failing in overseas universities.

I have mentioned before that among my daughter ’s year doing medicine inUniversity of Auckland, there were many JPA's scholars (more than 10). Only one graduated with the class. The rest have failed along the way and have to repeat the year which they have failed. Some have failed one year, passed on second attempt and then failed again in another year. It is not uncommon to have someone who failed a few times along the way.

These scholars are supposed to represent the cream of our students, and yet they struggled to get through the course.

We must find out the reasons why so many of these scholars fail when they are supposed to be the our top students.

Granted that in an examination, even a good student can do badly sometimes, but to have a disproportional high failure rate among the so called top students is alarming and cannot be attributed to ‘luck’ or the lack of it. Compare this with those on their fathers’ scholarship, very few of the latter group failed.

Is it because our marking system is at fault? Is there any differential markings of papers? Is our education system at fault?

I think the time has come to have a thorough re-examination of the whole education as well as the examination system.

It really reflects badly on our country when scholarship holders fail in their examinations at an alarming rate.

P.S. When a scholarship holder fails and has to repeat a year, it would cost the Country a lot of money which can actually be used to finance more students for study. Scholarship holders also live a life of relative luxury, compared to self-financed students, and they normally stay in the best hostels and many of them have cars and so on… SO the whole system of awarding scholarship should be reviewed too…

If the students scores an exemplary number of distinctions (A's in Malaysia) in a public exam, they are considered the pinnacle of what the Country's education system is capable of producing. They are expected to go through tertiary education anywhere in the world with flushing success. So what could possibly have happened if they fail abroad?

Malaysia's education system has always been a laughing stock. Based purely on numeric superiority and mindless rote learning methods that even the British has long abandoned decades earlier, Malaysia continues to believe that the more A's the students attain, the better equipped they are. It doesn't matter how they get the A's so long as the aim is to get them and get as many in the process. So if the students were to labour over numerous past year exam papers in the library, memorise the answers and focus only on what the teacher 'suggests' are likely to come out for the exam, that's all right by everyone. The education system doesn't teach the students to UNDERSTAND the material. It doesn't encourage proactive teaching methods that encourage students to discover knowledge but to merely be taught.

When a student with 17 Distinctions fail in the real world, it is not a surprise. Perhaps it is to many Malaysians, but it's a system that is waiting to reward its students with spectacular failure when they leave the shores and compete overseas or when they enter the workforce. Many organisations in the private sector have continued to be horrified at the performance of such students during interviews. Communication skills are absent. Standard ethics are absent. Common courtesy codes are absent. Presentation skills as well as personal grooming are absent. What has the education system taught them?

If Malaysia continue to embark on the road of plain numeric superiority instead of to challenge the students to think, provoke them to create their own opinions and to communicate expressively, to eloquently define their standing in the world, there can never be an international leader in any field or industry emanating from Malaysia. It never produced one in the last 20 years. It never will for the next 100 years.

--
QUOTATION OF THE DAY

"Everyone thinks of changing the world but no one thinks of changing himself"
Leo Tolstoy

Close Shave

2009-10-28T11:06:00.000-07:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

I shaved this morning. And I feel like I had a close shave, in life. Haha..

Yesterday was a very emotionally intense day, I was tired, exhausted, physically drained, mentally drained..I guess it's burnout period, because I have not taken a day off for the past 2 weeks..Weeks of long, arduous hours really are taking a toll on my body. Quite a late toll though.

Anyway, I am elated today, even though waking up was the hardest part..Dreaming with a broken heart~~~ Oops, sorry to digress :p But I just had a stark realization: I am free! I have the liberty to do what I want to do now, and that sort of gives me a sense of relief. No obligations to do whatever, although I still am responsible for making my life as good as it can be. A male-version of emancipation! hahaha...

Golly, I wanted to scream "YOU WxxRE!" so badly. But I didn't, because it doesn't help or do anything, other than satisfy my thirst to emotionally torment someone..(OK, I don't do that, just a metaphor..Of what, that I'm not sure :p) I needed to vent my anger!!! But it's all ok now, even though it still has this prickling pain whenever I think about it, ut it's for the best! And I'm just glad I'm not with a emo-filled, men-thirsty xxxx. Pardon for the language today, but I'm just coming clean..

I mean, how great can a person be who claims to be in "love", to find sanctuary in someone else in such short time? Obviously, not too great. Haha..It's ok, I've wanted this for a loooong time...I'm not gona rant here anymore, but I do feel a need to vent this anguish..Not anguish probably, wrong word to use..Ah..Who cares...

RANT AS MUCH AS YOU WANT

BUT YOU CAN'T HAVE IT BACK

HUB OF ALL EMOTIONS IS

SASSY BUT,

FEMINISTIC UNDERTAKING

IS SIMPLY OUT OF MY REACH

AAHHH...THIS FEELS GOOD

BREATHING OUT ALL THE BAD EMOTIONS

WINGS OF ANGER SPREAD FAR

PITCH A BALL

BITCH YER SOUL

DITCH, IS WHAT YOU'VE RECEIVED!

let's play word game :D hahaa..

If you can read properly, you can decipher what's written. haha.

Clue: Add 1 from 1, Add 2 from 2, Add 3 from 3, Add 5 from 4, Add 4 from 5, Add 3 from 6....

Just add those together and the truth will be revealed..... :D

Sing-a-Song time!!

2009-10-28T08:17:00.000-07:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

I was listening to this song through my Zen V M this morning while I was pacing myself through 1-mile of icy-cold path towards LCSC. I've always loved John Mayer, especially his song "Gravity"..Wow..Amazing...

And then this song came. "Dreaming With A Broken Heart". I've heard of that prior probably, but was never aware of the lyrics or what the song means..

Here's the lyrics :D

When you're dreaming with a broken heart
Then waking up is the hardest part
You roll outta bed and down on your knees
And for a moment you can hardly breathe
Wondering was she really here?
Is she standing in my room?
No she's not, 'cause she's gone, gone, gone, gone, gone....

When you're dreaming with a broken heart
The giving up is the hardest part
She takes you in with her crying eyes
Then all at once you have to say goodbye
Wondering could you stay my love?
Will you wake up by my side?
No she can't, 'cause she's gone, gone, gone, gone, gone....

Now do i have to fall asleep with roses in my hands
Do i have to fall asleep with roses in my hands?
Do i have to fall asleep with roses in my hands?
Do i have to fall asleep with roses in my , roses in my hands?

Would you get them if i did?
No you won't, 'cause you're gone, gone, gone, gone, gone....

When you're dreaming with a broken heart
Then waking up is the hardest part

Wow...How much better can a song get? :p

Oh, if you have probably noticed by now, I changed my blog's layout while I was in History class this morning at 7.30 am..zzzz --" hahaha..

I love this layout! Whoever thinks the previous was better, to your closet because I don't! hahaa..

Finally freeeeeeee~~~~~

好怀念家。。。

2009-10-13T14:20:00.000-07:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

第一次用中文写部落格。。。哈哈。。感觉好难写哦。。写这一段句子要花5分钟。靠。。。

佩服那些写中文不咯个的人。。

今天想写一写怀念“家乡”，眷恋“家香” 的浓情。

浪子身在他乡已有一年半载，虽说生活过得十分冲实，难免在孤单一人时想起家里温暖的床铺，美味的家肴，亲爱的家人，美丽的家圆。。

哎，亲身体验了李白“床前明月光”的真谛。。

好怀念大家哦。。。

Wind blows; Cloud covers the Sky....

2009-10-06T12:24:00.000-07:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

This week, although today's merely the 2nd day of the week, hasn't been too positive for me...Feeling under the cloud...Literally, as dark clouds cover the Lewiston sky, ominously signalling the return of Winter...I hate it. It's too cold, the cold pierces through the skin, penetrates the heart, freezes it and never lets it regain the warmness it used to enjoy..

Looking at some updates recently, particularly from social networking sites and forums, it's just difficult for me to conjure a smile...Every laughter is heavy, so heavy that it feels like my shoulders are collapsing under the weight, pulling down all the remaining slither of happiness I have....Time shoots through like a bullet, passing by and leaving traces of scar on your battered soul, never able to mend..A broken heart is just that, a broken heart. You can't, it's not possible to mend a broken heart just as you can't join a cracked glass together and hope that it'll be a flawless, immaculate beautiful glass that you used to sip from, together with your loved ones..

It was a downward spiral from the beginning..

I chose this path, and I have to accept what comes. Accountability, responsibility, self-reliance...All traits that I do not possess, of which I'm willing to improve on. But will there be enough time? Slipping through my fingers, I struggled to keep on, but there's just not enough substance and strength from inside me to persevere. My hands are cold, and sweaty, and my heart's pumping faster than ever, probably even faster than doing my regular cardio workouts that I'm obliged to obey..

No one is perfect, and everything is either a dream or a goal.. But I apologize for choosing dream over goal..

Life, has to go on.....

The Story of 1-week Survival

2009-09-20T19:59:00.001-07:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

It's been almost a full month since my last update..Well, firstly I would like to apologize for the late update, mainly so because school started already, and I've been busy juggling between work, school and tennis..Or maybe I should just categorize them into 2: work and play. Haha..School and work (J.O.B) and tennis as work. Erm...Chillaxing in front of computer and fiddling with my headphones as play? :p No idea..But that gives a sense of how busy I have been for the past few weeks.

First in my to-be-updated list today would be I got 3 jobs right now! Namely, work at the SUB as set-up crew, which means I have to set up the tables, chairs etc at the conference center; work at Com lab, which is the easiest job ever, because all I do is sit there and make sure the students swipe their cards prior to using the computers, or whatever they wish to do when they enter the lab; and volleyball-game linejudge/cleaner, which, as the name suggests, I work as both the linejudge and the cleaner. hahaha..All I do is to be steadfast, alert, and "demonstrative", as the umpire put it to me, when I'm linejudging. After the game, I pack my clothes, and get ready to clean the whole gym. Ugh... That, my friends, is hideous work.

I don't know how to describe the training sessions of late. I would say it has been different, and in a positive light as a matter of fact. There's been some changes in our training routine, mainly the inclusion of more bridge runs and bike runsl. yeah, BIKE RUNS. That's a new routine we have. The gym here recently purchased 2 bikes that are pre-programmed to relay your bike run's information to the company's database, which in turn can be accessed via Internet. Interested people can check my information sometimes. Hahaha..I'll post my username and password here to "show-off" my "phenomenal" bike runs that will perpetually establish my image as Fitness God!!!! hahahaha....Not! :p

Anyway, back to the tennis training programs...Kai made us do sit-ups and crunches and weird ab exercises every single day of practice. That's good, to say the least. But, even so, it doesn't justify the reason to do it every single day. You've gotta mix things up, increase/decrease the intensity in order to reap noticeable benefits. I may not be a fitness guru, but it's obvious doing the same things over and over again is not going to bring us forward. In the words of Einstein, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." There you go..I plan to mix things up next week..haha..Let' see how things go from there...

I feel lazy today..And the day before.. Ugh, indulged in donuts and pizzas these 2 days..hahah..gotta work off those fats tomorrow on the bike.. Oh what do you know, these bike runs Do come in handy..hahaha...

Ok, gotta split :D See ya all on my blog next time!!!

P.S: BTW, if you guys have paypal, and would like to start investing and earn some money, check this site out..I invested $50 in it, and it's paying right now..

http://whitefeather-fasttrack.com/?ref=killz23

A Day In Spokane

2009-08-20T22:21:00.000-07:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

Well, I guess this is a delayed post. I have been so busy that I forgot to post pics and updates on my trip to Spokane. Okay, not wanting to digress, I'll just get to main point today..Extremely exhausted right now..Ugh..

Marina's our driver for the trip, and Tobias's shotgun (or whatever you americans call it). That basically means sitting beside the driver. Not something I'd like to do, not even if you pay me to invest in ten-traders.....Ok, maybe I will, but that's only because that's much better than sitting in the passenger's seat.

(As you all can probably see where this is going, I'll elaborate on what happened)

I was the victim. I suffered. And I suffered during the whole drive.

Marina's otherwise "impeccable" car, is flawed. Her car's sidewindow always scroll down by itself. Hmm..Sounds like I've talked about this before. But oh heck, I'll just do it for the sake of re-enactment. Haha.. Anyway, I had to push the sidewindow up during the whole trip......

(Okay, BIG MISTAKE HERE!!! I was thinking about the trip to Bend...) hahahaaha....

Here's what really went down:

Tobias was the driver for the trip, and I WAS THE SHOTGUN! hahahaha...Now I recall everything...Marina and Sela sat in passenger's seat, quietly storing themselves away at the corner, not wanting to disturb the "peaceful" ambience in the car - I was singing at the top of my lung to the song "Scar". Dang! I thought I was a talented, unpolished, undiscovered Rockstar for a moment when i sang that song. I felt so much energy, so much power, so much...Adrenaline pump that I couldn't resist the urge to SCrrEEAAAMmmmmmm!!!! hahahahaa...Oh well, I guess you all know what happened after that. It's not that hard to guess..hahaha..

(just in case you don't, I tried a parody. But in a heavy-metal sort of way though. hahaha.. Marina and Tobias bear witness to this unprecedented event that will never happen again)

Of course, that is until "Scar" starts playing again...

Here are some pics!!!!

Today's Update

2009-08-18T21:20:00.000-07:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

A routine update today. Nothing special. So, just sit back and enjoy my post today because I'm gona enumerate what's been going on these past few days...

Start of the week began in a somewhat delicious way, literally. Coach Kai invited the 3 of us coaching assistants to this mysterious place he wouldn't unveil till the last minute. It was for lunch, and I think Kai deliberately skipped breakfast so he could enjoy his lunch. :p Oh well, I guess that's the way to go if you want to stuff food into a usually-empty stomach. haha..Kai's so amazing, in a way that he's able to live without food for days...I think he's a reincarnated camel, only that he doesn't have humps, and he needs water to survive :p

Anyway, the place's name is....I can't remember...Mac something. It was a Spanish name, dang. Can't recall...Anyway, it's a Seafood restaurant, and it's safely disguised and hidden behind some trees and buildings. It's a really secluded place I would say, so much so that one would not notice that place if no effort is placed into searching for it. The place is really nice--Sela said it looked like Anthony's, which is the restaurant the bunch of us went to in Bend, OR--but I beg to differ. Anthony's was much better in terms of interior design, the whole atmosphere, and food price too. Not that Anthony's is any cheaper, in fact it's much more expensive. Hahah..My "better" in this case would be defined as more pricey :p So, I just ordered a sandwich, called The Clearwater Club (fancy name) for lunch. It's the restaurant's recommended dish, so I thought it's worth a try. A worthy taste-test it was, because that meal was amazingly (= (inside joke) delightful. (I just used two of the words) hahaha....And Kai paid for all our meals. Yaiy! Free meal again! hahaha...If tobias's reading this, please don't take it the wrong way. Your meals are great too! hahaha..Feeding off him is my specialty :p

And that didn't conclude the 1st day though. It was another awesome event that occurred. Well, actually that event happened earlier on. Before the lunch as a matter of fact. I was awarded J.O.B!!!!!! (Correction: To those who thought that meant job, as in work, YOU'RE WRONG!!! IT'S J.O.B!!) That essentially means work-study, which is another form of scholarship for international students who are not qualified for federal aid. It's a rather peculiar form of aid though, because the government pays about 70% of the student's pay, whereas the college comes up with the other 30%. In other words, cheap labor! Therefore, colleges are often encouraged to employ student workers, because the government will pay these cheap laborers! hahah..That is just the qualification to work though, don't get me wrong. I still have to find my own job on-campus. Imagine that, I have to file an application to work on-campus, and then wait patiently for a few months to get the notification, and then I have to find my own job ON-CAMPUS! And that's IF I approved to work. Wow...That's a lot of restrictions to keep international students from working. Obviously someone's afraid we, international students, are here to earn money to take over Wall Street. Pshh...

Nonetheless, here's another great news!!! I did my due diligence, and found work with Mike Johnson. He's the person-in-charge for fitness center and all those crap. Er, I mean sport-related activities. Haha..So next week, 28th and 29th, I'll be working as linesman for a volleyball game. Can't wait!!! And money money money, here I come!!!!

Oh, and investments too.. I've been working overtime to look at my investments. I think I'm taking too much risks. After this month, I'm gona do a financial overhaul. Have to pull out my funds. Dang it. Scary....

That's all for now!!!! Anyone interested in investments, and a quick way to make a few extra bucks, please leave a comment. Or email me at showmethemoney23@gmail.com. thanks!!!

An Apple A Day Keeps The Doctors....Er....Around You?

2009-08-15T00:43:00.000-07:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

Few days ago, I bought this 1 whole bag of Fiji apples from Costco. Wow, those apples looked like the most delicious, mouth-watering blood-red apples I've ever seen. The sparkle, the unblemished layer of peel covering the apples convinced me into paying $7 for them. In Malaysia, those apples would cost probably around $4 I guess, given the current exchange rate. Nonetheless, I skipped home happily, knowing my tastebuds will be utmostly satisfied with my purchase.

Well, at least that's what I thought. Who knew what surprise was in store for me......

Holding the bag, I quickly rushed into Kai's house because I couldn't wait to grab an apple and stuff it into my mouth. I haven't tasted the sweetness, and juicy-ness of the fruit for quite some time. Last time I ate was probably during one of those tennis trips where we had to stay in hotels and more often than not, the complimentary breakfast includes fruits. Well, as far as a taste "master" that I am can tell, those fruits are nowhere near edible status. It'll be a surprise if those tasteless spherical objects the hotel prepared could even pass a freshness test. That's why I was so excited when I spent 7$ to get 14 apples. Pretty good price, no? Anyway, I got through all the hassle of unlocking the back door, of opening the door, and then of closing the door..It's time to eat apples!!!! =DD

Luck is a very unpredictable thing, because you never know what, how, where, and when things could turn around and bite you in the butt. Luck Sucks. Luck, is just what you blame on when you can't achieve what you want.

In this case, it was bad luck for me. The apple I grabbed tasted horrible-- I could taste the chemical commercial farmers use on apples to keep them fresh and shiny-looking. For your information, that chemical is called wax. I swiftly ran downstairs, logged onto my laptop, and google-d the effects of wax, and how to remove wax from apples.

I came across this cool website, which I can't recall the name :P, that, despite all the tutorials on how to remove wax and how to check whether there's wax on the apple, essentially calls out to all consumers to be aware of what's more important - the environment or an apple. This is a very, very interesting topic, because the writier wrote (paraphrased) people these days are so concerned with minute details, such as wax on an apple, when they're ignoring the bigger environmental problems that are abound which could haunt them later in life and of which could end with fatal ramifications, ie: air pollution, thinning of ozone, green house effect etc. Worth a read, if you can find it.. :p

Nonetheless, I saw how they peeled off the coated wax on the apple, and figured I'd try that out for myself.

Behold, the Pictures of Truth!!!!!!

That's wax :D

So, your advice of the day: Eat oranges :D

Au revoir!!!

Getting it There: Say Yes to Your Future Job

2009-08-09T13:07:00.000-07:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

The job market is waning; people are scrambling for work everywhere across the map; desperation peaks, and anxiety creeps in during this financial meltdown.

One soul-tormenting question presents itself: How can I get a job?

I was browsing through my March edition of Readers’ Digest yesterday, a monthly publication that focuses on various daily issues such as health, job, family and etc, and came across this very interesting topic that addresses that very question. To get the ball rolling, here are some major warning signs that employers are ready to make the big “restructuring” plan.

Warning:

1. “I’m ready to restructure the company”

2. “The company needs a top-down restructuring program”

3. “We need a head-count reduction”

4. “Workforce reduction and alignment”

5. “It’s time to downsize/rightsize/smartsize”

6. “I think it’s time we reposition ourselves for this downturn”

7. “A reduction in workforce is impending”

When these words pop up frequently around the company, you should do your due diligence – start looking at wanted ads.

Readers’ Digest sought the expertise of a panel of job experts to give their advices on this topic. They started with several topics:

o When to hire a career coach

o How to use career-matching sites

o Your e-portfolio

o Prepare your power resume

I prefer not to elaborate on the career coach and sites and e-portfolio due to inconsistency with my post’s main goal. I will, however, tell you what I think how you should get ready for your job in the future.

Getting Your Job

1. Power up your resume. Use strong, clear, specific words to make sense to your employer. Avoid words like “problem solver, good team player, self-motivated”. (This is new to me, so that’s something new learnt) Use words like “I administered” rather than “I directed” in a resume for an executive job – use words that match the position you’re applying for.

2. Open yourself to opportunities. If the employer is skeptical to hire, give him the reason to say yes! Offer to work 2-3 times per week without a salary, and then subtly suggest you would like him to offer you a job title that matches the position you play in the company, and a recommendation for your next job. You don’t need cold-hard cash to make sense of this opportunity; a good, thorough, and positive recommendation is more likely to land you in your dream job than pocket cash that will eventually dry out.

3. Use the Internet to your advantage. Create your own personalized webpage, or even your myspace/facebook to make people know of your existence. Keep looking around, socialize with people on these social-networking sites. You never know when an employer is looking for

someone like you.

4. Socialize. Expand your social network. Nothing beats words of mouth, and most job opportunities are found through a friend, or a friend’s friend. That’s why there’s a certain degree of truth in the saying, “It’s not what you know; it’s who you know.”

“Networking is not the most important thing; it’s the only thing.” <= That’s your main principle.

CutCo: A Knife's Story

2009-08-06T23:11:00.000-07:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

"CutCo: The World's Finest Cutlery. This company started in 1949, has sold over $200 million worth of products, and has proudly served more than 15 million satisfied customers. "

Or is it?

Today, out of sheer curiosity, I visited Vector, a marketing cum training branch for CutCo located in Lewiston, ID. It's a very, very small office, to start with, and there was only 1 branch manager, named Tonya Demoss, and 1 assistant/receptionist when I first arrived there for my interview, which happened 2 weeks ago. How surprised was I, to find that there even existed such a company, a small office about 50 square ft (or even smaller) snugly hidden amongst the other shops that furnished the mall they call Savannah Plaza. (Truth be told, that place is smaller than Kai's and Shannon's and Tobias's house combined. Pst, pathetic) Well, on to the office...

The door has a big sign that reads "Vector". That's the name of the office, obviously, and they're there for the Summer season only--they're moving back to their "main" branch which is located somewhere in Montana or Utah. A small place, really, which no 1 has heard before. Hmmm...Reminds me of some place I know...Lewiston-wanna-be, in the making? haha..I don't know.. I stepped into the office, in FORMAL outfit, which means proper T and a long black pant which I wore to International Dinner, and found the office to be...Sparingly furnished. Or in other words, Simplistic Setup, which tells a lot about the office, really. Because from the way the office is decorated, you could really tell the effort, the passion placed into it, and the actual nature of the business. No doubt, this is one simple business build on a fundamental principle: to earn money. It's easy to comprehend, because if you spend too much on furnishing your makeshift office, how are you going to earn money? The money earned will be put into decoration and renovation and all that. Money earned = Money spent = ZERO. ZERO = BAD!!!!!

However, there's a silver lining in all this shrouded cloud.

I was actually employed! Well, not exactly employed because I can't work off-campus, but I was chosen to be a part of their "prestigious" training that has been professionally designed to produce highly efficient, highly effective, and highly productive workforce that will meet the society's demands. Wow...What an honor...

Anyway, I went there again today, after much trouble because I couldn't leave my post as assistant coach earlier. So I had to rush there at 3pm, good thing Tobias has a car, and I reached the dilapidated office at about 3.15pm--exactly 15 mins before my appointment with the branch manager. They explicitly, unequivocally, adamantly, strictly expressed the value they place on punctuality-- a very important lesson I have to learn if I want to get any job in the future, albeit the fact I'm always late for social congregations...But anyway, I've always been on-time recently, and Kai bears witness to this because I've always, on a daily basis, arrived at the tennis court exactly at 8.50am, neither sooner nor later, because he told me I should arrive 10 mins earlier so that I could hit with the lil kids. So I did, and I feel great I've been able to keep that up everyday. I dont' know why I like to procrastinate...Oh well..Something to improve upon I guess...

Wow..Such a long post, and I'm not even into the details yet! Ugh...

So I went for the training, and everyone was just about to leave. So I appeared to be the odd donkey in the horse's stable, sitting there by myself and trying as hard as I could to listen. I was too exhausted to even sit on the chair, let alone listen to what the branch manager has to say. Which she doesn't, by the way, as it was all about the company's reputation and all. I had no interest whatsoever in that, and I dismissed whatever interesting facts she had about the company that she tried to put across the room..Not interested, I thought. So my eyes wandered around the room, or sometimes I cast my cocasional blank stare at the notes she passed to me. Ugh, I felt so sleepy at the time, not that she has a somnolent voice or whatever, but the session was pretty boring, and I was just at the end of my tether to even care about what she had to say. Bad employee trait....ugh...

She approaced me after the training, and gave me a heads up on what happened ealier, trying to fill me in on the details of the training. Well, that was pretty brief, because I stayed there for only 30 minutes; the rest of the training group actually stayed there since 12pm, and they went home at about the same time I left too. Hahaha...I feel like a VIP :D

Anyway, I'm not going for the training tomorrow. No ride, and I can't work there either. So I don't think that'll be a productive endeavour. Oh well...Time to sleep..hahaa...

Night!!!!!Enjoy yourselves this weekend, and stay cool :D

Latest Updates!

2009-08-03T01:04:00.000-07:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

Well, today's the start of the 1st week of August, which implies start of coaching week~ Ah...Feels like being dragged into a puddle of mud, all sticky and annoying..haha..And energy-draining too, not to forget that..

Today's 1st day, and by far, the most boring day yet. And the whole coaching is not even over yet. I felt exhausted, physically, and mentally drained..My eyes were wandering, arms were as heavy as mountains of brick stacked on top of them, and I could hardly focus on what was going on. Not that I am usually sharp or anything, but today was just that bad. Ugh...Maybe this is the aftermath, the suffering I have to endure after a week of sheer fun-ness..hahah..Karma probably?

Anyway, I spent too much this holiday. haha..Initially figured I could earn some extra pocket money during this Summer, but at the end of the day, or the holiday in this case, I'm still basically just earning back what I spent during the holiday. Sigh, that would mean Earning = Spending = Zero Income. Zerrrooo..How bad is that? Well, consolation is in place for me though, because I really had a blast during this AMAZING season. Haha..Inside joke :D

Tomorrow's another day, and I'm writing this at the wee hour of the morning. Well, not exactly though, because it's only midnight. Probably due to the fact that I haven't been writing for quite a while, I don't have any idea on what to write today. Just in the mood to update it. haha..And keep you readers updated :D

Oh yeah, I bought another headphone recently..OMG, I'm such an audiophile-wannabe now..haha..It's a really cool, techno-hip looking headphone. Of course, the audio quality is undeniably at par with the price I paid. Many people have been looking for this pair of awesome, reasonbly priced headphone. Of course, there are people in Canada and EU willing to, and some actually did, pay a hefty sum just to get their hands on one of these babies..Without further adue, I give it to you:

AUDIO-TECHNICA AD700!!!!!! *Clap clap*

ISN"T THAT A BEAUTY?????

Wow...Just looking at it makes me excited..haahah....

Now that it's added to my arsenal, I've another baby to show you guys. This has been with me for about a month, another great headphone...Both these babies have garnered many accolades for their aesthetic values, build qualities, and of course, absolutely outrageous sound qualities that make headphones that cost few times more than they do look like overpriced white elephants. And their not even as beautiful as white elephants. hahaha..Ok, here's it:

Senneiser HD 555!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Another breathtaking beauty...Wow...

I just love em :D

Okay, keep reading you guys! I will update soon, and stay cool!

Summer Updates

2009-07-30T12:12:00.000-07:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

Wow, what a Summer! Been to Prescott Valley, AZ -> Sandpoint, ID/WA (?) -> Bend, OR -> SPOKANE, WA!

This is really a great Summer! It'll only be a 2-day 1-night trip, but my guess is it'll be a blast! As always, I'm gonna bring my trusted SD 780 IS super slim Powershot, and it'll be in a lot of action for these 2 days! haha..Expect another at least 300plus-photo album on Facebook soon!

Well, all the excitement aside, I've been spending too much I think...Hmm...I spent about 100$ on my previous Bend trip, (that's approximation), and this upcoming Spokane trip might/might not be as expensive. Hopefully not though, because Sela, Toby and I are now semi-officially broke. Broke = Financially unsound = Monetary crisis. Argh, hope we will weather through this, save some money, and yet able to squeeze some fun while we're at it--all before the Summer ends. :p What a Summer!!haha..

P.S: While glancing through my blog on my laptop, I can't stop noticing how small my font is. I had to literally stare at the word for a few seconds before making out what the word is. On my friend's computer though, this problem doesn't show itself. Hmm..Any suggestions? If the words are too small, please provide feedback! Thanks!

P.P.S: Oh yeah, if you want to leave a comment, you can do so at the top right corner of the post, or you can just write a comment on the sidebar on your right. Happy reading!

Bend Updates!

2009-07-28T21:58:00.000-07:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

Here are the pictures from the Bend trip..Although I would really hate to upload that many, I'll put up a few here. Sort of a preview/sneak peek :p.The rest are found on my Facebook profile..

Linky~: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=812920634&ref=profile

Bend it like Bend, OR!

2009-07-24T12:30:00.000-07:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

We're at Bend, Oregon right now! Woooooooo!!

That was a looong ride, about 8 hours or so.. Here's the list of names of our Journeymen:

1) Marina: Driver
2) Sela: Shotgun/ Backseat hugger
3) Tobias: Fellow backseat-wrestler
4) Yours truly: Sleeper

I slept almost the whole way through.. Well, at least I tried to, if not for Marina's malfunctioning side window! That effing window scrolls down by ITSELF, every freaking 5-6 seconds! So every time it does, I HAVE TO PUSH IT UP AGAIN!!!!DAMN THAT ANNOYS ME SOOOO BADLY!!!!
At one point, I thought of smashing the window...Good thing it wasn't my car, if not I would've pushed it down the cliff, and then I'll claim the insurance for that damn car, and get a new BMW 5 series convertible. Yeah, that's what I'd do. Although I doubt that car is even worth that much here..But hey, a Chevy Camaro basic 2010 edition is only about 20k usd here..That'll be pretty affordable..Compared to paying about the same amount in ringgit for a Perdana..hmmm...

Anyway, I'll upload the pictures here as soon as possible! Barb has 5 dogs in her house, about 5 BMWs, and a huge compound..Oh, and she has a ravine running across in front of her house too..Fancy that :D hehe..

Planning Plans

2009-07-21T23:27:00.000-07:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

These few days have been extremely hectic for me. I've had to deal with tennis lessons, workout sessions, and socializing time as well.

Kai, my tennis coach, is currently back in his hometown, Malaysia right now, and the coaching trio (which comprises Sela, Marina, and me) are entrusted with the responsibility of running the show in his absence. Well, thus far we've been doing great though, because he left some tips for each of us before his departure. Basically, those tips, in actual truth, are reflections of his mind on what he wishes to be done, and what he wants to see to be done. So, there's a demand to be met here.

Then, there's the workout session. I think it's really, absolutely, extremely energy-draining and mentally exhausting to do workouts in the morning prior to giving tennis lessons. I had to wake up at 7am every morning, and get ready to leave by 7.30 because Tobias scheduled the workouts in the morning at 7.45am; he has to work in the afternoon. 1 thing confuses me: I've been working as hard as I've been for the past few weeks, but somehow I'm seeing some declining performance, I think. Or maybe it's just exhaustion taking a toll on me. Or maybe it's just that economic thing when they say the more money you put into something, the less you will get out of it for every extra penny you put into it. Haha..I forgot the exact economic term, but for those who do, please enlighten :D

Oh oH!!! Here's the excitement of this week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm going Bends with Tobias, Sela and Marina~~~ hhaahah.. I won't be playing the tournament though, so basically I'll be a supporter, or a cheerleader if you will. hahaha...Gonna do some sight-seeing and visiting again!!! yaiy!!!

Vacation City: Sandpoint

2009-07-19T18:24:00.000-07:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

Last week, on a Tuesday that is, I had the chance to travel to Sandpoint, a resort town up north in Idaho, sitting near the border of US-Canada. We, which means me, Sela, Marina, and Kai of course, were invited as the guest coaches. The tennis association was organizing a tennis summer camp, a 5-day camp as a matter of fact, and they thought we would be able to give a few tips there. So we accepted the invitation, and we left Lewiston at about 4pm on Tuesday. The trip took about 4-5 hours, as we took a quick break at Coeur d'alene.. i don't really know how to spell it, but it's pronounced "Kor-de-laine". We had Smoothies~~~~~ Yaiy!

Here's the catch: As we went into the smoothies place, I looked around and noticed they had this commercial banners that write "Voted Best Pizza in Idaho". Hmmm...That came as a surprise because I've never heard of that place before. Oh well, on to the smoothies. I looked up and glanced through the menu.

1st impression: WOW! The smoothies had skyhigh calories in them! There was this smoothie--called Chocolate Cow, and it had 600++ calories! I have to make a confession here: this was the 1st time I've ever looked at the calorific value of the food I consume. Quite a pleasant change, I would think, because some certain people (you know who you are) have complaint that I'm getting chunkier, and fatter, and uglier, and horizontally developed...etc...Ok, I made up the most of those expressions, but you get my point. So I've decided to work out really hard to sweat off all those extra pounds on my body. At this point of writing, I've lost 10lbs. Nice eh? hehe..

(Anyway, before I digress, taking a huge detour around how much I've worked and all, let's get back to the story. Haha...)

So, after the smoothie-session, we hit the road and drove for a good 3 hours or so before we reached Sandpoint.

Kai, knowingly suggested that we go for dinner 1st, before we head on to our next destination: Jane's place. yaiy! Food time~ So we went to a Thai Restaurant called Bangkok Cuisine, which is just a stone's throwaway from the tennis court we'll be teaching at the next day.

Here are some pics from the dinner. For the record, I ordered Gai Rama, which proved to be amazingly impeccable look-wise and taste-wise. Kai ordered something, which I don't know the name, I think it was Gang Curry, and Marina ordered Pad See Ew, while Sela, as usual, ordered her favorite Nasi Goreng aka Fried Rice.

*I want to cut and paste the pictures here! But I don't know what went wrong, and now the pics are stucked up there..sigh..

Ok, this post is about the trip only! I'll post more on the coaching and way back later..hehhe..Dinner time for me now!

The Day My Friend Escaped Death

2009-07-18T00:23:00.000-07:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

Today, as of July 17th, I solemnly announce: I have almost committed an unforgivable sin, of bringing an end to an innocent person's life. Note the word almost. So that means I haven't yet. Phew.....

Anyway, here's how everything went down:

As usual, Tobias and I hit the gym in the afternoon, and then we decided I'll go his house after that to get my dose of protein in. The stuffs are in his house anyway, so might as well, we thought. I was really exhausted after the workout, and I sort of sprained my left thumb accidentally. Long story short, I was feeling at the end of my tether, and being a competitive person he is, and has always been, Tobias wanted to wrestle with me. I guess that's a means to manifest superiority and masculinity? At least it seems so to him because he challenges me to these fights all the time.

Today, things just didn't went as smoothly.

He pinned me down most of the time, I couldn't move a finger, and struggled to stay afloat actually. Hopefully he's not reading this cuz this is gonna boost his confidence. Hahah..Oh well, for the sake of "real-life reporting", I'll write it anyway: today was a one-sided fight. Although things did turn around, for worse, in the end. I couldn't get him on a good grip on previous, if I might say futile, attempts; so when I finally got a nice hold on his neck, I gulped a breath of air, and squeezed as hard as I could. "Give up!" I called out to him, in a triumphant tone because I knew he would have a hard time getting out of a well-executed lock, albeit an amateur-executed one at that, that I had on him. A 5-second struggle was all it took, before he stumbled to his knees, and I noticed things were going south.

He was fainting.

I quickly released him, and he just fell on his back. He was gasping for air, like a fish out on dry land, pressing his lungs hard to gather as much air as possible. I swear it looked so surreal I thought he would die. Right in front of me. That was a very awful feeling.

Luckily though, he woke up after another 5 seconds, seemingly in a confused, befuddled state. His stare was as blank as a piece of white paper, and he looked as if he had just awoken from a long sleep. He told me he felt as if he had a dream, a long dream, and he was back at home with his parents and sister..."What am I doing here?" were the words he uttered when he first opened his eyes..

Whether Death was being benevolent for a change, or he slipped under the Death's nose, it was indeed a lucky escape-he was traversing on a line that delienates the alive and dead, and lady luck was with him today.

What a relief, cuz otherwise I would have to carry and bury his body. Phew....

Vocabulary Class

2009-07-13T22:05:00.001-07:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

I learned 2 new words today!!!!

1) Methinks. That's actually a word! I thought that was something hippy to say, like what those rappers always do to accentuate their eccentricity and coolness..

Definition: It seems to me. hahaha..Cool huh?

Past tense: You got it. Methought.

2) Delineate. That sounds like de-alien-ate to me...Even though the definition is ostentatiously dissimilar from anything related to aliens, that still arouses an extraterrestrial-like feeling, and reiterates the subconscious of the possible relation between the two, when I read that word.

Definition: To draw a line. Haha..Weird...

Usage: Netbooks and notebooks are slowly crossing the arbitrary line that delineates the two separate categories.

Picture Update: Vegas Trip Summer June 09'

2009-07-13T21:12:00.000-07:00

A SpaceShip!

I think this is the pool at Luxor.. Cool huh?

I love these desserts!!!!!

That's it for the heads-up on Vegas trip!!!!!

By the way, the trip, 1-way, to AZ took me 20+ hours...hahha..Just so that you know :p

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

A Busy Summer: Upcoming Schedule

2009-07-13T19:07:00.000-07:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

I've just realised how great my HD 555s are!!! And man, I thought of changing to Grado Sr60...Good thing I didn't..hahaha..Maybe my HD 555s finally decided to show its shine, because if it didn't, I'd be sending it to the woodshed. Along with my HD 201, and HD 212 Pro..hahaha..

(Sorry for the unrelated blabbering...I was just THAT excited that my headphones are finally performing at a level they've been expected to)

Anyway, my upcoming schedule for the month is pretty hectic. However, there's a silver lining amidst this head-aching summer month! I'll get to travel, AND visit some places in the meantime!!!

1st stop: Sandpoint!

Time: Tomorrow!

Length of stay: 1 night (only...)

Purpose: Coach Kai said we're going to conduct a courtesty coaching session in Sandpoint because, coincidentally, they're having a Summer Tennis Camp as well right now. So, being the benevolent and helpful person he is, Kai has accepted the offer to go up there to coach. We, the 3 of us, Marina, Sela and me, will be going there for a 2-day 1-night trip. Coach said we'll be running around the place, so he reminded us to carry a pair of running shoes...Can't wait!

Excitement Rating: 4 out of 5

2nd stop: Bend! (or whatever the spelling is)

Time/Date: on a Thursday, next Thursday. I can't recall the exact date. Sigh, bad memory

Length of stay: To be announced. Currently still in debate whether we should stay a week there, or travel to Portland, or Boise for the week because there's no coaching the following week. Yaiy!

Purpose: Tournament. Even so, I bet we're not going to be so formally, so committed to it anyway. Seeing the mood Sela's in, doubt arises whether she'll be serious or focused enough to play. Well, I'm just going to play my best, or at least enjoy myself, whichever comes 1st. Haha, I think I'm in a good shape now, physical-wise. All thanks to Tobias, who's been a motivation, and inspirational role model to me during the past month in AZ. We've been doing some cardio, on a regular basis, and some light weight-lifting to boost physical strength. I'm feeling great, as of today, and hopefully I'll be in better shape by the start of the season! I'm looking forward to a decent performance in the tournament..

Excitement Rating: 4 out of 5

*As of today, there are no further plans ahead that I am planning, or aware of. Therefore, if anything new, or any unsuspected events, pops up during this period, I will, or at least try to, update on this blog. In consideration of all who read, this is my solemn promise. But please, don't quote me.

Tata!! Au revoir!!

How To Maintain Your Car

2009-07-13T00:11:00.000-07:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

Today, I had the honor of meeting with a retired car salesman, Dennis, who happens to be my coach's neighbor, and I had a brief lesson on how to maintain your car in tip-top condition. "If you do a good job of maintaing it, a good car's gonna last you for at least 10 years," said Dennis, before we started with the "lesson".

"You've gotta change your car's oil every 3,000 miles/30 hundred miles," advises Dennis. That's a good point there, and obviously, you don't want your car to run on dried-up, dirty oil during it's "stint" as your transport vehicle do ya? Well, not that it'll be that long of a period if you do, anyway.

First, he laid down and climbed under the car, which I followed suit. He then showed me the tools and the location of the oil knobs/oil plugs..I can't remember the exact words, but when he unscrewed the plug, oil started pouring. Black, dark, highly viscous oil so black that it seemed like sewage water mixed with black ink. That's right, you can't see anything PAST that black liquid. Take note not to dirty your hands though, so you've gotta wear a pair of gloves. Dennis wore a glove, not a pair, just 1 glove on his right hand, and did his job of both explaining and changing his car's oil. A challenging task, I would say, as you have to focus on NOT staining your hands with the filthy oil. He made it seem so easy. I was impressed.

(5 minutes passed)

The oil took some time to clear, so we had spare time to discuss about cars. He boasted how his Subaru and another old car lasted more than 10 years, and each of them had mileages ranging well above the 100-mile milestone. His secret? Well, you guessed it. Change the car oil every 3,000 miles.

(Another 5 minutes passed while Dennis continued his talk about cars)

"That's all for Lesson 101 on car maintenance," said Dennis before we concluded the day. It was a very informative session with him, and I learned a lot. 1 thing he taught me that I'll remember is, you can't trust German cars. Haha.. Yup, he said, in his words, "You can't trust German cars." (I'm basically relaying what he said, word by word) I'm not paraphrasing or anything, he just said it straight. There you go, no more Benz, no more BMWs. Strictly Fords, Subarus, Hondas, Toyotas, Ferraris....etc...

That's the end folks! Tune in next time to Lesson 102: Car Smashing..If there is a lesson like that...haha..

Dwelling within The Sin....City...

2009-07-03T11:51:00.000-07:00

I'm in Paris!!!

Here's the Eiffel Tower!

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

Sin City, famed for the casino and nightlife, and the plethora of adult-only activities available within the confines of the city. "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas", a cliche that seems too good to be true, yet, all the people who had printed their footsteps in the city know one thing: Vegas is anything AND everything that the world is not..Well, at least that is true for the sinful part.

Sin City, the pinnacle, the culmination, of all excitement and guiltless fun in 1 city.

Life after Happy

2009-07-01T23:54:00.000-07:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

Gone are the happy days in Prescott Valley a.k.a Happy Valley..Now, it's time to come back to hardwork, cold hard reality..

Well, it's not all that doom and gloom actually.. As expected, I arrived home to many mails and unread magazines..Piled up on 1 corner of Shannon's place, waiting to be read, to be perused..Well, I did my part, tore open all the mails, read most of em, and threw the other few into garbage bin--junk mails. I guess spam and junk reach into our daily lives, even though I thought junk and spam only existed online. hahaha..How naive..Good to know now..

I've successfully, and smoothly, moved into Kai's basement, which will be my dwelling sanctuary for the Summer. The hot, dry, scorchingly excruciating Summer. I thought it would be something like that of Malaysia's weather, but I was wrong. My first step into Lewiston(which was onto Shannon's driveway), was welcomed by indescribable heat. Haha..Talk about heated welcome. Well, that sums up my accommodation for this Summer. On to work...

I'll be working with Kai for most of the Summer. And, surprisingly, I've secured a lawn-mowing part-time job with Kai's neighbor, whose name is Dennis the Menace! Wahah, ok, the Menace was a cool nick I conjured out of thin air..hehee..But he's a nice old man, in his 70s I would say.. I'm gonna start mowing his lawn this Friday, and every Friday during Summer..I'm not sure about the pay, but whatever: As long money comes rolling, I'm not gonna reject it. Haha.. Although I do hope I get more than 10 dollars per hour..Otherwise, I'm calling Child Labor Abuse Department..

Supposedly, I was going to replace Kev's position at the computer lab, but..That's a huge BUT.. He was feeling "insecure" and "confused", (I added the insecure, as usual), but I am quoting him on the "confused" part..So he hired Jason, a Chinese, to replace Kev..Even though they had prior agreement, obviously BOBBBYYYY ( his name, say that like a maniac drunkard calling his dog) was not comfortable waiting for 2 more days.Screw him.

That's all for the latest updates..Will post more, until then..:D Stay cool..

Prescott Valley, AZ

2009-06-25T09:02:00.000-07:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

Apologies for the crawling, excruciatingly slow update...It's been a month of excitement, joy, and fulfillment, and now, I'm at the end of the journey here..

Here are some pictures, and highlights of this illustrious month.

Arizona: Diary Day 12

2009-06-05T08:47:00.000-07:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

Today's the 12th day I've stayed here in Arizona..I wanted to post the pics during these few days, but somehow I can't find the cable. Will find it later, but now, I just wanted to jot a few words here to remind: I'm still here and I'm living well :D

It's been a hectic lifestyle over here, because my daily schedule looks something like this:

8am: Wake up
9am: Breakfast
10am: Cardio/Run
12pm: Lunch
12.30pm: Leave house to go coaching
1pm - 3pm: Coaching
3.30 - 4.30pm: Work out
5pm: Go home
6pm: Dinner
7pm - 11pm: Chillax
11pm - next day: Sleeeeppp

Hahah pretty tight schedule there huh? But it's all good, time's passing a tad too fast though, so fast that it's not to my liking..Hope it'll be slower...Today's 5th of June already...I thought it was still 29th of May...Oh well...

To everyone: I have NOT gained much weight, although I'm now weighing 160lbs..It's just the camera effect..hahaa..(At least, that's what my hypothesis is...) I'm relatively strong, and fit now..haha..So now worries there..:p

Arizona Tennis!

2009-05-27T23:11:00.000-07:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

Phew, the tennis in Arizona is tiring. Exhausting. Physically draining! I reckon it's because of the high altitude..Phoenix Valley is about 5000ft above sea level, whereas lewiston is AT sea level..I guess that explains the short breathness over here.. I played 20 mins of tennis yesterday with Tobias and, man, those were miserable 20 mins. I couldn't breathe, couldn't move as well as I usually did, and the balls were moving in the most erratic fashion, like missiles without direction..Literally, I only tipped the ball and the ball FLEW straight to the fence!

Because the air is thin, means exhausted of oxygen, the lungs had difficulty inhaling enough O2 to get the body to move..Which translates to slower movement, rapid decline of stamina, and inevitably, bad tennis performance. Haha..I'm not complaining though, because I think it's a great chance to boost my stamina.. They always say those black guys from Africa always dominate the long distance runs because they're from higher altitude countries. And this helps their lungs to become stronger. So when they come to compete, the lungs explode with power, as if being pumped with energy! Released from their constraint cages, and freedom to inhale as much oxygen as they want! No wonder they sprint like crazy horses...

Today, we played against Joe and Oliver. Joe, a 60+ years old man, with his expulsive attitude, drives people in both direction: hysteria and madness. He comes out with all these outrageous Shi% to distract you, ie: drops his racquet while your serving, points you to another direction and then while you're looking, he serves at you, screams aloud and starts tearing his shirt apart to show his aged body, and deliberately messes around with the score to throw you off your rhythm. I was informed of his tricks, all thanks to Tobias, and I LMAO at his archaic wiles = old tricks. (new word today!) Nonetheless, it was "all good", as Oliver puts it..

Tomorrow is a new day, and I'm looking forward to it!!!
By the way, Tobias's parents are great fun! His family is really nice too..hahha..phew :p

2nd day on way to Arizona

2009-05-25T23:24:00.000-07:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

Another tiring day~...I'll post pics only for these few days..I finally arrived at Tobias's place at 5.15pm sharp..Thanks to his GPS, which had been leading the way for the whole trip, that estimated the exact arrival time..hahaa..Quite a nifty lil Garmin Muvi..hahaha..

I was so tired during the trip, I fell asleep every now and then..Today's trip was utterly monotonous and boring..I couldn't stand the view of a wide, deserted land all along the trip...I felt drowsy after some time, and inevitably fell asleep :p hahaha...

Today's trip was a long one, nearly 13 hours..We hit the road at 4am, and reached destination Arizona, Prescott Valley to be exact, at 5.15pm..We went across 3 states today, namely: Idaho, Nevada(Las Vegas!!), and Arizona. WE didn't stop by Las Vegas though, only went through..It was a nice view of the place, and I found out there's 2 parts of Las Vegas. The old one consists of outdated ? buildings, whereas the new section is made up of newer, modernized skyscrapers. THat's where Caesar's Palace is located..

On the Way to Arizona

2009-05-24T21:18:00.000-07:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

I'm at Twin Falls right now..Approximately 300 miles or so away from Lewiston..Tobias drove this morning at 10am, and we arrived here at around 4..He was driving at a 75 mph average, so by calculation, it should be around 3 - 400 miles..Tomorrow is gonna be another looong day, and he's gonna drive for 14 hours straight! Insane!!!

Anyway, those are some pics from today's journey..

I'll post more tomorrow :D

Alabama Banquet--Night of Champions

2009-05-21T00:09:00.000-07:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

Lazy to write today..So I'll just post some pics...:D

Dinner at Toby's

2009-05-18T23:52:00.000-07:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

We had a very, very delightful dinner at Toby's yesterday.. I prepared a dish called "Hwa Chicken Tortilla" (my own creation), Kev brandished his magic spatula and Toby conjured up a fantastic dinner too..So, there were 2 main dishes, and 1 appetizer. Mine was the appetizer. That was my 1st time making the dish, however, I strongly feel I didn't mess it up though.. Nonetheless, there was a tad too much mayonnaise on it.The tortilla was, literally, overflowing with mayonnaise when I pressed it together. I failed to notice that though when I was making it..haha...Eventually, the tortilla relayed the truth: I over-poured the seasoning..Oh well, no success comes without failure..haha..

The ingredients I used for my tortilla:
1) a bag of shredded mozarella cheese
2) 2 bags of tortilla wraps (I used the crispy type, which didn't augur well with the taste of the dish..Note to self: use softer type next time..and don't place in oven for more than 10mins..)
3) 3 pieces of large chicken breasts ( I gave those chickens a nice massage before cruelly submitted them to my merciless kitchen knife...I sliced and cooked them in a small pot.. Threw in about 2 tablespoons of natural sea salt, and voila! The main ingredient for the dish was good to go!)
4) Cabbage. I forgot to add this to the dish actually..I sliced them up nicely for the 1st 15mins of the cooking session, only to forget about them later.sigh..Maybe if I added them, the fresh vegetable flavor would cover up the tortilla's overflowing hint of mayonnaise.

Improvement:
1) Use a different type of tortilla..Crispy tortillas don't go too well with the overall taste
2) maybe fry the chicken next time
3) don't use so much MAYO
4) maybe butter or some other seasoning would suit the taste buds better

I made a short video showing the dinner experience..All summed up in 1 minute or so :p

2nd Day of Pre-Nationals

2009-05-10T16:40:00.002-07:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

Today's the 2nd day we've been at Mobile, Alabama. Well, not exactly the 2nd day because we arrived here pretty late yesterday, and we were exhausted then. Everyone collapsed in their respective rooms straight after dinner. That was at 10pm.

This morning, I awoke at the commotion Kev made. We're roommates, along with !xobile aka Oliver..haha..I thought a new day is waiting for us, and I was looking forward for a nice, sumptous breakfast--a mistake that was unsuspectingly awaiting us.

As soon as we arrived at the breakfast hall, which was located just beyond the reception hall, sheer "amazement" took over. The display of food "overwhelmed" everyone, choices were stretched across a table measuring probably 1.5meter long. 1.5meter, and that's about the only food we had. Even the drinks were limited to juice, milk, tea and plain water. How awful was that? Pathetic hotel with pathetic food. Although, despite the fact the food was plainly horrid, there was a silver lining, or should I say silver dough. Kev and I found the bagels, some bread-like doughnut thingy, pretty appetizing. Haha, I smeared lots of butter over it, and it tasted pretty delightful to my taste buds. This doesn't serve as any qualified indicator of the food's taste, because I basically consume everything. Period. :D and the food portion was very veeryyyyy small, so small that I couldn't even feel food in my tummy after that. Damn..

Yesterday night we went to have a snack at a small,street-side shop called Waffle House. I wasn't sure what to expect, so I bounced off to the place along with the teammates. While we were just heading out, Jonathan and Richard came back from a run along the high way..They were soaked in sweat, panted like dogs, and yet had smiles brighter than the sun--fascinating friends with superhuman determination :p and commitment..hahah..

Then we went to practise with University of Mobile..Or was that University of Southern Alabama..I'm not too sure actually, because we practised at two different venues today. Morning: University of Southern Alabama. Afternoon: University of Mobile. U of SA is pretty nice, located in the midst of lush green tree plantation..At first I thought it was a national reserve or something similar to that, because the landscape was filled with leaf-green trees surrounding the campus, and it stretched for hundreds of meters in radius at least. Which is kinda amazing I think.. They had about 12 courts or so, if my memory serves me right. I didn't do the calculation, but the view of the tennis courts from the parking lot, which was just right beside the tennis center, gave me the impression it had that many courts. Anyways, we warmed up for a few minutes, and Coach Kai called us in for a lil mixed doubles. He called it the "Annual Mixed Doubles Event". I asked Turko whether they had this last year, and he told me this was the first time. I partnered Elaine, and we won 7-1. That's 7 winning matches and 1 loss. Heheh.. We were crowned "Doubles Champions"!!! hahaa..Nothing much of a glorious feat, but fun nonetheless :D

After that, we went home. We crashed on the bed and slept.

3.30pm, we packed our gear and left the hotel for U of Mobile. We played against the team there. They were pretty decent, 1 guy looked like Nadal, but didn't play quite as impressive though. We "smashed" them, and I won my singles 6-1. A bit of a struggle to play as we have yet to acclimatize ourselves. Nonetheless, we won all the matches...

Dinner after that was pretty amazing though. The place had this average name, so I can't seem to remember it. But don't let the name fool you though. Never judge a book by its cover, or in this case its name. I had a total of..........: 2 plates of meat, 1 plate of salad, 1 plate of sweet dessert, 1 plate of icecream, and 1 plate of fruits. Oh, and 2 glasses of drinks. Nicceeeee :D hahaha...I'm full now, and ready to crash. But, I'm still here typing..hahaa..gotta update my blog..Anyway, that's all for now, I'm ready to hit the sack..Tata :D

The Hour Before Departure

2009-05-09T00:57:00.000-07:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

I'm writing this post, as indicated by the title, just an hour before departure to Spokane to board a United Airlines' flight to New Orleans..Well, just half an hour actually because I'm hitching a ride from Coach Kai to go to the airport..I don't wana bike to the courts and leave it there for a whole week..It'll be lonely. ALone in the dark, by itself, in the cold, windy night..

I went to Lancers' Lane just now with Tobias, aka Opa.. Supposedly it was going to be a team meeting/gathering before we depart for nationals. However, some seniors and juniors went their separate ways, and gone off to Applebees without us. Sc$ew them. We had fun nonetheless. The girls were awesome at bowling; Opa was amazing. He managed to apply some spin onto the ball, and hit a few strikes every now and then. Pretty impressive, perhaps one of the best bowlers I've seen thus far. Kudos opa...:D

Today was no-practice day; quite a rare occasion actually. Given the tenacious mood Kai has been in recently, it's been a struggle to even find spare time, to relax, to catch some fresh air. However, being the "hardworking" me, as usual :p, I invited Kevin to practise with me, which turned out to be a tiring, albeit fruitful, ordeal. I learned much from him today, as he "coached" me..haha..We hit cross courts, exchanged downline shots, and ralleyed for about 15 - 20 mins or so.. It was brutally, savagely exhausting. I couldn't focus well, for some reason, and kept hitting the frame of my racquet. I felt soo bad for doing that, and kept blaming myself. I think this led to more mistakes, and subsequently, it formed a cycle that eventually caused me to burst in a flame of anger! I was so furious that I kept screaming here and there whenever I made a mistake. Kev, on the other hand, kept telling me, "focus, focus"..hahaa. I guess it really does make a difference whether you focus or not. And what you focus on. As i started placing my attention on hitting the ball, instead of not hitting out, I started playing better. Hmmm..some kinda interesting fact to be explored there. Better consult Kai about it :D See what he thinks about it. I bet he's going to come out with one of his cliches:

"It's all in your mind. Don't have high expectations. When you don't have high
expectations, you'll perform." ----Kai

Time ticking by, and now it's 1am already..Look at that..Exactly 30mins to go before I pack up my stuff and go.. Coach's house is just few doors away from mine, so I guess it wouldn't take too long to reach his place. 1 thing I gotta remember though is to leave a note to Shannon, my host mum, that I'm leaving to Mobile, Alabama. I told her prior to this that I'm leaving for Nationals, but I'm not sure whether she recalls that..Nonetheless, a short note on the fridge door will solve the problem. I hope. :p (very irresponsible, I know..)

Okay, time to pack up and leave now..Will write another post up when I'm in the flight or something. Hopefully there's wifi in the plane. Or at least in the airport. I don't wana hang around aimlessly searching for wifi network around the airport. That'lll look nerdy and desperate. haha..

Lessons learned today:
a) Gotta inform Shannon earlier if I'm leaving
b) No late night dinners from now on because I wana lose some weight. Lighter = run faster :D
c) Cancel (b). I need some energy to run longer distances. And I'm packing Oreos in my bag for the plane.
d) Learn how to talk and interact with people, socialize amicably~~
e) Learn to focus on the RIGHT things.

Pre-exam Anxiety

2009-05-08T00:41:00.000-07:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

Today, is time to reaffirm, prove what I have learned from all those Calculus classes..Revelation time..

Test, is set at 11am. Masoud (the hateable teacher) said the exam would last at least 2 hours.. After taking into account the time to write my name and all, I say it'll be more than 2.5 hours at the very least. And to make things "better", I have to do a 40-min cardio workout tomorrow..Sigh, that means another 4-mile ++ run for me tomorrow..What a busy day it'll be..

I forgot to click on my Adview page again today...==" dropped to 2% now..

I stayed in the school library from 7 - 11.30pm today. A first..Hopefully not of many to come..:p Oliver, my teammate, accompanied me during that period..Although he was there, we sat on different tables. I faced towards 1 end of the library, while he faced the other. Quite meaningless to have a companion like that, you say? Nah, not at all..I fully appreciate it, and I learned how to talk with my back against him. And his gf came by to visit him, dropped a banana for his breakfast tomorrow, and left. He wasn't there because he had to meet with his other friend to discuss tomorrow's exam. A different exam though. He's got 2 exams simultaneously, while I only have 1. Thankfully so...

I played bad in practice today..The racquet was not properly strung, all thanks to my unpolished skills, and I missed 4 rows of strings. 4 rows. I wonder how I did that...Gotta be careful nexttime then, keep telling myself. Good to learn, good to know..

Today's the last day of this Spring semester. Hmm.I'm not exactly exhilarated or jubilant or excited or, at the very least, happy, about it.. I'm just plain..Well..Indifferent..Guess exhaustion and burn-out are taking a toll on me. Oh well....

Lessons learned today:
a) All those math equations I had problem remembering actually are derived from a simple linear equation. Good to know.
b) I can stay in library until late mid night. Without being alone. Good to know as well.
c) Update blog more often, both as a diary and reminder for me to realize my purpose of being here. (partly to promulgate my blog as well..:p)
d) Do not stress out no matter what happens. If the ball still rolls, don't let go. *Pun intended. Keep it in, and things will fall into place. Play your best.

A Week's Diary

2009-05-07T00:06:00.001-07:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

As the school approaches the end of the Spring semester, pressure starts to fall upon me, backlogged homework piling up, and I'm struggling to meet a few deadlines.. That's for not doing work on time.. However, a lot of those were no fault of mine though (thankfully).. Some exams came up because I'm going to Mobil, Alabama next week (flying on Saturday morning). I have to take those in advance because most of those exams are originally scheduled for next week--the last week of the semester..

Tomorrow I'll have to submit my English 102 Research Paper, titled Music Enhances Physical Endurance. Quite an interesting topic, I would say. (not self-admiration :p) The course requires each student to write a research paper, based on the book they were each allocated at the beginning of the semester, before the semester ends. I was, luckily, given a book that revolves around the musical theme. Just what I need. I've been very very very "enthusiastic" and "passionate" about these electronic musical gadgets recently; namely "headphones". So, it was a no-brainer for me at first because all I had to do was elaborate on the importance of listening to good music, how to listen to good music, what sort of music, how to differentiate between "good" quality music and "excellent" quality music, etc. etc. Hmmm, which raises an interesting motive here..Maybe I'll upload my paper here some day :p hahaa
Disclaimer: Copyright protected. No reprints or republishing without prior notice to the author, aka ME! :D

And on Friday, I'll be sitting for my Cal I exam. Damn, Chapter 1 - 6. That's a lot to squeeze into my exhausted brain. Despite the fact we're training hard to prepare for nationals, I'm still trying my very best to perform in class. The teacher's an a$$h0l3.. I'll refrain from ranting about him. FOR NOW. Someday, I'll write a lengthy essay on his unique, idiosyncratic ability to fluster everyone's feather. Anyway, I'm tired now..Need a rest.. I'll post a sequel to this story in a few days' time. When exam's over. Until then, live life to the fullest guys.. :D

P.S: I'm getting a new camera soon.. Canon Powershot SD 780 IS!!!! Yaiy! Will post a review soon. Which, hopefully, will include a video of the unboxing process and the step-by-step guide to fully utilising my new baby! Can't wait :D

How to build a ramp: LCSC style

2009-05-03T09:51:00.000-07:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

How many engineers does it take to build a ramp?
Answer: Z the Builder and his Gang. If you want to get the job done..

Z the Builder with his Gang of trustworthy sidekicks

Z the Builder at work

The Gang's sidekicks' sidekicks

Z the Builder's first powertool

named SkilSawwwww.....==> requires skills to saw

The Gang shows integrity, willing to get down and dirty to finish the job

The Gang measuring the pieces of wood

Supervisor of the Gang looking on

The sidekicks' sidekicks doing something on their own

All in a day's work :D peace out!

Californian Flavor II~

2009-04-19T19:43:00.000-07:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

The sequel to the 1st Californian Flavor :p hehee..(although I'm not sure anyone even read my blog! xp hehee) But what the heck, here goes the pictures!!

haha, the Chinese Character literally means naked xp I saw this huge board outside a nightclub in California...I wonder if this implies something :p

Just some random kids playing around the fountain....Hmmm, donno who are those kids :p hehee

This restaurant made one of the best thai foods I've ever tasted! Period!

Flower Season!!!

2009-04-12T11:16:00.001-07:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

Spring's here!! Flowers bloom and the air is full of flowery scent...Hmmmm...Pink and green are colors of the season~Looking out the window, there's nothing much except for Flowers and Trees and Bees..hahah....In short: Breathtaking :D

THis is my 1st Spring, and it's late by a good few months! It was so cold going into March, which shouldn't be so because Spring was supposed to come in February...This year, things have been different..It was snowing in March!!!!It's never been that way..So....Yeah kinda cold :p like 30degrees Fahrenheit(~less than 0degree Celsius)...Phew, coooollllldddddd~~ :D

hahaha....Now's time to register for Fall classes..So I'm registering for 20credits..Maybe I'll take more, I don't know...At any rate, I'm planning to enroll in for at least 20 credit hours..Hmm..I have no idea how busy I'm gonna be..Hopefully it'll be a fruitful season next semester :D hahaha..Plus tennis is not going to be as busy as it is, I think things will turn out pretty fine..

On to school work, next week will be Calculus I test..Chapter 4: Hmm...I forgot the title...May be something related to differentiation..Nothing new, basically still the same old crap I learnt before..Just that we're learning L'Hospital's rule..Haha, pronounced la-pee-tal..Pretty interesting concept, although I'm not sure how we derived that thing..Nowadays, school work is all gulping down all the concepts without thinking much..Well, I didn't notice that until I was studying for my test yesterday :D talk about moments of enlightenment..haha

Summer summer summer~~~Can't wait for summer to come...Hopefully I don't suffer from a heatstroke or sunburn because, according to the folks around, the scorching heat will pierce thru the skin...==" scary...:p

Adios peeps!!

P.S Yeah! I'm taking Spanish lessons next semester!!! woo hooo :D

Californian FlavorSpring Break!!

2009-03-22T19:47:00.000-07:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

Spring break, aaahhh...Time to relax, sit back, let my hair down, and enjoy a good week-long holiday in a nice, beautiful place... It's always nice to have holidays once in a while, although it would be quite a put off if you have to work hard and sweat a lot during that week..Oh noo, time for Spring Break Tennis Weekkkkkkk~~~~(Don't get me wrong though, tennis IS fun :D)

California, our destination this week for tennis...As you all know, California is a HUUGGEE state..It has its own tennis league, for crying out loud..hahah...Which is kinda cool though, because the Warriors have descended from up North to crush these Californian pawns...However, hehehe...Let's have a good vacation while we're at it, shall we? :D

Kodak Theatre

The most renowned venue for the famously known event of the year(American Idol), Kodak Theatre..Well, this place is a history by itself, staging several(well, numerous actually) big-shot events..I can't recall the names of the events, but I'll make it a point to update this post when i do :D

Views from the Streets of LA: Perspectives of a Pedestrian..

Black, Wicked Carr!!!!!Bbbbbrrrroooommmm~~

Green, Wicked long assed car!!!!

Oooppssss, time to go~~~I'll post more next time :D

International Night(Savor the World)

2009-03-13T22:06:00.000-07:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

Savor....the sumptuous taste...smell...looks(?)....of the WOrLD...A feat that was achieved in one night, under 1 roof..People gathered, had fun, enjoyed the entertainment and sheer food-lust.. :p

Prooofffsss:

PICs of Internationals And Locals!

wHat a diverse mix..Taiwanese Anderson from the left, Pei China on his right, Robbie aka housemate Taiwanese on her right, Handsome Malaysia in the middle, Tall Model-like French Mikail on Handsome's right :p, and finally, the flag of the Rising Sun sums it all: bright minds standing together symbolising the promising future :D

Cheeeennggg~~ My long awaited post on my coach, Kai Fong..An enigmatic man who is known for his cold-hearted, heartless, albeit resolute and wise, attitude..

hmm..doesn't seem like what they described...Nonetheless, whenever his smile is carved on his "loving" face, one can expect what is to come next: HeLL!!!!

Rebecca~~~ This is the International Programs Coordinator :D hehehe..

The Black Connection :D

The Japanese Connection :D

The Waiters' Connection :D

Of Unfair Treatment..

2009-03-03T14:10:00.000-08:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

"No, no retakes!" He so adamantly insisted that no students are allowed to resit for their exams..He, with his weird somewhat Persian-Egyptian-English, did not even consider a moment when I asked him whether I could resit the paper because there were many errors in the paper itself. Those errors, unsurprisingly, were of his own fault. He corrected those "minor" errors and returned the papers in a matter-of-fact manner, expecting everyone to comply with his method of doing things, marking papers..Yeah right, he is a BSter SOAB..Stupid teacher, although he may be intellectually educated, I'm sure he was deprived of love when he was a kid, and some people say that he's from India..Not discriminating here, but I dont think he's qualified to be a lecturer..He's unfair, dumb-dense headed..
When he so steadfastly rejected my request, he was answering the "plight" of his other students. The ones he so lovingly cares about and always, always, without fail, caters to all their needs. The girl just walks in the room, perhaps intentionally, and subtly signalling to him that she didn't get a good score and wished she could retake the exam. Taking the bite without prior hesitation, he offers her a second chance. Foolish old man!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm angry and downright frustrated at this ancient, senile fag.......I'm not taking Cal 2 with him next semester.....

Exhausted..

2009-02-18T11:34:00.000-08:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

As much as I want to update this blog, I'm simply at the end of my tether right now..haha Just plain exhaustion..hehe..

I'm listening to songs right now..In school...Breaktime..Listening to a song by The Police and Sting, "Every little thing she does is Magic"..Pretty old school..Not my type of song, but was compelled to listen to it because the book, "The World in Six Songs" mentions this Sting character quite a number of times. APologies to his hardcore fans though, because I don't know much about Western oldies..:p

Valentine's Day...

2009-02-15T05:24:00.000-08:00

*Magic Chair...Adults playing em' on Valentine's Eve...OMG! So interesting!

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

Love is in the air.....The day to commemorate the day Priest Valentine, who willingly defied the Emperor's rule that no soldier were allowed to engage in marriage as he saw it as a flaw, a weakness for soldiers to have emotional attachments, was executed.. I did my part on this day as well...:D

No Emperor can crush or execute me! The spirit of Valentine Lives forever!!!!

Acting cool.... :D This event(A valentine's party) was supposed to attract at least 100 people! Which I presumed based on the number of seats and tables they prepared...:p anyway, they had a couple there, about 20 singles, and 3 djs to round up the number of people who attended..What, can't a party just consist of nice whole number of 25?

Bunch of Nepalis..:D haha, they're from Nepal..Guy on my left is....Donno his name...On my left is Bijen aka Mr. Bean..on his right...no idea too :D

On to the party~~~~~~~

Look at that: A sparsely populated party..Haha, numbers don't do justice for this party! It was hippy!!!

Shake ya booties~~~

Missions...

2009-02-09T11:25:00.000-08:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

Date: February 09 2009
Time: 11am
Venue: Office of Student Services
Objective: Land a job
Result: Tentative. Awaiting confirmation. Please wait patiently..

Mission Accomplished!

Date: February 08 2009
Time: 10pm
Venue: In front of laptop
Objective: Scout for potential audio enhancements
Result: Search complete. Search returned 2 result(s).

Soundmagic PL30 bundled with Fiio 3 for $27 plus Free SHIPPING. Highly alluring. Susceptible to reckless spending. CAUTION!!!

LEAR Le01. Made in China In ear Monitor. Brand new company set out to establish a name for itself. Model currently the first of the line. Infant company, outrageous reviews from Head-fi members, all of which returning positive results. CAUTION!!!!

Mission accomplished!!

mY neW Toy!

2009-02-05T00:29:00.000-08:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

Unveiling the new toy of this month, Sennheiser 212 Pro!! REgardless of the many negative feedbacks and reviews, (although there are many Positive and extremely encouraging ones out there as well!!!) I've decided to get a pair online at eBay for 10.32USD..haha plus 7.90 for shipping......:p anyways, here's the pic of the BASSHEAD KING OF HEADS!!!!

hmmm..i GUESS THERE"S SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE PICS>>>>>>>ITs Horizontally Inverted! damn! ok ok wait i correct it.....

Man, I love this pic, and the headsets more!! it's really bassy, and my first impression was "WOW!" as I plugged it in with my Sony Ericsson P1i..I was playing Boten Anna and the bass was really thumping hard on my skull, compared to my more timid but nonetheless impressive KSC 75...Hmmm, though this is by no means a budget headset(retail price USD 60!!!), i think it's good enough to earn a 4/5 for the bass alone :D hahaa, however, for those who wish to get clear mids, perfect treble heads, please look elsewhere..KSC 75 is your better choice :D

Karangan UPSR Terbaik (Best Essay for Malaysian Primary School Assessment Test )

2009-02-04T22:58:00.000-08:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

from a forwarded email:

Pagi itu pagi minggu. Cuaca cukup sejuk sehingga mencapai takat suhu beku. Sebab itu saya tidak mandi pagi sebab air kolah jadi air batu dan air paip tidak mahu keluar sebab beku di dalam batang paip. Pagi itu saya bersarapan dengan keluarga di dalam unggun api kerana tidak tahan sejuk. Selepas itu emak saya mengajak saya menemaninya ke pasar. Tetapi saya tidak mahu.

Selepas emak menikam perut saya berkali-kali dengan garfu barulah saya bersetuju untuk mengikutnya. Kami berjalan sejauh 120 kilometer kerana pasar itu letaknya 128 kilometer dari rumah. Lagi 8 kilometer nak sampai pasar saya ternampak sebuah lori kontena meluru dengan laju dari arah belakang.

Dia melanggar emak saya. Emak saya tercampak ke dalam gaung. Dia menjerit “Adoi!”. Lepas itu emak saya naik semula dan mengejar lori tersebut. Saya pun turut berlari di belakang emak saya kerana takut emak saya melanggar lori itu pula. Pemandu lori itu nampak kami mengejarnya. Dia pun memecut lebih laju iaitu sama dengan kelajuan cahaya. Kami pula terpaksa mengejar dengan lebih laju iaitu sama dengan dua kali ganda kelajuan cahaya. Emak saya dapat menerajang tayar depan lori itu. Lori itu terbabas dan melanggar pembahagi jalan lalu bertembung dengan sebuah feri. Feri itu terbelah dua.

Penumpang feri itu yang seramai 100 orang semuanya mati. Pemandu feri itu sangat marah. Dia pun bertukar menjadi Ultraman dan memfire pemandu lori. Pemandu lori menekan butang khas di dalam lori dia..lori itu bertukar menjadi robot Transformer. Mereka bergaduh di udara. Emak saya tidak puas hati. Dia! pun terus menyewa sebuah helikopter di Genting Highlands dan terus ke tempat kemalangan. Dia melanggar pemandu feri yang telah bertukar menjadi Ultraman itu.

Pemandu feri itu terkejut dan terus bertukar menjadi pemandu feri semula lalu terhempas ke jalanraya. Pemandu feri itu pecah. Pemandu lori sangat takut melihat kejadian itu. Dia meminta maaf dari emak saya. Dia menghulurkan tangan ingin bersalam. Tetapi emak saya masih marah. Dia menyendengkan helikopternya dan mengerat tangan pemandu lori itu dengan kipas helikopter. Pemandu lori itu menjerit “Adoi..!” dan jatuh ke bumi. Emak say menghantar helikopter itu ke Genting Highlands. Bila dia balik ke tempat kejadian, dia terus memukul pemandu lori itu dengan beg tangannya sambil memarahi pemandu lori itu di dalam bahasa Inggeris.

Pemandu lori itu tidak dapat menjawab sebab emak saya cakap orang putih. Lalu pemandu lori itu mati. Tidak lama kemudian kereta polis pun sampai. Dia membuat lapuran ke ibu pejabatnya tentang kemalangan ngeri itu. Semua anggota polis di pejabat polis itu terperanjat lalu mati. Orang ramai mengerumuni tempat kejadian kerana ingin mengetahui apa yang telah terjadi. Polis yang bertugas cuba menyuraikan orang ramai lalu dia menjerit menggunakan pembesar suara. Orang ramai terperanjat dan semuanya mati.

Selepas itu emak saya mengajak saya ke pasar untuk mengelak lebih ramai lagi yang akan mati. Di pasar, emak saya menceritakan kejadian itu kepada penjual daging. Penjual daging dan peniaga-peniaga berhampiran yang mendengar cerita itu semuanya terkejut dan mati. Saya dan emak saya terus berlari balik ke rumah. Kerana terlalu penat sebaik saja sampai di rumah kami pun mati. Itulah kemalangan yang paling ngeri yang pernah saya lihat sebelum saya mati.

Courtesy of "http://quaintly.net/2009/01/28/karangan-terbaik-upsr-2007/#comment''

Random mE~

2009-01-31T20:01:00.001-08:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

Blistering Pace!!!!ouch!

2009-01-31T18:40:00.000-08:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

ZZZOOOoooooooommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm VVVVVVVVVVRRRRRrrrooooooooooooooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!!!!!!!

Speeding through at a Blistering pace, even Light with it's unrivalled and unparalled speed(thus far) can only gaze upon and sigh in disappointment..Give way people, I'm coming through!!!! I'll be so fast I'll be running faster than you can say.....*OUCH*

BlisTER!!!!!!!!Dammit...it's hurting~~~~~~~~Can you see the skin that's peeling off? OUCH! I was playing my game without noticing much, though there was a point I ran almost all across the court to retrieve one shot and then I just stopped myself almost instantly. I guess the friction from the running was too much for my skin to handle..Hmm...nice piece of flabby skin *GRIN*

I had one of these blisters before, at the exact spot and for the exact reason..Last time it was worse and quite messed up..The whole patch of skin, the epidermis of the entire ball of my right foot, tore off, exposing a layer of fresh, blood-filled flesh..Wish I could take a picture of it back then and make a comparison..Nonetheless, it all started while playing tennis and due to 1 same reason..Playing tennis is the process that triggered the whole excruciating experience, but there's 1 crucial villain behind the curtains pulling some strings to muster this outcome...

**************************************************************************************
**************************************************************************************

The Hideous, Cruel, Malevolent Villian!!!!!!

Wanna know the name????

DUNLOP!!!!

(SORRY THOUGH, I'm an athlete sponsored by Dunlop) So this blog does not in any way endorse or sanction any statement from the blogger!!!!(trying to save my pants from catching fire here :p)

Look at how i cope with this though, filled with bandages, sprays, lotions and even a small pack of antibacterial lotion ....:p

Until then, ADIOS~~:D

Zeny's: The place for Hamburger

2009-01-30T00:14:00.000-08:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

~~Imagine the sweet scent of cheese, sumptuous taste of cabbage, slices of beef sandwiched in between 2 layers of buttered, mildly baked buns...The delightful smell floats in the air, adding a sense of craving to the stomachs of a restaurant of famished customers....Zeny's, the place to go for a delicious hamburger(make no mistake, I'm no ambassador for Zeny's or anything :D)..

That day, that fateful tiresome day, I dragged my battered(somewhat) body, along with a couple of my peers, to this place named Zeny's....Let's take a look at the surroundings..(To clarify the confusion, I didn't literally dragged my body though..My friend drove in his Mercez..So yea..Anyways...)

Okay, here's the sign :D Ohhh, so it's actually called Zany Graze...Awesome name.(Actually, I can hardly read the words :p so my guess would be it's Zany Graze :p)

Okay!!!!After a careful scrutiny at the menu and some light chatting with my buddies, we had meal!!!

This is my friend, Mr. Opa! :D Well, in Korean, that basically means "onee-chan"..Eh wait, that means "brother" in Japanese..hahaha, english is pretty ambiguous and inaccurate isn't it? I've learnt about ambiguity of human language in computer science class..Which leads to the invention of computer language, ie Python, C++, Jave and so on..1 classic example: I saw a man in the park with a telescope..So, in your opinion, who has the telescope?Me, or the man? :p hahaa, pretty cool example, if I might say :D So there you go, Mr. Tobias aka Opa!!:D

This is a picture of Kyle and Ms. Angela aka Oni(which, in Korean, means sister)..Both Tobias and Angela are Koreans, they lived in Phoenix, Arizona before they moved to this small, tranquill town of Lewiston, Idaho..Oh, they're brother and sister too!:D Pretty different physical appearance huh? haha, yeah, Opa looks kinda different from his sis..I don't know why, probably someday I'll find out :D Maybe Ms. Oni has the good asian genes and, well, Mr. Opa has good Italian genes :D He's tall! hhaha, he's about 6' 3 i guess..Kyle's just a teammate..Okaaayy, moving on to bigger and better things....(:p, I feel bad for giving Kyle the brief introduction...But, there ARE more better things to do :D )

**CLAP CLAP CLAP** Ahem, after much anticipation, shall we serve the dishes?

Big Juicy Yummy Burger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Yup, it IS good, and It's BIG!!!which is the best part :D I'm a huge, immensely massive eater, so anything smaller than my palm will not satisfy me. Period. So don't even try to fill up half my tummy with a bowl of Kolo mee or even Carl's Junior..Because those are small puny lil fries...:D hehee..Though the pics don't seem to justify the sweet taste of this hamburger("Big Daddy"), undoubtedly, the burger is delicious and seems to fit my appetite...Delightful, and Bon appetit :D

Price for a hamburger with sliced potato rings : USD 8.90
Price for tips : USD 2.00
Price for a bewildering, tastebud-stimulating meal: Priceless

(Courtesy of an ad from some bank :p)

Guitar Heroes.."We can rock the world"..

2009-01-22T22:22:00.000-08:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

I believe every gamer out there is aware of this game, "Guitar Hero", which supposedly has made a name for itself for its interactive and intuitive gaming experience..Now, it's chance for yours truly to try it out for himself...

Guitar heroes, get in positions to rock!!!

Hmmmm...Overall playability: 8/10..Ryan was the tough guy in the group. He literally smashed his way to high score! okay, well, maybe I exaggerated a lil there :p But he was rockin' smashin' the game! He was playing expert...yup, EXPERT, and still kinda had the I-dont-think-anything-is-hard attitude while he was playing.."It's all about hand-eye coordination," he said..Yup, take a look at that pic.. He still had time to look at me, I bet that ain't no hand-EYE coordination, if he has time to take his eyes off the tv..hahaa..

Rocking Attitude: MAX OUT!!!

My KOSS KSC 75s

2009-01-18T02:22:00.000-08:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

After scouting the Internet for a couple of days, I finally decided to get a pair of Sennheiser Px100s!! But wait, isn't this supposed to be about koss ksc 75s, you say??
By a twist of fate and serendipity, I came across this shop when i went out grocery shopping with my host family: Radioshack.
It was a total coincidence, and if I didn't tell her I wanted to go to the place, I guess the KSC 75 won't be in my hands now..What a weird thing to do..Anyways....
here's the King of Budget Headphones......
...........................................................................................................................................................
..........................................................................
........................

SKy is of bLue and White~

2009-01-18T02:15:00.000-08:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

This is a glance at the skies and environment in Lewiston, Idaho..Idaho is a small state, aka Potato State that lies on the NOrthwestern side of USA..A place furnished with mountains of pearl white snow and tranquility and serenity make up the total ambience of this place. By the time I got here, I missed the snowing period already...*sigh* But, I'm glad however, because people, being friendly as they've always been, told me I wouldn't wanna be there during snowing season as the temperature dropped to 10 degrees...Fahrenheit...:D Imagine that, around -10 degree celcius? I'm not sure :p

Let the pictures do the talking, shall we?:D

SNEAK PEEKS~~

2009-01-18T01:04:00.000-08:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

This is the 1st meal I had in USA!!:D and they tasted great! They're called Wendy's Original Hamburger..And I looooove em' :D hehe, the burger exudes deliciousness!!and the fries are absolutely delightful bites, every single bite.*probably cuz I was starving that moment* Drooling~~ I wana have em again ASAP!!

Basketball in the West

2009-01-10T13:22:00.000-08:00

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

I'm in Lewiston, Idaho right now~ And those are pics I took from a basketball from the local team against Clarkston, Washington. It was a highly celebrated event, called "The Golden Throne" and the winners get an absolutely crave-worthy prize!! Which so coincidentally happens to be a Golden-Plated Toilet Bowl~~~ WOW, what a prize! I bet anyone would love to have one of those in their Shelves of Fame :D
We sneaked into the event, by the way. Haha, or else we had to pay the ticket which costs USD 5.. But my coach brought me to the venue earlier on, so I had a rough idea of the complex and no one was gonna stop me from going into the centre!! hahaa, so we quietly took turn and sneaked in from the backdoor :p and imagine my friend was so nervous because there were cops all over the place :p hahaa "OMG, they're coming at me!" were the words he kept saying, even though he was trying hard to keep up a smile while saying that :p Luckily the cops were just passing by to tell us don't lean by the railings cuz it's really dangerous :D hahaha

UNTIL THEN, I'll post again!!! A bit busy now :p gotta wash my laundry..oh yeah, athletes get to do free laundry at the locker room too~~ Awesome :D

Merry Christmas~~~

2008-12-25T03:46:00.000-08:00

The time of the year for celebration and gifts is here again~~Merry Christmas everyone!!!
Went spring today with my girl...WOW, there were LOADS of sales going on and though each and every one of those deals was absolutely tempting...I wasn't attracted..Nope, not one bit..CUz those deals go for clothings only.. GIRLS clothing..Espirit, MNG, ya da ya da...WWHHHYY no deals going on for macbooks or dell xps M1330s...Hmmmmmmmm.....Guess the current recession doesn't provide a leeway for stores to offer groundbreaking, heavenstriking deals huh? Supposedly we were going to shop for my christmas gift...MY christmas gift :P hehehe...Budden, things don't always happen the way you want it~~ LIffee~~~ ahaha..So, walked around for like 40mins or so and off we went to guardian to pick up some facial goodies...

You heard me, FACIAL gooDIES! Probably because of the humid weather and scorching hot sun shining its powerful rays upon me, i've got an outbreak of acne recently..hahaha..Those puny lil protuberance can really work their way to making people feel irritated..hahaha..Damn, hate them..So did some facial and now...YAIY!! Though not completely healed, they're in such a better condition now...Well, not good for those lil pimples, but it's all good for me :D

I guess that's all for now, see ya~~ Next post, I'm gonna start putting some pics up!!!

Starters

2008-12-24T09:59:00.000-08:00

This is my first ever post online!! Imagine all the excitement and adrenaline rush running through my veins and the tickling jolt down my spine as I painstakingly type out every single word on my 15" LCD monitor :D haha, well, that would've happened if it were not for the case I'm typing all these stuff at 2 in the morning on Christmas :p hahaha, waiting for Santa Claus to arrive..Hmm...He is seriously running late here, must be because of all the kids around the world he has to attend to personally..hahaha, I won't blame a guy who's fulfilling his duties wholeheartedly..Oh well, guess I have some more time to blog then :p hahaha..Just had a "brief" chat with my girl, who's so upset and disappointed at me..sigh, life couldn't be any better...hey wait, IT COULD! hahaha...hopefully tomorrow will be a great day..I'm looking forward to blogging again..

Phew, that was quite an entry for a first..hahaha..Time to sit beside my bed now...Hopefully can catch a glimpse of Santa...:p I wonder who believes in Santa nowadays.. A fairytale? A childhood bedtime story to ignite children's inherent inclination to believe in all that are good? Well, to me, Santa is just one thing and one thing only... GIFTS :D hehehee...

Snatch.A.Life

Meritocracy: Non-existence in Lewiston

Love Scam!

Tired

Look at the so-called Elites!

Close Shave

Sing-a-Song time!!

好怀念家。。。

Wind blows; Cloud covers the Sky....

The Story of 1-week Survival

A Day In Spokane

Today's Update

An Apple A Day Keeps The Doctors....Er....Around You?

Getting it There: Say Yes to Your Future Job

CutCo: A Knife's Story

Latest Updates!

Summer Updates

Bend Updates!

Bend it like Bend, OR!

Planning Plans

Vacation City: Sandpoint

The Day My Friend Escaped Death

Vocabulary Class

Picture Update: Vegas Trip Summer June 09'

A Busy Summer: Upcoming Schedule

How To Maintain Your Car

Dwelling within The Sin....City...

Life after Happy

Prescott Valley, AZ

Arizona: Diary Day 12

Arizona Tennis!

2nd day on way to Arizona

On the Way to Arizona

Alabama Banquet--Night of Champions

Dinner at Toby's

2nd Day of Pre-Nationals

The Hour Before Departure

Pre-exam Anxiety

A Week's Diary

How to build a ramp: LCSC style

Californian Flavor II~

Flower Season!!!

~~Californian Flavor~~Spring Break!!

International Night(Savor the World)

Of Unfair Treatment..

Exhausted..

Valentine's Day...

Missions...

mY neW Toy!

Karangan UPSR Terbaik (Best Essay for Malaysian Primary School Assessment Test )

Random mE~

Blistering Pace!!!!ouch!

Zeny's: The place for Hamburger

Guitar Heroes.."We can rock the world"..

My KOSS KSC 75s

SKy is of bLue and White~

SNEAK PEEKS~~

Basketball in the West

Merry Christmas~~~

Starters

Californian FlavorSpring Break!!